Sydney commuters outraged as trains grind to a halt in morning peak hour

Train stations and bus stops across Sydney are filled with snaking lines of frustrated passengers following the latest breakdown on the Sydney Trains network.

Stranged passengers line the platform at Rhodes station after a technical issue at Town Hall brought services to a standstill.

Stranged passengers line the platform at Rhodes station after a technical issue at Town Hall brought services to a standstill. Source: Twitter/pfh007

Sydney’s public transport network is strained after a train breakdown at Town Hall station prompted delays across the rail network.

A technical issue led to the closure of the North Shore line between the centrally-located Town Hall and North Sydney at around 5.20AM.
The T1 Western line, T2 Inner-west and Leppington line, T3 Bankstown, T8 Airport and T9 Northern line have also experienced flow-on delays.

 

T1 Sydney Trains took to Twitter to confirm crews had been working frantically to help clear the backlog.
Despite the best efforts of technicians, Sydney's commuters remain unimpressed by the added frustration on the Friday morning trip to work.
Those travelling from Newtown in Sydney's inner-west were forced back out onto the street to find alternative arrangements.
Replacement buses have been deployed to ease the commuter chaos however travellers are reporting significant queues to access the backup services.
Transport authorities maintain commuters should allow plenty of extra travel time to reach their destination, with Sydney Trains staff now forced to defend the maintenance procedures of the organisation.
Ridesharing services have recorded a spike in demand with some commuters furious over the surge pricing usually enforced during conventional peak periods.

In one example, a base Uber fare from Sydney's CBD to Artarmon on the North Shore would cost stranded passengers $106.05 - a surge fee four or five times the regular cost.

 

The rail headaches are just the latest in a number of problems on Sydney's train network.

Metro passengers were left fuming on Tuesday when a mechanical problem disrupted services, bringing the much-hyped driverless vehicles to a halt for the third week in a row.

SBS News has sought comment from Uber Australia.


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2 min read

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By Adam Marsters, Kulasegaram Sanchayan



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