Commuter chaos at Central amid signal failures

Sydney train passengers have been advised to find another way home with delays of more than two hours on some lines, with “no expectation that these issues will be resolved anytime soon”.

The scene at Central on Friday afternoon amid delays after signal failure wreaked havoc on the network. Picture: Supplied

Thousands of Sydneysiders have been left stranded after a signal outage crippled the Sydney train network, delaying trains for over four hours on Friday afternoon.

A signal outage at Ashfield station earlier today, requiring urgent repairs, has wrought havoc across the network as it affected three lines into the city.

Transport NSW urged commuters to find alternative modes of transport where possible.

Affected lines are T1 North Shore and Western Line, T2 Leppington and Inner West, T3 Liverpool and Inner West, T5 Cumberland line, T7 Olympic Park, T8 Airport and South line and T9 Northern.

According to NextThere, a T1 service departing at 6:59pm from Hornsby to Emu Plains was delayed by 287 minutes.

Minister for Transport John Graham apologised for the delays, while thanking passengers for their patience.

“I want to apologise to passengers who are trying to get home tonight while dealing with significant disruption on our train network,” Minister Graham said.

“These works caused significant service gaps and delays which have continued into the PM peak.”

“I want to thank passengers for their patience this evening.

The minister said that commuters should continue to check updates about the services.

“It’s important for passengers to keep on listening to announcements, check your information displays, and keep an eye on your transport apps.”