Commuters are being urged to ‘avoid travel’ on Sydney‘s train network as major delays and cancellations cause widespread chaos.
The network came to an abrupt standstill on Tuesday afternoon after a passing train became entangled in fallen high-voltage wires suspended above the tracks near Strathfield station in Sydney’s inner-west, which triggered a power outage.
Major disruptions across the train network have continued into this morning, with buses still replacing trains on several lines throughout the city.
Transport for NSW warned commuters early Wednesday that significant delays and cancellations would continue to plague Sydney’s rail services throughout the day, including the T1, T2, and T3 lines.
‘Passengers planning on travelling on the rail network this morning are advised to avoid travel or use alternative transport if possible,’ Transport for NSW said.
‘If you need to travel on the network there will be limited shuttles operating.
‘If passengers must travel, plan ahead and allow extra travel time. We have trains running on all lines, but at a reduced frequency.
‘Sydney Trains teams have been working hard overnight and have removed a defective train and completed repairs to the overhead wiring that caused major disruption on the rail network yesterday.’
Commuters are being urged to ‘avoid travel’ on the Sydney train network as significant delays and cancellations continue to plague the network after a train became entangled with live wires
About 22 bus services will be supplementing trains between Lidcombe and Ashfield from 6am.
‘Sydney Trains apologises again to passengers for the inconvenience of the continuing disruption,’ Transport for NSW said.
‘It’s expected the work will be completed later this morning and we will look to transition to normal timetabled services for the afternoon peak services.’
Blank screens were on display at Ashfield and Croydon station on Wednesday, with Sydney train staff patiently advising the massive crowd of commuters where to go.
All services at Ashfield station will run from platform 4, while express services to Central and Redfern will depart from platform 1.
Commuters who are heading away from the city to suburbs including Parramatta and Strathfield are being advised to board a replacement bus from Brown Street.
Meanwhile, the lines for replacement buses at stations across Sydney have reached hundreds of metres as commuters navigate train cancellations and long-delays.
The line at Lidcombe station stretched up to 300 metres long as of 7am on Wednesday, the Today show reported.
Transport for NSW warned commuters early Wednesday that significant delays and cancellations would continue to plague Sydney’s rail services including the T1, T2, and T3 lines
Blank screens were on display on Wednesday, with Sydney train staff patiently advising the massive crowd of commuters where to go (pictured, Croydon train station)
Some frustrated commuters also reportedly yelled at Transport for NSW staff as they waited in line for the limited bus services running between Lidcombe and Ashfield.
Transport Minister John Graham said power had been restored across Sydney’s train network and that services at Strathfield would slowly return to normal.
Mr Graham advised commuters to expect significant delays across all services despite power being back on.
‘It’ll take us a little bit of time to get those trains through, but that will mean the busing operation that’s currently in place between Lidcombe and Ashfield will no longer be required in the way it has over recent hours,’ Mr Graham said.
‘It’s a major step forward, but this has been a huge disruption over the course of yesterday afternoon and this morning.’
Mr Graham advised all available buses had been deployed to replace the trains but commuters were still being urged to avoid travel.
We’ve had every available bus out on the network, but the reason we’re telling people to avoid travel is [because] this is a big impact on the network. We’ve had these incidents before, but it’s where it’s happened that’s really had the impact here.’
NSW Premier Chris Minns said fares would be waived on Wednesday to help compensate people for the major disruptions.
Transport Minister John Graham advised Sydneysiders to expect significant delays despite the power being restored across the train network
‘In no way is that going to make up for the disruption of the last 24 hours, but hopefully it can go some way to alleviate the financial burden that families have had to deal with over the last day,’ Minns told 2GB.
Mr Minns added the government had let the people down and that it needed to ‘do better’.
‘This is nowhere near good enough, and it’s certainly not on par with international cities around the world,’ Mr Minns said.
He added an independent review – likely lead by an expert from the airline sector – would be conducted into Sydney’s train network.
The review would examine train network maintenance, the punctuality of trains and communications when an incident occurs and causes major delays.
On Tuesday, About 300 passengers on board the packed train hit by live wires were stranded for three hours before they were evacuated by carriages one by one.
Mr Graham described the situation as dangerous and life-threatening as a 1500-volt power connector was sitting on top of the train.
This is a very serious incident, right in the heart of Sydney’s train network,’ Mr Graham told ABC News.
About 300 passengers on board the packed train hit by live wires (pictured)
Mr Graham said the train’s pantograph collided with overhead wires, causing the damage.
Footage showed impacted passengers being escorted off the train and walking along the tracks to safety.
The power outage caused three other trains to come to a halt, with staff arriving on site to evacuate the passengers.
Strathfield is a major interchange for multiple lines, with the incident affecting every line on the Sydney metro except for the T4 line.
The Metro, light rail and local buses weren’t impacted.
Crews will be making final checks on Wednesday morning before restarting power over six tracks at Homebush and commencing operations.
