Full services resume on Sydney trains after overhead wire failure caused citywide carnage

Transport for NSW has moved to assure commuters that train services are back to normal in Sydney after a major network failure brought two days of chaos and delays.

Sydney Trains is back to operating a normal timetable this morning following two days of chaos across the network, Transport for NSW said.

Transport for NSW moved to ensure commuters that services on both suburban and intercity lines have resumed normal operations, with good frequency across the network.

Only two services remain cancelled — one on the T3 line from Central to Liverpool and another on the T1 from Penrith to Hornsby — due to damaged trains involved in the earlier incident.

These cancellations are confined to peak times and with hope to minimise commuter impact.

It follows an incident when commuters were plunged into chaos just before the afternoon peak on Tuesday, with more than 300 people trapped on the affected train in the inner west for hours before they were evacuated.

unfortunately, the chaos would continue the following day which left commuters stranded at a busy Sydney train station ahead of peak hour.

Train Delays Train hitting a powerlines near Homebush station. Picture: Thomas Lisson

Train Delays Train delays continue at central due to a train that hit powerlines yesterday. Picture: Thomas Lisson

At the peak of the incident, approximately 80 per cent of services were either delayed or cancelled, with only nine per cent of Western Line trains running on time.

Hundreds of commuters even took to social media to vent over the wide spread delays.

Transport authorities also apologised for the major disruption. Picture: Thomas Lisson

“Nothing says ‘world-class city’ like Sydney Trains treating reliability as an optional feature,” one user wrote. “At this point, carrier pigeons would offer more consistent service. The ‘unexpected delays’ are so expected I’ve added them to my morning routine.”

Transport authorities also apologised for the major disruption, acknowledging how frustrating the past two days have been for commuters. Due to this they have announced May 26 a fare-free day on Sydney Trains and Metro services.

A full investigation into the cause of the incident has been launched, with Sydney Trains pledging to co-operate with independent reviewers as announced by the NSW Premier.

Authorities are now seeking to determine how the overhead wiring failure occurred and how similar incidents can be prevented in the future.

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Originally published as Full services resume on Sydney trains after overhead wire failure caused citywide carnage