Tens of thousands of peak-hour commuters were stranded on Wednesday because of a serious malfunction on Sydney’s problem-plagued rail network that threatens to undermine the Perrottet government’s infrastructure credentials as it enters the final fortnight of the NSW election campaign.
The shutdown of the entire network for more than an hour during the evening peak due to a communications failure again highlighted the vulnerabilities of the beleaguered rail system, coming after a year of industrial disputes caused disruption to services.
NSW Transport Minister David Elliott said the massive system failure that paralysed the network was likely linked to an internal problem, but he also raised the prospect foul play may have been involved.
“I’m awaiting briefings on whether it was foreign interference or industrial sabotage, but at the moment my understanding is that it was more likely a glitch, but we have to investigate it and rule out the possibility of any other causes,” Elliott told the Herald, without offering evidence.
While Sydney Trains was quick to shut down speculation over the delay being linked to a cyberattack, Elliott indicated it had not yet been ruled out.
The NSW opposition seized on Wednesday’s transport chaos, blaming the state government and demanding it explain how such a major shutdown could occur on Sydney’s rail system.
“The lights are out across our train network, and they are also out in the transport minister’s office,” Labor transport spokeswoman Jo Haylen said.
“It’s clear there is no accountability. No one knows who’s in charge and passengers are yet again paying the price.”
The failure of the digital trains radio system halted all services at 2.45pm, leaving Sydney’s major stations flooded with commuters. Some were turned away from Town Hall station in what staff said was an unprecedented incident.
The rail shutdown had a ripple effect across Sydney’s transit system, piling pressure on buses and light rail services and leading to heavily congested motorways and roads as commuters sought alternative transport.
At Railway Square near Central, hundreds of commuters waited up to an hour for a bus, but most were not stopping because they were already full. People stood on the road, Broadway, hailing bus drivers in vain.
For university student Manas Chigurukota, 17, who moved from Auckland two weeks ago, it was his first taste of Sydney transport mayhem. “It’s quite overwhelming, appalling. I’ve never seen it before,” he said.
About 4.45pm the message that trains were starting to run again spread through the crowd, which began to dissipate as people returned to Central to try their luck.
A prolonged industrial dispute between rail unions and the state government last year led to a 24-hour shutdown of the network by the rail operators in February 2022, and caused sporadic disruptions to services for months.
