Overhead wiring fault causes train delays in Sydney
Train services in Sydney were delayed in the morning due to an overhead wiring fault in Chatswood. Passengers travelling towards the city centre between Gordon and Chatswood on the T1 North Shore line were transported by replacement buses. As ABC News Australia reports, the disruptions affected the T1 and T9 Northern lines the most.
Counterweight malfunction
Sydney Trains chief executive Matthew Longland said that overnight in Chatswood, the overhead wire supplying power to trains lost tension. According to him, the cause was a malfunction of one of the counterweights — heavy weights that maintain tension and keep the wires in the required position.
Longland noted that counterweights are inspected regularly, and the company will review the maintenance history of this section and determine whether there had been previous incidents there. Repair crews worked throughout the night. By morning, the main work had been completed, but additional work was required before power could be restored and normal train services resumed.
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Buses and route changes
Fourteen replacement buses were launched for passengers, and additional staff were deployed at stations. People were urged to allow more time for their journeys. Sydney Trains advised those travelling to the city centre from Chatswood to use the Sydney Metro, while passengers from the Hornsby area were advised to take the T9 line via Strathfield.
Services on the T1 Western line were also changed: some trains from Penrith, Emu Plains and Richmond, which usually travel to Lindfield and Gordon, terminated at North Sydney station. Central Coast line trains to the city centre ran via Strathfield.
Second incident in 11 days
This is already the second overhead wiring incident in Sydney in 11 days. On August 14, another fault caused major delays to daytime services, while hundreds of passengers had to be helped off trains after overhead wires fell onto a train. At the time, Transport for NSW secretary Josh Murray said that every centimetre of the overhead wiring had been inspected as part of a 2.1 billion Australian dollar rail network upgrade.
