Sydney peak-hour commute plunges into chaos as trains are brought to a standstill across the city – leaving thousands of workers stranded
- Emergency maintenance was conducted at Lidcombe station on Wednesday
- It plunged the train system into chaos with thousands of workers stuck in Sydney
- The emergency maintenance affected the entire Sydney Trains network
The Sydney peak hour commute has plunged into chaos after ‘urgent’ track repairs were required in the city’s west.
The emergency maintenance at Lidcombe station affected the entire City Rail network on Wednesday afternoon.
Thousands of workers were left stranded in the city after delays of up to half an hour were expected for most services leaving the CBD.
The Sydney peak hour commute has plunged into chaos after ‘urgent’ track repairs were required in the city’s west (Wynyard Station pictured)
Sydney Trains took to Twitter to urge commuters to allow extra travel time due to significant delays.
Buses are replacing trains between Campbelltown and Macarthur in the city’s south-west to assist with timetable recovery.
‘Some services are experiencing delays due to urgent track equipment repairs at Lidcombe earlier,’ it wrote.
‘Please allow additional travel time, check real time apps and indicator board or listen to announcements for up-to-date-information.’
Furious commuters have expressed their outrage on social media, with many blaming poor communication.
‘What a mess Sydney Trains is… get on the train, get off the train,’ a commuter wrote on Twitter.
‘Indicator boards aren’t changing and someone softly announces a change in platform… wake up Sydney Trains.’
Images taken at Wynyard Station show large crowds of people standing on platforms, while schedules show trains delayed by up to half an hour.
Meanwhile, signs at stations in the city claim multiple services were leaving from the same platform at the same time.
‘Here we have an example of Sydney Trains disregarding the laws of physics… in that two objects may not occupy the same space at the same time,’ one person wrote as two trains were due to leave the station at the same time.
‘Sydney Trains are an absolute joke,’ another angry commuter said.