Sydney light rail line knocked out by fallen tree
By Ben Cubby
A tree blown down by high winds blocked the light rail line at the Fish Market in Pyrmont at 11.40am on Saturday and 67 people had to leave the tram by walking along the tracks.
Damaging winds blew down trees across Sydney and large areas of coastal NSW, with emergency services receiving over 500 calls for help across the state, while the cold blast brought heavy snow to alpine regions.
High winds caused scaffolding to collapse from a building in Manly, hitting the car of a woman in her 40s. She was uninjured.
Sydney Airport was restricted to using a single runway and some ferry services were cancelled due to rough seas.
The light rail line was still closed between Fish Market and Dulwich Hill late on Saturday afternoon, with buses replacing light rail services.
Passengers had to remain in the blocked tram for more than an hour because the tree damaged power lines and electricity had to be switched off before people could be evacuated. A branch also struck a window on the vehicle, cracking the glass.
Branches on the tram’s power lines near Sydney Fish Market on Saturday.Credit: Nine
Police officers, Fire and Rescue NSW staff and transport workers co-operated to bring all passengers to safety, with no injuries by 1.15pm.
“Technical crews remain on site to assess the damage; however, repairs are expected to take some time,” the line’s private operator, Transdev, said in a statement issued at 3.30pm.
Emergency services handed over management of the incident to Transport for NSW at 2pm.
Damage after the tram was hit by a branch.Credit:
A severe weather warning for damaging winds was put in place by the Bureau of Meteorology at 12.44pm.
Winds reached 80km/h in Sydney Harbour and 108km/h at Port Kembla in the Illawarra, while Thredbo clocked one gust at 107km/h as well as 27 centimetres of snow.
Fire and Rescue NSW said calls for help for weather-related incidents peaked between noon and 2pm. Sydney’s north shore had the largest number of storm-related incidents, a spokesman said.
The warning for damaging winds relates to Sydney, the Illawarra, parts of the Mid North Coast, the Hunter, South Coast, Central Tablelands, Southern Tablelands, South West Slopes, Snowy Mountains, Northern Tablelands and the ACT.
The winds are expected to ease overnight, with Sydney expecting a high of 19 degrees on Sunday. Big surf conditions are expected off Sydney on Sunday, which are expected to be hazardous for swimming, surfing and rock fishing.
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