How the train debacle played out in the World Cup semifinals
10:22 p.m.: Stuck in the crowd of passengers, one viewer tweeted the debacle as “Major technical failure of Sydney Trains, stranding”. [thousands] at Sydney Olympic Park after the Matildas game,” reports that train crew “continue to question people [to] ‘Provide and listen’.”
10:30 p.m.: The sold out Luke Combs concert concludes at Qudos Arena bringing 20,000 people to the crowd.
23 o’clock: Police are called to Brown Street, Ashfield, where they are told that cables have been cut and equipment damaged in a railway signal box. Specialist engineers from Sydney Trains are on site.
11:06 p.m.: Sydney Trains issues another update stating: “Due to vandalism of equipment at Ashfield, some trains are delayed, may have changed stops and journey times may be longer.” Work teams on site; However, we have no forecast for trains to return to normal.”
11.30 p.m.: Technicians restore signal services 90 minutes after the on-site call.
11.40 p.m.: Sydney Trains is advising some stranded passengers awaiting eastbound trains to board a westbound train to Lidcombe instead, before boarding a T3 Bankstown Line train and traveling back into the city “as a diversion to the affected area”. . Others use buses. Burgess and his two friends – who waited unsuccessfully for about an hour for a Central-bound train – are among those taking the Lidcombe option and walking to the westbound platform, where they will board a train within 10 minutes. Burgess says Lidcombe station is “pandemonium” when they arrive.
“There were no announcements there either. Everyone stood at the information boards, it was totally congested. The staff tried to help but they also looked like headless strangles.”
After squandering the prospect of a $125 Uber ride to Marrickville, the trio hop on the first city train to pull into the station — “One stop to Central via Bankstown, I think that took forever.”
11.45 p.m.: Prime Minister Chris Minns arrives at Sydney Olympic Park train station for a meeting with staff and speaks to passengers who are still stranded. On Thursday, Minns said there was “a clear communication at the time from a traffic officer named Stephanie, who spoke into the microphone directly to the ground and explained the delays, told people where the trains were going, downtown or west, and … “ Keeping people informed. I’m not suggesting that this was the case from the beginning of the incident, but that’s probably due to a lack of information.”
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Midnight: Two hours after the end of the World Cup semi-finals, the crowds at Sydney Olympic Park have disappeared.
12.20 p.m.: Burgess’ train arrives at the Erskineville station. Like countless others who were at the game or the concert, he doesn’t get home until late after midnight. “It was just unbelievably bad. It was ridiculous.”
1 am: Police are arresting two men who they believe broke into the Ashfield restricted-traffic facility and damaged vital signaling infrastructure. Damian Zac Stewart, 47, and Anthony Joel Pike, 33, have each been charged with multiple offenses including aggravated burglary to commit a criminal offense and criminal damage. They appeared in court on Thursday.
