Investigation launched after 1500-volt power lines fall onto Sydney train, triggering network meltdown

An urgent investigation is underway after high-voltage power lines landed on a train near Homebush, sparking citywide rail chaos. Here’s how the morning commute played out.

An investigation has been launched into how 1500-volt power lines came to rest on top of a Sydney train near Homebush on Wednesday, triggering widespread delays and cancellations across the network.

Transport for NSW Executive Director of Rail Operations Jas Tumber described the incident as a rare and complex failure, telling ABC Radio it could take weeks to determine whether the issue stemmed from the train itself or the overhead wiring.

“The first immediate response is safety,” Tumber said. “You’ve got a 1500-volt cable lying over trains. You’ve got to de-energise the system, evacuate passengers and then repair and re-energise.”

Premier Chris Minns admitted the rail system’s response fell short, saying, “We’ve let the travelling public down.” He warned the network’s on-time performance had “significantly fallen” and acknowledged ongoing commuter frustration.

Minns told 2GB, “There’s a technical reason why this happened at Strathfield, but the reality is our on-time running is unacceptable.” He said $1.5 billion is spent each year on rail upkeep, but “we need to do a lot better”.

Some were stranded at stations for over an hour, while others waited for multiple trains before they could board.
Passenger Cecilia Wang waited at Sefton station for 45 minutes, and then later joined the long bus queue at Lidcombe to complete her journey.

Fed up commuter, Marc Miller, on his way to work in St James from Beverly Hills, vented his frustrations.

“All this chaos started from just one broken wire yesterday — it’s been more than 24 hours and the problems are still ongoing, like a snowball effect.

“I just don’t understand how one wire can cause this much disruption. And the issues just keep piling up — the frequency of delays is increasing day after day.

Commuter chaos on Tuesday. Picture: Thomas Lisson

“It feels like there’s always something wrong, especially on weekends. Forget using public transport then. I ride my bike to work on weekends because I can’t rely on it.

“They say they want people to use public transport, but what we’re getting feels like something out of a third world country.

“It was chaos, I’ve never seen anything like it.

“They even had to reverse the direction of the escalator just to get people off the platform.

“We were all crammed in like sardines — I was squished up against the door, and so was everyone else.

“I honestly expected train staff to start using those pushing sticks like they do in Tokyo just to get everyone in.”

“And now the bosses want more money? You must be joking.

Lines growing amid rail chaos on Tuesday. Picture: Thomas Lisson

“Where’s all the money going? Because it’s clearly not going into fixing the current system. “They’re throwing everything at the Metro, especially the Bankstown line. I might catch that line once it’s finished — but from what I’ve heard, the budget’s blowing out and the project that was supposed to be completed by October this year is now delayed.

“All the funding seems to be funnelled into that.”

Bartender Emma, 21, has been waiting at the station for half an hour.

“I’ve been waiting for a train to Parramatta and the platform has changed three times,” she said.

“Luckily my manager is chill about me being late.”

Train arrivals are becoming unpredictable - a train bound for Hornsby arrived on platform 16 despite not being expected for another 9 minutes.

One woman on the platform who asked not to be named said she had seen the expected time creep up from 5 to 10 minutes.

Thousands of commuters who boarded trains on the T3 line in Sydney’s southwest bound for the city had to get off at Lidcombe only to discover they would need to catch the bus-replacement service to Ashfield station where they could catch another train to reach the CBD.

The interminable queue at Lidcombe stretched almost one kilometre with the stench of ibis an added frustration for long-suffering passengers.

Cabramatta administration officer Joe Occhiuto, 64, was waiting in the queue for more than an hour so he could reach his workplace at Hurstville.

“It’s at least a mile long,’’ he said.

Joe Occhiuto waits in a long queue at Lidcombe train station amid commuter chaos on Wednesday.

Legal secretary Susana Timeva was also stuck in the queue at Lidcombe after she boarded the train at Warwick Farm where she thought she could get a train straight to St James station.

“It’s shocking,’’ she said.

“I thought last night was bad.

“I need to be there (in the office) because there’s only two of us in the office today.’’

She blamed Sydney Trains’ poor communication for not informing passengers about needing to get a bus from Lidcombe to Ashfield.

Trains arriving at Central Station were overflowing, and announcements urged passengers to seek alternative transport as delays stretched across nearly every line.

Rail workers surveying the train that hit powerlines near Homebush station. Picture: Thomas Lisson

Power was eventually restored to the damaged track, but Transport Minister John Graham warned the network wouldn’t return to schedule until later in the day. “Trains will start to move again, but it won’t be until the PM that we’re close to timetabled services,” he said.

As a small gesture of relief, the state government announced a fare-free day across the rail network on Monday. “It’s not going to make up for the last 24 hours, but hopefully it eases the pressure on families,” Minns said.

At the height of the crisis, more than 80 per cent of services were disrupted, with entire lines operating without a single on-time train. Commuters faced over 90-minute waits for packed replacement buses.

See how the morning unfolded below.

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