Sydney, you may or may not be aware of the massive train delays that are currently at work across our entire city's rail network. Disclaimer: it’s big, and it’s looking like it’s going to be our reality for the next 12 months (at least), with an estimated 600,000 commuters set to be affected. We're set to spend more time on those things we know a little too well – train replacement buses.
This is clearly a bit of a shit time, so we are answering everything you may want to know about Sydney's latest train issues.
What’s happening with Sydney trains right now?
The Minns NSW Labor government is currently in the middle of a massive $97 billion railway maintenance blitz that has been described as the “biggest ever” rail fix in Sydney. This is happening in the wake of a review that showed a massive amount of backlogged maintenance issues with Sydney’s century-old rail network after years of neglect. To try and get our trains up and running to a standard of efficiency befitting of a major urban city (and to prevent further issues), these repairs reportedly have to go ahead. That doesn’t mean that it doesn’t suck though.
When are the delays happening on Sydney trains? And which trains lines are affected?
Track work will shut down a number of major rail lines from midnight Friday to midnight Sunday on many weekends for the next year. This means that, often, instead of getting trains on the weekend, you might be on a train replacement bus. We know. We’re sorry. The rail lines that are affected seemingly change all the time, but you can stay ahead of all trackwork developments with Transport NSW’s travel alerts, and you can also consult this hefty PDF that tells you the whole future planned trackwork calendar.
What am I meant to do in Sydney if I can’t get the train?
You’ll have to get train replacement buses, catch regular buses or the light rail. There aren’t that many commuters who enjoy a train replacement bus, but they should be clearly signposted and (hopefully) reliable enough to get us all through what Haylen has referred to as “a year or so of pain”. Also, until September 10, you can get a free DiDi ride for any trip in town that costs $20 – so that’s kind of a fun silver lining. We all love a free ride.
For most commuters in the Emerald City, having to deal with the never-ending nightmare of train delays and transport chaos over the last few years has been nothing short of exhausting. The one good thing about this new development is that, if all goes to plan, we’ll be back on track and running smoothly again with a transport network that doesn’t regularly go into shut down mode.
Together, we can get through this. Just pack your headphones, because if you’re on a train replacement bus, you’re gonna need them.