Car smashes into signal box causing three days of train delays

Rail commuters on two busy train lines have been warned to expect two more days of pain after a car ploughed into a signal box, destroying vital equipment used to guide trains.

Rail commuters on the busy T8 Airport and South Line have been warned to expect two more days of pain after a car ploughed into a signal box, destroying vital equipment used to guide trains.

Police are looking for a driver who ran off after a white Honda Accord crashed through a boundary fence and hit the box, containing hundreds of thousands of signalling wires, in Riverwood about 2am on Monday morning.

The white Honda was removed before crews began working to repair equipment. Picture: Twitter/Sydney Trains

Services on the T8 and T2 lines are currently affected. Picture: Twitter/Sydney Trains

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Transport Minister Andrew Constance said it would likely be Thursday morning before the T8 line was fully operational, adding: “This is a major incident on the network — there’s no sugar coating this.

“This is akin to losing four sets of traffic lights on Elizabeth Street — that’s the type of impact this has had.”

Mr Constance said it would take time to repair the damage because engineers have to reconnect the myriad of wires in the correct configuration.

It has also forced Sydney Trains to switch from automated to manual signalling, meaning trains have to travel slowly on tracks near Riverwood to go through safely. Four signals have been affected on the southbound line.

Commuter chaos at Mascot train station. Picture: Adam Yip

Sydney Trains chief executive officer Howard Collins said the incident — at the intersection of Romilly St and Broad Arrow Rd had caused delays of up to 15 minutes on the T8 line but there were “some knock-on effects” on the T2 Inner West and T3 Bankstown lines. Buses were used to take people to intermediate stations.

“We’re working on the next three days on rewiring this equipment,” Mr Collins said.

“Our engineers are on site focusing on the big job of replacing this whole cabinet — this costs hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

He said passengers travelling to the airport should allow 10-15 minutes extra for their commute until the work is complete.

The Airport Line is expected to be affected for the next three days. Picture: Adam Yip

Mr Constance described the driver’s actions as sheer “stupidity” and said the incident had caused “enormous grief” to commuters. “To the person that’s responsible … you should turn yourself into police.”

Fuming passengers took to social media to vent their dissatisfaction over the delays, with many choosing to blame Sydney Trains rather than the errant driver.

“This is now a Sydney trains running joke. Not only was my train 12 mins late but so jammed no one at Macdonaldtown could get on. Sort it out!” one commuter tweeted.

It’s not yet known how long repairs will take. Picture: Twitter/Sydney Trains

However others were more understanding with one person writing: “As far as excuses go, cars on train tracks is a pretty good one.”

Mr Collins said about a dozen vehicles had entered the rail corridor over the past year. Another driver was charged with drink-driving on Monday after flipping his 4WD on to railway tracks at Dora Creek, blocking the Sydney to Newcastle train line overnight.