Matildas train delays leave thousands of fans waiting

Commuters have slammed Sydney Trains after thousands of Matildas fans were hit with long queues and delays at Sydney Olympic Park due to ‘a loss of power’ on Monday night.

Commuters vented at Sydney Trains after thousands of Matildas fans were hit with long queues and delays at Sydney Olympic Park due to “a loss of power” at nearby stations on Monday night.

More than 75,000 fans packed into Accor Stadium to watch the high-flying Matildas take out football heavyweights Denmark in a convincing 2-0 victory.

But when the match finished about 10.25pm, fans flooded the nearby Sydney Olympic Park train station where they were met with long queues and major delays.

A spokesperson from Sydney Trains said the incident was rectified in 20 minutes.

“Our hard-working frontline staff on the ground did a great job keeping everyone informed and have reported an overwhelmingly positive response from the crowd, with fans on

a high on the Matildas’ victory,” the spokesperson said.

“The bump-out was almost complete when the power loss occurred, meaning majority of passengers were not impacted.”

Matildas fans were hit with train chaos at Sydney Olympic Park following the match on Monday night. Picture: Heba Kassoua

However, dozens of commuters took to Twitter to vent their frustrations.

“This is unacceptable! Thousands are stranded after the game thanks to #SydneyTrains failing us again #trains @TrainsInfo,” Heba Kassoua said.

“Of course, Sydney Trains currently experiencing ‘minor’ signal issues right after the Matildas match #SydneyTrains,” another user added.

“@TrainsInfo world class Matildas Z class trains - tens of thousands stuck after the game at Olympic Park utter disgrace #sydneytrains,” Ali Jay posted on his Twitter account.

Thousands of people were forced to endure long queues and major delays after the Matildas victory. Picture: Yasmina Rifai

Train services halted at 11.30pm on Monday night, shortly after the conclusion of the Matildas match. Picture: Yasmina Rifai

Sam Parkinson said “no other city would tolerate this”.

“Classic #sydneytrains absolutely incapable of servicing the 25,000 people waiting for a train home for the #matildas game they’ve had 4 years to plan for. No other city would tolerate this level of incompetence,” he said on 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!#sydneytrains pic.twitter.com/TXdytW15IQ

— Yasmina Rifai (@yasminabanana) August 7, 2023

Transport NSW said the delays were caused by a loss of power at nearby stations.

“More than 35,000 football fans travelled to Olympic Park on Sydney Trains services last night to cheer on the Matildas,” the spokesperson said.

“As people were leaving the event, at around 11pm there was a loss of power impacting signals at Lidcombe and Flemington. Sydney Trains had engineers pre-deployed at key rail junctions to support the event and the fault was repaired within 20 minutes.

Around 35,000 fans used public transport to watch the match on Monday night. Picture: Mayowa Ajayi

“As a result of the power issue, there were some delays for passengers travelling from Olympic Park Station and some flow-on delays to late night rail services.”

Sydney Trains ran their services two hours later than the regular Monday timetable and confirmed there will be an investigation into the power fault.

“The root cause of the fault is being investigated and Sydney Trains thanks customers for their patience,” the spokesperson said.

“There are no ongoing impacts to rail services as a result this morning.

“Services running from Sydney Olympic Park concluded at 2am, two hours later than a regular Monday timetable, as well as extra late-night services operating on all other lines.”

Sydney Trains will be swarmed with fans heading to Accor Stadium as it prepares to host three more matches in the FIFA Women’s World Cup this month including two semi-finals on August 12 and 16, and the final on August 20.