A massive backlog caused by the Wednesday afternoon complete shutdown of the Sydney trains network spilled over into other public transport and sparked an Uber price surge that was slammed by the transport minister.
Trains resumed service after 4pm after a communication issue hours earlier brought the entire system to a standstill – but the travel nightmare remained with “serious delays” for the rest of the evening.
Buses, trams and ferries were packed with commuters seeking an alternative way home.
As a result of the chaos, the cost of rideshare services soared as surge pricing kicked in.
An Uber from Central Station to the airport was quoted at almost $90 around 3.30pm, while a trip from North Sydney to the Shire was seen as high as $280.
Transport Minister David Elliott slammed the rideshare giant.
“I’m absolutely disgusted that Uber have decided to take advantage of an unfortunate situation in Sydney,” he said.
“I have had consistent reassurances from Uber this wouldn’t occur.”
The rail chaos kicked off when a “critical” radio system connecting train crew signallers and the Rail Operations Centre failed about 2.45pm.
‘Extremely rare’ failure brings down whole system
All trains were stopped at station platforms for about an hour and a half after the “extremely rare” network-wide failure of the Digital Train Radio System, with station doors shuttered and hordes of people gathering outside.
Massive delays continued for the rest of Wednesday evening as Transport for NSW warned commuters to try alternate options or delay their trip for at least 60 minutes to avoid further congestion.
In addition to the delays on the train network, disruptions were also impacting other transport services, with one 9News.com.au reporter on his way home describing bus stops as “absolute chaos”.
Adding to the confusion, some commuters were told a bus ride was their only option as station gates were shut, only for services to be unable to pick up new travellers due to massive overcrowding.
Buses were still seen at full capacity after trains had started running again.
Many schoolchildren on their way home were impacted by the disruptions, with large groups of students seen among the huge crowds of delayed travellers.
Inside nightmare commute as Sydney comes to standstill
“Sydney Trains apologises to our customers for the delays experienced across the train network this afternoon,” Transport for NSW said in a statement shortly before 7pm.
“Train services were restored around 4pm, however customers are advised to avoid train travel where possible and consider alternative arrangements as there will be disrupted services with significant gaps in some areas.
“Trains are expected to return to a normal service for tomorrow morning’s peak.”
Sydney Trains chief executive Matthew Longland said the network had to be halted for safety reasons after the “critical” radio system’s failure.
“We experienced failure of our critical train radio system across the Sydney rail network,” he said during a press conference.
“For safety reasons, that meant we had to bring trains back to platforms so that customers could safely hop off those trains.
“Engineers tried to reset the system. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to reset the train radio system. As a result we cut the system across to our back-up site.
“That switching took place around (3:45pm). And … at around 4:00pm this afternoon, trains have progressively recommenced operations across the Sydney Trains network.
“Whilst trains are running again, we will see significant delays for the remainder of the peak period.”
Longland said while the radio system had been upgraded over the weekend, that was not believed to have caused the failure.
He also said a cyber attack was not suspected, and promised an investigation into the incident.
“We’ve got trains running again, and we will fully investigate the root cause of this particular incident,” Longland said.
Problems blamed on ‘glitch’
But the transport minister left the door open to possible foul play.
NSW shadow transport minister Jo Haylen described the rail shutdown as a “complete failure”.
“The lights are out across the Sydney transport network and the lights are out in the transport minister’s office too.
“No-one knows who’s in charge and passengers are paying the price yet again.”
Crowds form as confused commuters denied train home
Stations were earlier closed off to customers in an attempt to stop huge crowds from building up, but large crowds of commuters were still seen waiting on platforms on the city’s third-straight day of 30-degree temperatures.
Transport for NSW said no one had been trapped on trains during the period they were brought to a standstill.
“We have managed to move all trains to platforms and there are no people trapped on trains,” it said just before 4pm.
“People were able to safely get off trains.
“Air conditioning and public announcement systems are working.”
