Transport officials say they are hopeful Sydney's train system will now be operating as usual after thunderstorms knocked out vital infrastructure on New Year's Eve.
On Tuesday night - more than 20 hours after lightning and storms struck on New Year's Eve, damaging overhead wiring and signal equipment - Sydney Trains were still struggling with massive delays.
Tens of thousands of people who had converged on the harbour city for festivities crowded into stations and spilled onto streets waiting for trains arriving late and sometimes not at all.
Despite the NSW government encouraging people to leave cars at home and catch public transport in the lead up to the celebrations, many thousands were unable to leave the city for hours.
Authorities blamed the "freak" thunderstorms and record crowds putting massive pressure on the transport network.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she would consider implementing pill testing if her government was shown evidence it saved lives. Source: AAP
However, Premier Gladys Berejiklian confirmed there is no plan to provide commuters with a refund or compensation.
"That is not currently in our plans, no," she told reporters in Sydney on Tuesday.
Passengers at Central Station on Tuesday afternoon. Source: Biwa Kwan
NSW Opposition leader Michael Daley said the government's handling of the situation is "just not good enough".
"What an international embarrassment this is," he said comparing the organisation for the fireworks with the meltdown on Sydney trains.
"The [train] system has got to get over a bit of rain. Eighteen hours later there is still a shutdown. There's something seriously wrong here, and the premier has to explain why."
He accused the government of cutting maintenance to the point the system was failing under slight strain.
NSW Opposition Leader Michael Daley. Source: AAP
Wild weather battered Sydney on Monday evening, causing extensive delays and cancellations across the network.
Multiple major city-bound lines were affected from 6pm on Monday, including T1, T2, T3 and T8.
A spokesman for Sydney Trains apologised to commuters for the delays, saying staff had been working around the clock to resolve the issues.
"A substantial amount of work went into rectifying those faults, with engineers working through those storms to rectify those problems," he said.
"I would certainly like to apologise to customers who were frustrated last night."
Frustrated commuters criticise delays
On New Year's Eve Transport for NSW issued warnings that numerous lines had been affected by lightning striking infrastructure including signal boxes, while police and security staff tried to corral swelling crowds.
Angry commuters vented online, with some reporting delays of two-and-a-half hours on a city-bound train from Lidcombe on Monday night.
- with AAP.
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