Peak hour major delays for train, bus commuters
Delays continue to impact Sydney Trains after five freak events unleashed chaos on the network this morning, with commuters warned to allow extra travel time this evening.
NSW
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Commuters are warned to allow extra travel time this afternoon after five freak events combined to create a cascade of delays and cancellations on Sydney’s transport network.
Sydney trains CEO Howard Collins urged commuters to check schedules before their starting their afternoon commute after horror delays in the morning.
“Providing nothing else hits this network we are confident that we will recover and allow people to get to all destinations tonight,” he said.
“Check before you travel, make sure your specific train is running and also allow some extra travel time.
The lengthy delays frustrated commuters who lamented the consistency of problems on the network.
“Just another day on Sydney trains,” Catherine Jensen said on Twitter.
“I walked to the city this morning. I’m thinking of investing in a donkey and cart.”
The problems began with a tangled electrical wire in the early hours of Tuesday and ended with a fire alarm being triggered, a train breakdown, a man fainting and an urgent electrical repair.
The scenarios combined to create havoc on the network for much of the day.
Bronywn Martin, spokeswoman for the Transport Management Centre, said commuters should expect some delays this afternoon as staff worked to recover from the earlier incidents.
The T4 Eastern Suburbs line, T9 Northern line and Southern Highlands line are running as normal, however earlier delays will affect other lines during the afternoon peak.
Most lines will be running frequently however not to normal timetables, she said.
The T2 line is also running to a different stopping pattern due to overhead wiring repairs at Clyde.
Earlier today, Sydney’s public transport fell into chaos after a series of unconnected incidents.
A spokeswoman from Sydney Trains said the delays began when a train’s pantograph – a rod which connects to electrical wiring – becoming tangled, requiring urgent repairs at Hornsby.
“Power had to be turned off to allow our crews to safely conduct repairs, which delayed the preparation and roll out of 18 trains that would be running on the T1 and T9 lines,” the spokesperson said.
Just hours later, a fire alarm was set off in Town Hall station which caused delays to trains across the network as the station was evacuated.
The T4 Eastern Suburbs and Illawarra line faced flow-on delays from the Town Hall alarm, and just when services were returning to normal, the line was hit with another slow-down due to a medical emergency at Erskineville.
Major train delays. Overhead wiring or something. Come on guys. I think we deserve a free travel day for this one... #sydneytrains pic.twitter.com/Df8qQRJqVP
— 💧Nick 🌈 (@NMaconachie) February 24, 2020
A NSW Ambulance spokesperson confirmed that a man believed to be in his 20s reportedly fainted on the Eastern Suburbs and Illawarra Line as the train progressed between Erskineville and Redfern just before 7:30am.
Paramedics treated the passenger on the train before he was removed.
The incidents caused significant chaos throughout the network, with the T1 and T9 Northern, T4 and T8 Eastern and T2 and T3 Western lines all hit with major delays, while the
Central Coast and Newcastle line was also impacted.
On the Western line, flow on delays were exacerbated by a train breakdown at Lidcombe, leaving travellers stuck on trains.
Adding to commuters frustration, bus services in Mascot, Haymarket, Surry Hills and Railway Square were impaccted, with some held up by up to 20 minutes.
Originally published as Peak hour major delays for train, bus commuters