Two charged after thousands stranded at train stations after Women’s World Cup semi-final

Authorities are looking into what went wrong as 100,000 people were left stranded for hours after two men allegedly damaged critical train infrastructure.

Authorities are reviewing the security around critical rail infrastructure after tens of thousands of people were left stranded for hours after the city’s train network broke down.

Sydney’s transport network was already under pressure on Wednesday as more than 75,000 football supporters gathered at Stadium Australia for the FIFA Women’s World Cup semi-final clash between England and Australia.

At least 100,000 people were in the Olympic Park precinct on Wednesday night, with a sellout crowd at American country singer Luke Combs’ concert at Qudos Bank Arena.

As the game and concert drew to a close about 9.30pm, thousands of fans flocked to the Olympic Park train station to be met with hours long delays and massive queues.

Just after 10pm, Sydney Trains blamed the delays on power supply issues affecting equipment at Ashfield train station.

However, less than an hour later the real reason for the delays was revealed, equipment had been vandalised and damaged.

More than 75,000 fans at Stadium Australia faced major delays on the way home from the game as the transport network failed. Picture: Twitter

Geez.. Getting home from the Matildas game is a nightmare. And this is only one platform. The line extends outside too. This is the chaos for the Western Sydney trains towards Penrith. Traffic signal issue at Olympic Park. Not a bad idea to take your car after all!#sydneytrainspic.twitter.com/TXdytW15IQ

— Yasmina Rifai (@yasminabanana) August 7, 2023

Nearly 3 hours to get home so far after the Matildas game and there's a lovely 12:45am #goodmorning message from Sydney trains on the way 🤣#trainchaos#sydneytrains @ pic.twitter.com/2jy868lV2V

— KTEM (@KTEMsViews) August 16, 2023

Two men – aged 47 and 33 – have now been charged with several offences including endangering passengers on the railway.

They’ve been accused of cutting cables inside a railway signal box and damaging equipment at Ashfield station, an act that sparked the chaos, NSW Transport Minister Jo Haylen said.

“The signalling system is designed to be fail-safe, when there’s an issue with signalling infrastructure, all signals in the relevant area turn to a default red, meaning trains cannot move safely through that area,” her office told the media.

Sydney Trains will now review the security of critical rail infrastructure such as signal boxes and prioritise any security upgrades.

Ms Haylen said Sydney Trains had already been reviewing security at more than 1000 locations where equipment is normally stored under lock and key, with plans to bolster security with swipe card access.

“Last night the system was not broken, it was broken into and destroyed in a deliberate act,” she said.

“I understand this is not the way football fans wanted to end the night … I want to make it very clear that this was not some minor act of vandalism, this act significantly damaged critical rail infrastructure.”

Trains are running late due to vandalism of equipment at Ashfield.

If you are travelling home to the City, you have the option of joining an Olympic Park service to Lidcombe and then changing to a T3 Bankstown Line service as a diversion around the affected area. pic.twitter.com/wCVCVJsn2N

— T7 Sydney Trains (@T7SydneyTrains) August 16, 2023

Sydney Trains says specialist engineers had repaired the damage and brought services back online within 90 minutes, with all crowds cleared of Olympic Park Station by midnight.

Those on the ground tell a different story, complaining of longer delays and a lack of communication on the delays.

“There’s 75,000 people trying to get home and no trains moving,” a fan standing in the queue told Nine News on Wednesday night.

“Not sure what is going on. No information coming. Pretty frustrating.”

Angry fans vented their frustrations online after their journey home ticked into the third hour.

Thousands of fans who missed out on tickets to the game flocked to Tumbalong Park near Darling Harbour to watch the game instead. Picture: Daily Telegraph/ Monique Harmer

“Nearly three hours to get home so far after the Matildas game,” one person tweeted at 12.45am.

It was yet another tough blow for fans after witnessing England end the Matildas’ chances at a World Cup final place with a convincing 3-1 win.

“Probably not the best night for this to go wrong with the transport after the loss” another fan said.

Fans watch on intensely during the WWC semi final at Tumbalong Park. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ Brendan Read

It was a whirlwind of emotions for fans after the highly anticipated match ended in a loss for the Matildas. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ Brendan Read

The travel chaos was a major let own for Sydney fans after assurances were made by the state government that the transport network would be able to meet the demand of both major events.

An additional 183 train services were scheduled to travel between Central and key Western Line stations running directly to Olympic Park, Transport for NSW acting chief operations Officer Craig Moran said on Wednesday morning.

Thus 1059 trains were expected to run from 5pm on Wednesday until 1am the next morning.