No compensation for Sydney train passengers affected by delays after storm
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Delays are still affecting train lines across Sydney more than 20 hours after lightning and storms struck on New Year’s Eve, damaging overhead wiring and signal equipment.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said there is no plan to provide commuters with a refund or compensation.
“That is not currently in our plans, no,” she told reporters in Sydney.
NSW Opposition leader Michael Daley said the government’s handling of the situation is “just not good enough”.
“What an international embarrassment this is,” he said comparing the organisation for the fireworks with the meltdown on Sydney trains.
“The [train] system has got to get over a bit of rain. Eighteen hours later there is still a shutdown. There’s something seriously wrong here, and the premier has to explain why.”
Wild weather battered Sydney on Monday evening, causing extensive delays and cancellations across the network.
Multiple major city-bound lines were affected from 6pm on Monday, including T1, T2, T3 and T8.
A spokesman for Sydney Trains apologised to commuters for the delays, saying staff had been working around the clock to resolve the issues.
“A substantial amount of work went into rectifying those faults, with engineers working through those storms to rectify those problems,” he said.
“I would certainly like to apologise to customers who were frustrated last night.”
At 9.30pm on New Years Eve, it took passengers more than an hour to ride the two kilometres from Town Hall to Redfern and even longer after the midnight fireworks.
Tens of thousands of people who had converged on the harbour city for festivities crowded into stations and spilled onto streets waiting for trains arriving late and sometimes not at all.
Frustrated commuters criticise delays
Transport for NSW issued warnings that numerous lines had been affected by lightning striking infrastructure including signal boxes, while police and security staff tried to corral swelling crowds.
Angry commuters vented online, with some reporting delays of two-and-a-half hours on a city-bound train from Lidcombe on Monday night.
Despite the NSW government encouraging people to leave cars at home and catch public transport in the lead up to the celebrations, many thousands were unable to leave the city for hours.
Engineering crews were dispatched at the first sign of trouble but many services were still delayed on Tuesday morning and some into the afternoon, with officials hopeful all would be normal again by Wednesday.
Premier says ‘freak’ storm to blame, Labor points to maintenance issues
Premier Berejiklian said the “freak” thunderstorm and record crowds put massive pressure on the system.
“We’ve seen many New Year’s Eves where things have gone fantastically smoothly; unfortunately that wasn’t the case last night and I completely accept why people would feel frustrated,” she told reporters.
Opposition Leader Michael Daley accused the government of cutting maintenance to the point the system was failing under slight strain.
“Last year the government said the train system broke because it was too hot and dry,” he said.
“Today they’re saying the train system broke last night because there’s too much water and there was a storm.”
“The people of Sydney who came in to watch the fireworks last night have a simple question for the premier and her minister to answer: What the hell went wrong? Why can’t Sydney just get it right on the biggest night of the year?”
Acting deputy police commissioner Mark Walton thanked passengers for their patience as they made their way home from the world-famous fireworks spectacular.
“Due to the storms, there were delays across the public transport network and as a result, police were holding crowds away from train platforms for safety reasons and to prevent overcrowding,” he said in a statement.
Central Station was hardest hit by the lightning, with overhead wiring and signal equipment damaged.
Buses were in use instead of train services on many lines heading west from the CBD.
– with AAP.
Article source: https://hollywoodlife.com/2018/12/19/stars-who-used-fame-for-good-2018-pics-eg18/
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