Reports this week claim Transport NSW undertook a survey to inform its new north-west Sydney rail link plan, but ignored the results in its subsequent planning.

Transport NSW asked commuters how annoying they felt it was to have to change from trains to buses mid-journey. Somewhat unsurprisingly, it seems many did not like the interruption. Regardless, the new plan for Sydney’s public transport future will require thousands of commuters to do just that.

Early indications suggest that when the north-west rail link to Rouse Hill opens in 2019, the transport body plans for the majority of express buses that currently travel from the Hills District to the city to be redirected to the new train stations.

Commuters will then be switched to a train on the new line, before changing again at Chatswood for a separate train service to the city.

Transport for NSW reportedly polled 900 people to find out what they thought of several different hypothetical trip scenarios.

Respondents were asked to express the inconvenience in minutes spent changing, which were compared to the actual time it would take to changes services.

At the end of the poll it was revealed most commuters would rather spend up to eight minutes longer on a direct train, than taking a shorter trip that involves switching vehicles.

The results were unveiled at the Australasian Transport Research Forum in Brisbane by Mathew Jones; the principal manager of modelling at the Bureau of Transport Statistics, and Neil Douglas; a transport economist with expertise in NSW.

However, a Transport NSW spokesperson this week says it did not consider the research in its plans for the north-west rail link – despite the massive project requiring commuters to interchange regularly.

The transport department said the Bureau of Transport Statistics ruled-out the methodology for being too different to the industry guidelines.

“For the business case, Transport for NSW adopted recommendations of interchange value that were consistent with industry standards and guidelines for patronage forecasting used in Australia, New Zealand and the UK,” the spokesperson said.

Insiders say if the north-west rail link goes ahead in its current form, there will be passenger backlash. New South Wales Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian says Sydney commuters will have to get used to the idea of regular changes as a facet of modern public transport.