Afternoon train delays expected after ‘Frankenstein’ switch farce
Commuters are still struggling to board trains and platforms remain crowded across the rail network as Sydney Trains urge passengers to travel later or delay their trip home.
Sydneysiders are once again enduring major delays on the commute home after a damaged train at Town Hall station this morning threw the city’s rail network into chaos.
Engineers called in to fix the train at the CBD stop were required to flick “Frankenstein” style switches to cut electricity before work could begin.
Sydney Trains boss Howard Collins apologised to passengers and said the almost century-old switches were part of the reason why delays were so long.
“We had to send men and women down tunnels, to pull big switches, to open and close them, which takes hours … it is archaic,” he said.
“They (the switches) are from … the 1920s and 1930s, they are isolation switches which were probably put in when we first electrified.
“They are almost Frankenstein in their look, they do a great job, but as far as I’m concerned, the future for us … is a remote isolation switch where … services are disrupted for 15 minutes rather than three hours,” Mr Collins said.
He said about 250,000 people were travelling on the Sydney Trains network during the morning peak, with many of them experiencing delays which are continuing into the evening commute.
“I dare say a good majority of those people at the end of that peak were feeling the delays as a consequence of this,” he said.
“I’d like to apologise to customers this morning for the significant delays that we have had on our network.”
Mr Collins said a hatch at the very front of the broken down train at Town Hall had been forced open by “external causes”. He said the open hatch which looks like a “car bonnet” was then dangerously close to touching the electrified wires — causing the train to be shut down for safety reasons.
“It has a big clip and a safety device on it to stop it popping up on its own, that was intact, but the hinges had been ripped off their base, and therefore we know … it was an external cause,” he said.
“It’s a fibreglass hatch which sits at the front of the train … it looks like the hinges have been pulled away … it might be a (tree) branch or other things.
“There are definite scratch and score marks at the top of this fibreglass lid.”
Trains on the T8, T1, T3, T2, T9, T5 and T7 lines are still experiencing delays with commuters heading home this afternoon being advised on social media to “take the first train towards your destination” and change trains later.
Just before 4pm, commuters again used Twitter to share photos of crowded platforms and express their frustration with Sydney Trains.
“I thought the issue was in the morning, such a frustrating service,” one user said.
“There are 3 guarantees in life: death, taxes and #sydneytrains messing up,” another angry passenger wrote.
Despite the accounts, Sydney Trains is confident the travel home won’t be as bad as this morning’s peak, posting a message to its multiple social media accounts to reassure customers this afternoon.
“While trains might show that services are delayed, travel times will not be as long as the focus is on providing frequent services during major delays”.
“Please listen to announcement or staff for up to date information as stopping patterns may change at short notice.”
Platforms across Sydney were crowded with travellers for most of the day who reported that signage boards had stopped showing arrival times. One passenger said when an Airport line train finally arrived at Central about 12:30pm, the train was further delayed as it waited for “guard relief” due to staff shortages.
This morning, some commuters chose to exit trains at Redfern and walk into the city as it was faster.
Commuters heading over the Harbour Bridge were being forced onto buses between Wynyard and North Sydney but there was not enough room on the footpath for waiting crowds.
Police were called in to direct the thousands of people waiting for buses.
Uber fares quickly skyrocketed during the rush, with Sydneysiders on Twitter claiming a trip from Newtown to the City was $70, and another trip from Ultimo to Wynyard was $66.25.
“This is why I choose to work from home. Thank you for the great start to my Friday #sydneytrains. Where can I apply for my $70 Uber from Newtown to the city to be compensated and a refund for my train fare @GladysB?,” Twitter user @JordanLomax5 wrote.
Kumar Khatri got on a train a Rockdale and 7am and was left walking around the city following people who didn’t know where to go.
He was trying to get to Chatswood but had to get off the train at Town Hall where he was told to go to Park St and wait for a bus.
“I was waiting at Park St for the bus for an hour,” he said.
“I was waiting at the front of the queue and then they said go to York St. Now we don’t know where to go on York St and nobody is around to help.”
He said it was the first time he had caught the train in a long time.
“I drive everyday but today I had an appointment to get my car serviced so I caught the train. These things happen but they should be telling us where to go.”
University student Charlotte Regan, 23, was trapped on her train for more than 30 minutes with no announcements — sitting just outside Central Station.
She says she normally catches the bus but unluckily choose the 8.10am train from Newtown into the city.
“We’ve stopped completely, just outside Central, trapped on the tracks,” she said.
“They haven’t announced anything, I have to google it. Everyone is sighing and annoyed.”
Frustrated commuters took to social media to vent their anger at the delays.
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