Sydney trains chaos: Court orders industrial action rail chaos to cease via interim order ahead of full hearing
Commuters can breathe a brief sigh of relief - their trains services are back on track after Fair Work ordered industrial action cease until it can hear the case next week. Follow live
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Commuters will be spared more chaos on Sydney’s train network after the Fair Work Commission ordered an interim order preventing protected industrial action for one week. from 6.30pm Thursday.
The courts have ordered rail unions to stand down their industrial action until both parties can appear before the court again next Wednesday.
The Commission found that due to the amount of evidence to be heard the court would need to sit over two days next week.
Fed up with Sydney families being “held to ransom”, Premier Chris Minns has moved to end “intolerable” train delays with a fresh legal bid to bust rail union industrial bans.
Earlier on Thursday the government submitted a 424 application to the Fair Work Commission, in a bid to force industrial action to stop and take the union to arbitration
Meanwhile 1000 services were cancelled on Thursday as Sydney transport officials admitted it is difficult to predict which areas of the rail network will face the most disruption.
The catastrophic collapse of Sydney’s train network, where a combination of union work bans and maintenance issues on Wednesday caused almost 2000 cancellations has also led to concerns CBD hospitality businesses may be forced to lay off staff as city workers increasingly opt to work from home due to ongoing disruptions.
THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
• The Fair Work Commission has ordered via an interim order that industrial action cease until next week.
• More than 1000 services have been cancelled across the rail network today as the pain continues in the evening commute
•Wild weather overnight added more transport headaches and may do so again tonight
• Delays of up to two hours have been felt today
Follow live updates below
6.10pm: PROTECTED ACTION ON HOLD
Industrial action that has crippled Sydney’s train network has been put on hold under an interim order following a legal showdown between the NSW government and rail unions.
Protected action should be on hold from 6.30pm Thursday under the order by the Fair Work Commission before further legal action between the NSW government and unions.
The application under Section 424, which empowers the commission to intervene in protected industrial action if it is found to endanger life, personal safety or health, or welfare of people or cause significant damage to the Australian economy or part of it.
After hearing submission sfrom the Combined Rail Unions and Sydney Trains, Fair Work Commission president Alan Hatcher said it would not be practicable to have the legal challenge heard within five days, which is required under legislation.
As a result, a mandatory interim order putting on hold protected industrial action had to be made, Mr Hatcher said.
Under the order, the protected industrial action taken by the Combined Rail Unions will be put on hold from 6.30pm, ahead of a full bench hearing on Wednesday and Thursday next week.
Sydney Trains lawyer Jamie Darams SC earlier said the rail authority would provide nine witness statements “mostly directed to the operational consequences of the work bans in place and the effects of those bans”.
“In particular, we will be relying upon the welfare, endangerment to the welfare and also, I understand at this stage, health and safety,” he said.
James Emmett, representing NSW Industrial Relations Minister Sophie Cotsis, supported the application by Sydney Trains and said they would also provide evidence about economic impact, which would “go to significant damage to an important part of the economy, as well as welfare harm to welfare”.
6.00pm: BACK ON TRACK
Commuters will be spared more chaos on sydney’s train network after the Fair Work Commission ordered an interim order preventing protected industrial action for one week. from 6.30pm tonight.
The courts have ordered rail unions to stand down their industrial action until both parties can appear before the court again next Wednesday. The Commission found that due to the amount of evidence to be heard the court would need to sit over two days next week - Wednesday and Thursday.
5.50pm: HEARING RESUMES AFTER ADJOURNMENT
The NSW government will submit evidence about the health and safety risks presented by devastating industrial action that has crippled Sydney’s train services in recent days, as a showdown over the latest legal bid to stop further chaos looms.
Sydney Trains lawyer Jamie Darams SC said the rail authority would provide nine witness statements “mostly directed to the operational consequences of the work bans in place and the effects of those bans”.
“In particular, we will be relying upon the welfare, endangerment to the welfare and also, I understand at this stage, health and safety,” he said.
James Emmett, representing NSW Industrial Relations Minister Sophie Cotsis, supported the application by Sydney Trains and said they would also provide evidence about economic impact, which would “go to significant damage to an important part of the economy, as well as welfare harm to welfare”.
The hearing, before Fair Work Commission President Alan Hatcher, has resumed for a date to be set for a hearing on the application.
Lawyer Siobhan Kelly, who is representing the Combined Rail unions, said it would ne be “procedurally unfair” to list the matter, given her clients would only have “a matter of hours within which to put on evidence”.
4.30pm: 100 REGIONAL JOBS TO GO UNDER PAY PLAN
Regional workers stand to lose the most under the NSW government’s final pay offer to rail unions, with both sides of the dispute supporting more than 100 job cuts to boost wages for remaining staff.
The Minns government announced its 15 per cent pay offer included an additional one per cent in “cost savings” funded through job losses caused by merging Sydney Trains and NSW Trains.
The restructure would involve an estimated 103 voluntary redundancies over four years, following the shift of 1600 workers to Sydney Trains from the regional operator last year after the entities first split in 2013.
The merger is one of the only conditions backed by both the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) and the government in their protracted dispute.
In the midst of Wednesday’s rail chaos, RTBU NSW secretary Toby Warnes said the union supported the merger, but claimed the government had underestimated the savings.
“The one per cent mutual gain is attributable to the loss of 103 jobs solely,” Mr Warnes told ABC Radio.
NSW Nationals leader Dugald Saunders accused the government and union bosses of looking after their own.
“This offer will mean direct job losses, and it will be non-union members and people in the regions who will be targeted, not union members in the city,” Mr Saunders said.
“Regional residents deserve certainty and stability like everybody else. They deserve the right to be able to put food on the table and to not have their livelihoods taken away as collateral damage.”
Transport Minister Jo Haylen said the merger was an “agreed outcome of the mutual gains bargaining process” resulting in “productivity gains”.
Details of where job would be cut within NSW Trains are yet to be determined.
Ms Haylen vowed regional train services would not be impacted if the deal was struck.
2.10pm: COURT BID TO BE HEARD AT 5pm
The latest legal bid by Sydney Trains to end the Combined Rail Unions protected industrial action will be heard by the Fair Work Commission at 5pm this afternoon.
As Premier Chris Minns outlined at a press conference this morning, Sydney Trains and NSW Trains will invoke section 424 of the Fair Work Act.
That section compels the commission to terminate protected industrial action if it is found the action is threatening significant harm to welfare or the economy.
If accepted by the court, the move would force industrial action to stop and take the union to arbitration
The matter will be heard by the president of the Fair Work Commission, Justice Adam Hatcher.
1.35pm: COST OF STRIKES ‘AT LEAST’ $50M
Business Sydney executive director Paul Nicolaou said modelling from the rail unions’ weekend shutdown last November suggested current strikes could cost the state tens of millions of dollars.
“We estimated that (shutdown) would impact over 1.5 million trips and that the total loss of economic activity to the state would be at least $50.7 million,” Mr Nicolaou said.
“So, with this industrial action we can safely say the impact would be in the millions of dollars to the Sydney economy.”
Mr Nicolaou said the industrial action was a significant “setback for Sydney’s economic recovery” following the Covid pandemic and cost-of-living crisis.
“The current industrial action is impacting workers travelling into the CBD which is having a direct flow-on effect on thousands of businesses across the city,” he said.
“Millions of dollars of lost revenue have been felt by businesses already.”
1.25pm: MINNS WON’T ASK PM FOR HELP
Premier Chris Minns has refused to ask the Federal government to intervene to shut down the rail union’s industrial action crippling Sydney’s train system.
Instead he will wait for the Fair Work Commission to make a decision.
While the government has asked for an expedited hearing to assess a 424 application that if successful would see union members forced to end their industrial action, commuters could still face rampant delays and cancellations of the train line for days.
Mr Minns said he would not ask Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to instruct Federal Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt to file a Ministerial Declaration to the Commission stopping the action.
“I’m not going to speculate conversations I might have had with the Commonwealth,” he said.
“We’re going to treat the current action we have in front of the Fair Work Commission with respect and let them make a decision first but I’m not going to take anything off the table.
“Once they make a ruling then we’ll look at next steps.”
NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman said the Premier should be using every option available to him to stop the chaos, including asking if Minister Watt could be a party on the 424 application.
“It is something that needs to be looked at very seriously,” he said.
“This has now got to the point where every legal lever that is available should be used but it should never have got to this stage.
“This should have been sorted out months ago.”
11.44am: ‘THIS ENDS NOW”: MINNS
Premier Chris Minns says the industrial action chaos had rendered the train network “next to useless”, with more than 1000 services expected to be cancelled today.
As a result the government had this morning submitted a 424 application to the Fair Work Commission, which if accepted by the court would force industrial action to stop and take the union to arbitration, Mr Minns said.
He said the situation was “intolerable”.
“Think about the thousands, the hundreds of thousands of jobs, of opportunities, of economic activity that has been smashed as a result of that massive, wide scale industrial action,” he said.
“We will ask for that (court) decision to be expedited and made urgently by the Commission, and we’re hopeful that the Commission can step in at this point and end wide-scale industrial disruption that’s affecting hundreds and hundreds of 1000s of people.”
Mr Minns said the public has become collateral damage to industrial action which is “smashing the economy”.
“Scenes last night of people scrambling to get home from the station in the face of an oncoming storm, give you all the evidence that you need that this industrial dispute has gone on long enough,” he said.
He forecast 1000 services would be cancelled by the end of today.
Mr Minns said while negotiations continued with the union, they had placed “a noose” around the “neck of the travelling public.
“We don’t mind negotiating with the union if it didn’t mean that literally, nearly every family in Sydney is affected by public transport outages,” he said.
“But when the union says negotiations, what they really mean is that they’re going to continue to put a noose around the public transport system while demanding more and more and more money from the NSW government.”
Transport Minister Jo Haylen said there have already been more than 400 service cancellations on Thursday morning and that only 28 per cent of trains were running on time.
Ms Haylen said despite the deadline given to RTBU to respond to the new 15 per cent offer ending today the government were preparing to take the offer to the members.
“We have put a very fair and reasonable offer on the table, and the deadline for the union’s response is today,” she said.
“ However, unfortunately, their commentary in the media and elsewhere has been that they are not supportive of that fair and reasonable offer.”
Mr Minns said the economic impact of the rail strikes on Sydney businesses would be too big to even measure.
“The economic cost is incalculable,” he said.
“We don’t know how many small businesses have been smashed as a result of 50 per cent of train services operating.
“It’s not possible for the government to collect all of that data.”
11.30am: UBER PRICES SKYROCKET
Sydney commuters are facing skyrocketing Uber fares as train disruptions and extreme storms continue to cause chaos.
Dozens of train services have been cancelled or delayed due to industrial action by the Electrical Trades Union and the Rail, Tram, and Bus Union, forcing commuters to resort to rideshare apps like Uber.
But despite Uber’s cap on surge pricing, fares have still doubled in some cases.
On Thursday. trips between Petersham and Surry Hills rose from $18 to $38, while other riders reported paying $55 for trips that typically cost $30.
Without the cap, fares could have been even higher, although Uber has not disclosed exact figures.
“We know many Sydney residents rely on Uber for safe, reliable rides every day – particularly in the event of a significant disruption to the city’s transport network,” an Uber spokesman said.
The surge cap, introduced in partnership with Transport for NSW, aims to limit excessive fare increases during major disruptions until alternative transport options are in place.
NSW Minister for Transport Jo Haylen said the agreement ensures surge pricing is controlled during serious incidents on the transport network.
Uber General Manager Dom Taylor described the service as an “important safety net” during significant disruptions, underlining its role in helping commuters navigate the ongoing challenges.
11.10am: MINNS MOVES WITH FRESH LEGAL ACTION
The Minns government has launched fresh legal action in a bid to stop union work bans that are throwing the rail network into disarray.
Government lawyers lodged an application to the Fair Work Commission to have the industrial action thrown out, arguing the work bans are having a significant impact on the economy and the welfare of passengers and community.
The government has also asked for an expedited hearing, which could resolve the matter within five days.
10.45am: PAYING TO BE LOCKED ON A TRAIN
Shadow Industrial Relations Minister Damien Tudehope called on the government to refund fares for commuters impacted by the industrial action.
“We locked these people on trains for three-and-a half hours … and the second component of it, they had to pay for the privilege of doing it,” he said.
“Why isn’t the government coming out and telling us they are going to refund all that money?”
Taking aim at the stalemate between the government and combined rail unions, Mr Tudehope said it was time for Mr Minns to find a “plan B” amid reports rail workers will not accept the 15 per cent offer ahead of the Thursday deadline.
“There’s no indication that any of these work bans are going to be lifted,” Mr Tudehope said.
“The government has got to have a plan B otherwise they are just rolling over to this union.”
9.45am: FRUSTRATED COMMUTERS FUME
Frustrated commuters have taken aim at the government and unions over the lack of a resolution.
Bricklayer Joe drain made it as far as Lidcombe station from Pendle Hill at 6am this morning before delays forced him to call off his work day.
After a three hour trip to Annandale on Wednesday, the continued delays mean he’ll go without pay if he doesn’t work.
“If you don’t get there in time then you’re getting docked. It’s really wasting my time going to work,” he said.
“I’ll just lose wages at the end of the day.
“I know the people are disputing and all that but it’s affecting other people too. I really can’t afford to lose a couple days work.”
Mr Drain urged the union and government to resolve the situation quickly.
“They’ve got to sit around the table and do something because you can’t have all these people standing around at train stations.”
Remedial massage therapist Craig Ritchie said he would “probably not” vote Labor again if the strikes remain unresolved.
Along with the train dilemma, the 38-year-old was met with a power outage when he arrived at Kingswood station on Thursday morning due to Wednesday nights storm, which meant he was unable to tap on.
Stranded at Parramatta station after two hours, he was left scrambling to get to Bankstown and was trying his luck with buses, to no avail.
“It’s just frustrating,” he said.
Though Mr Richie understood the union’s stance, he said that didn’t make it any easier for commuters.
“Get what you can … but work it all out.”
Melissa, 44, and her 14-year-old daughter Rachael Wood are visiting Sydney for the week from Wagga Wagga for Rachael’s dance workshop at The McDonald College.
Running late due to the delays, the pair were in the midst of waiting 20 minutes for the next train due to the gap between trains running from Central to Strathfield.
“We’re staying in the city for (Rachael’s) dance thing. Getting there and back every day has been difficult.
“I have to pick her up and drop her off, so (the strikes) have disrupted our travel.
“We’ve paid some money to come here and do this dance concert from Wagga.
“It’s causing us to be late definitely this morning.”
Kim, 52, has been braving the disruptions travelling from Campbelltown to the city each day for work.
“It’s quite annoying and frustrating (with) the time delays travelling … getting to wherever you want to go.
“It’s very, very frustrating.
“Yesterday I had to leave work three hours early to get home for a family commitment. In the afternoon, it’s so frustrating, they stop the Sydenham to Campbelltown train.
“Then yesterday also, they don’t put a display up of where the train’s going so you don’t know how long you’ve got to get up the stairs to get your train.”
Kim said a colleague of hers was forced to drive from Penrith to the office, with another commuting three hours from Fairfield yesterday.
She added that it might ‘possibly’ sway her decision on who she’ll be casting a vote for when it comes round to election time
9.05am: UNION THUGGERY
Opposition leader Mark Speakman lashed out at the government for failing to show force against the rail unions, calling the party the “political arm of the union movement” on Thursday morning.
“This is union thuggery at its very worst,” Mr Speakman told Sky News.
“It’s the poor old commuter who is caught in the middle of this and why has this come about? It’s because you’ve got an extraordinarily greedy set of unions wanting a 32 per cent pay rise on the one hand, and on the other hand you’ve got a weak Minns Labor government.
“The union smells blood, they realise this is a government beholden to unions.”
Mr Speakman urged the government to take legal action with the Fair Work Commission to stop the industrial action for the sake of the economy.
It comes after Transport Minister Jo Haylen vowed to explore legal options to restrict the union on Wednesday afternoon.
“There is the power there at the moment for the government to make an application to the Fair Work Commission if there is significant damage to a significant part of the Australian economy,” Mr Speakmand said.
“This is hurting business, you’ve got fewer people coming into the city, fewer people going to work, it’s caused industrial chaos and ultimately economic harm at a time when the economy is very flat, when we’ve seen seven successive quarters of GDP going backwards and declining living standards.
“This is the last thing we want.”
9AM: PRESSURE MOUNTS ON ALBANESE TO ACT
Deputy Leader of the Opposition Michaelia Cash said the Prime Minister has the power to stop the rail chaos but instead he “sits back and does nothing.”
“It is an absolute joke. It is Australia’s largest city. It is being held to ransom. The public are being held to ransom. They are inconvenient. And Mr Albanese sits back and does nothing,” she said on 2GB.
“Lets be clear, under the fair work act, the federal Industrial Relations minister can intervene to swap the strike if it causes significant damage to the Australian economy or an important part of it.
“So the powers are there. But do you really think they’re going to do that?
“Because Mr. Albanese has given the unions virtually unrestricted power in Australian workplaces.
“That was always his plan. And quite frankly, this is utterly appalling. What is going on?”
8.55am: SOCIAL MEDIA ERUPTS WITH FURY, HUMOUR
A commuter has shared their Wednesday journey which usually takes 30 minutes on TikTok.
The entire journey, which consisted of “heat, transfers and delays” shared by one user with the comment “Just trying to get to work to afford a coffee with tax”
Another TikTokker, Frances Eden simply asked if Sydney had anything else it could throw at her today.
It came after an already delayed commute was hampered by rain.
8.50am: MINNS URGED BACK TO THE BARGAINING TABLE
Speaking to Sky News on Thursday morning, RTBU President Craig Turner called on Chris Minns to return to the bargaining table after the premier cut his holidays short to deal with the rail crisis.
“We’ve been on this (pay dispute) for nine months, we haven’t heard from the premier since December 6 and I’m glad he’s back today,” he said.
Mr Turner insisted the RTBU was still in public favour and doing its “best” for commuters.
“I know it’s bad for everyone, but to blame the RTBU at every turn is wrong, we always try to do our best for the commuters,” he said.
“There’s two parties in this, if the government had come to the table 42 days ago, with the premier, we could have got this done.
“The premier’s got my number, he needs to give me a call.”
8.30am: NO MORE EXPRESS TRAINS – WORST TO COME
Transport for NSW said current delays of up to 20 minutes across the network will worsen throughout the morning.
Urgent track repairs at Homebush and scheduled track work at Gosford will substantially impact commutes on The Central Coast and Newcastle Line, and T7 Olympic Park line.
Buses are currently replacing trains between Lidcome and Olympic Park.
Meanwhile, commuters at Penrith station on Thursday morning were told to switch platforms to catch a train to the city, and were told there would not be any more express trains to central.
One staff member at the station then told a Daily Telegraph journalist there would not be anymore express trains for at least an hour.
The Sydney transport app Tripview showed every Penrith to Central service with real-time data either showed significant delays, or services cancelled.
8.15am UNION BOSS: IT’S NOT JUST OUR FAULT
Sydney train commuters are once again facing delays, with many opting to work from home to avoid the network altogether.
Ongoing industrial action by the RTBU has already led to the cancellation of 130 services.
NSW Secretary Toby Warnes emphasised that unions are not solely at fault.
“We take instructions from our members. Our members are still very much behind us; they are in this fight for the long term,” he said on Today.
“We’ve had this fight in recent memory with the last Liberal government. We didn’t expect to have it with the Labor government.
“Unfortunately, it has gotten ugly when things like what happened yesterday happen. It is easy to use the Union as a scapegoat.”
Mr Warnes said the union “were not holding the people of Sydney to ransom” and insisted critical maintenance issues were to blame for Wednesday’s chaos. “Our ban of driving the trains a little bit slower does not cause the sort of disruption we saw yesterday, and hopefully today runs a lot better than yesterday,” he said.
8am: TRANSPORT APOLOGISES
Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink issued an apology to commuters affected by the disruptions, as more than 1900 services were cancelled.
“Across the day, only 4.7 per cent of services ran on time or within five minutes of their timetabled time – 95 per cent of services were either delayed or cancelled,” the statement read.
“1913 services were cancelled, and, 035 services were delayed by the end of the day.
“Only one of our 327 timetabled afternoon peak services ran on time or within five minutes of their timetabled time – meaning all services, barring one Intercity service, were late or cancelled.
“More than 260 services were cancelled in the afternoon peak – that’s more than 80 per cent cancelled.”
7.45am: MINNS RETURNS AS STOUSH ESCALATES
NSW Premier Chris Minns has returned back to work from holidays amid widespread rail chaos across the state.
It comes after calls mounted for Mr Minns to take control of his government and bring an end to the rail unions’ industrial action, as Sydney commuters struggle through a second day of crippling delays and cancellation.
It comes as Transport for NSW conceded more than 1913 services were cancelled on Wednesday.
Speaking to 2GB on Thursday morning, executive director of rail operations, Jas Tumber admitted the number of services cancelled blew-out as wild weather and 350 work bans ravaged the network.
He said that figure was “approximately 40 per cent of services in total”.
“So very, very challenging day for our frontline teams, which was capped off with the wild storms that finished last night, which again knocked out lots of power for the rail network as well as trees coming down.”
Mr Tumber said major service reductions and delays would continue throughout the day, compounded by the “impact of critical maintenance that wasn’t completed at Homebush yesterday (and) is ongoing today as well”.
Transport for NSW confirmed critical maintenance at Bondi has been completed overnight and the T4 and South Coast services are on track to resume normal operation by Friday.
7.40am SHOCK VISION SHOWS STORM’S IMPACT
Wednesday night’s wild storm added to Sydney’s rail woes, causing chaos across the city.
While the weather has eased, rain and strong wind warnings remain for Greater Sydney.
The storms disrupted roads, grounded flights at Sydney Airport, and forced the abandonment of an A-League women’s match.
Passengers braving Sydney rail services following the day’s interruptions shared footage of Town Hall station and other inner-city stops lashed by rain.
One passenger showed a train at Town Hall pulling up to a flooded platform and a rain-soaked carriage floor.
Fallen trees caused power outages at Lidcombe, Cabramatta, and Flemington, while flooding at Town Hall and signal failures at Shellharbour Junction added to the disruption.
By 7.30pm last night, 40 per cent of services had been cancelled due to industrial action.
The union is expected to respond today to the State Government’s 15 per cent pay offer.
7.30am BUSINESS FEELING IMPACT OF ACTION
Paul Nicolaou, Executive Director of Business Sydney, said the situation is pushing businesses to their limit.
“Businesses have got rising costs, they’ve got challenges that are really difficult for them, and they were hoping that 2024 was behind them and that 2025 was going to be a brighter year. It seems that that’s not the case,” he told 2GB.
Transport for NSW warns of more delays and cancellations today, urging commuters to work from home if possible.
However, widespread power outages mean some won’t have that option, leaving many Sydney residents grappling with disruption.
‘STRETCH YOUR LEGS’: WE’LL BE HERE A WHILE
Blue Mountains Line trains were stopped for an hour, moving at a snail’s pace between Parramatta and Flemington as a series of T1 Western line services were cancelled en masse.
It took one intercity service an hour to travel from Parramatta to Flemington station, with a conductor announcing he was “uncertain” as to how long the delays would last.
He told passengers to get out and “stretch your legs”.
One train was 57 minutes behind schedule as of 7.30am.
7.10am: 100 TRAINS CANCELLED ALREADY
More than 130 trains had been cancelled as of 7am, with Transport for NSW expecting the most severe disruptions to be on:
•T1 North Shore and Western line
•T2 Leppington and Inner West line
•T3 Liverpool and Inner West Line
•T8 Airport and South Line
However, all lines are still being affected by cancellations and delays.
6.50am: NO TRAINS AT MULGRAVE AND RICHMOND
Trains were not running between Mulgrave and Richmond in the city’s west, impacting the T1 Western line and the T5 Cumberland lines.
Buses are replacing trains in this section.
6.30am EXPECT LENGTHY DELAYS ALL DAY
A statement on the Transport for NSW website said the afternoon is expected to be even worse than this morning.
“Passengers will continue to experience lengthy delays, service cancellations and very large service gaps on the rail network for this afternoon’s peak and tomorrow,” the statement said
“This will particularly impact the T1 North Shore and Western, T2 Leppington & Inner West, T3 Liverpool & Inner West, T4 Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra, T8 Airport and South, Blue Mountains, South Coast and The Central Coast & Newcastle lines. These impacts will also have a flow-on effect across the network.
“Buses will support train services on some lines, where available and required.”
Transport for NSW urged people to delay non-essential travel and allow extra time for their journeys.
“You may need to change services and there may be increased crowding,” the statement said.
“Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink apologise to our passengers for the disruption, and thank commuters for their understanding as staff work to minimise the impacts of this industrial action.”
6.10am: HUGE AMOUNT OF SERVICES CANCELLED
Critical overnight maintenance at Gosford and Homebush was not completed due to a lack of support from the Combined Rail Unions, leaving essential infrastructure “booked out of use” and causing significant delays.
While work on the Bondi Junction line has been finalised, reducing strain on the T4 line, incomplete maintenance at Homebush and Gosford means commuters should prepare for delays similar to those seen yesterday.
As of Thursday morning, widespread cancellations are already affecting popular routes across Sydney, including the T1 North Shore & Western Line, T2 Leppington & Inner West Line, T4 Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line, and T8 Airport & South Line.
Between 5am and 9am, 14 inbound services on the T1 line towards the city and 17 outbound services heading west have been cancelled. On the T4 Waterfall line, 33 services are cancelled, while the T8 line has seen 48 cancellations. The T1 line from Hornsby is missing 33 services, and the T2 Inner West Line is short 25.
The T8 Airport Line is the hardest hit, with 80 services cancelled, disrupting journeys to and from the airport and the city.
5.45am: STORM RECOVERY ADDS TO HEADACHES
A huge number of traffic lights are out in Sydney’s northwest and southwest according to 2GB, which could wreak havoc on the city’s roads.
Multiple stations including Lidcombe and Cabramatta were without power last night.
And Town Hall’s concourse flooded during intense raid.
Meanwhile more than 100,000 people across the city were without power after a night of monster storms, which led trees to fall on wires in Normanhurst and Bell, with other trees down in Epping and Turramaurra.
It could potentially throwing working form home plans out the door.
Ausgrid’s latest update, at 10pm on Wednesday, said: “This evening’s storms and lightning have caused damage to our network and left over 120,000 customers without power. Customers have reported over 300 electrical hazards.
“Extra emergency crews will continue working throughout the night to remove a significant amount of debris, attend to hazards to make areas safe and work to restore power as soon as possible.
As of 5.45am, the Ausgrid Map showed 199 unplanned outages and almost 100,000 site still affected.
Tens of thousands of Endeavour Energy customers were also without power.
5.30am: UNION’S CALENDAR OF CHAOS
Sydney’s train network collapsed in a catastrophic heap on Wednesday, as a perfect storm of union work bans and maintenance issues caused more than 1000 services to be cancelled, delaying some services by up to six hours.
There are now warnings hospitality businesses in the CBD will need to retrench staff if the matter is not resolved due to city workers choosing to work from home.
The delays left commuters irate, with some considering changing jobs closer to home and others imploring train drivers to: “Take your pay rise and just do your damn jobs”.
And, in a petty snub to voters, The Daily Telegraph can reveal that the Rail, Tram and Bus Union plans leave commuters in Kogarah and Summer Hill completely stranded later this month by not stopping at the stations for a day, targeting constituents in Premier Chris Minns and Transport Minister Jo Haylen’s own electorates.
And it could get worse, according to internal RTBU communications.
A calendar of chaos circulated to RTBU members, industrial action will worsen from Friday, with union members refusing to manually override a centralised system that controls the network’s traffic lights, which could spark more delays.
Do you have a story for The Daily Telegraph? Message 0481 056 618 or email tips@dailytelegraph.com.au
Originally published as Sydney trains chaos: Court orders industrial action rail chaos to cease via interim order ahead of full hearing
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