Coldplay fans urged to take public transport for an amazing day
With more than 300,000 fans counting down the hours until Coldplay hits Sydney, the city’s public transport network is ready to play its role in what will be some of the biggest gig-going nights of the year.
As Coldplay prepares for four epic sold-out nights at Accor Stadium on Wednesday 6, Thursday 7, Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 November, as part of their record-breaking Music of the Spheres World Tour, ticketholders can utilise an array of public transport offerings to get to and from Olympic Park safely.
Celebrating their visit, Central Station will be awash in vibrant colors in tribute to Coldplay. Fans won’t miss a moment of music, with hit songs by Coldplay playing at Central Station while fans wait to board their express train service to Sydney Olympic Park, as well as for the entire duration of their train ride.
Transport for NSW Coordinator-General Howard Collins said extra train and bus services will be rolled out to ensure smooth a journey at both ends of the evening for Coldplay fans, and take the stress out of a night to be celebrated.
“Tickets for an event like Coldplay go on sale more than a year in advance and similarly our planning for it has been a long time in the making, to ensure we provide the best possible service,” Mr Collins said.
“We’ve done the work so you can leave the car at home and catch one of the myriad public transport options to Accor Stadium – even better if you do so nice and early, and enjoy the bars, food trucks and restaurants in the stadium precinct.
“Hundreds of extra trains and buses will run to Olympic Park, and the cost of travel is already included in your concert ticket, all you need to do is show your Coldplay concert ticket to transport staff when boarding services.”
To make life as easy as possible there will be express and limited-stop trains running frequently from Central, Western and South Line stations to Olympic Park on all four nights, and of course frequent return services after each show.
“Likewise, our fleet of Sydney Olympic Park Major Event Buses will run on all nine routes frequently from mid-afternoon each concert day, and also after the show to get you home,” Mr Collins said.
Mr Collins said that for those for whom the only option is driving, forward-planning is essential.
“We expect there will be some heavy peak hour traffic across the network on the Wednesday and Thursday evenings for the two mid-week shows, if you do choose to drive, please plan your trip and leave home early.”
“Parking usually sells out in advance, so it is essential that you pre-book online to secure a space – and think about car-pooling,” he added.
Fans catching rideshare or taxis or getting dropped off and picked up by friends and family are urged to factor in extra travel time and choose a location away from the immediate vicinity of the stadium as delays are expected while road closures are in place within Olympic Park.
“Allow plenty of extra travel time as there will be heavy traffic and local road closures in the precinct, especially after the gig,” Mr Collins said.
“It may well be more convenient to park at one of our train station commuter car parks and head to Olympic Park from there by train, at no extra cost.”
Fans travelling to other events in the precinct including the Take That concert on Thursday or the Eric Chou concert on Sunday are reminded they need to use an Opal card or contactless payment when travelling by transport to and from Olympic Park.
Passengers are reminded that the final M1 service from Central to Tallawong departs at 12.30am on Wednesday and Thursday, 1.30am on Saturday and 11pm on Sunday.
Final train departures on Sydney Trains Lines will be at approximately 12:30am.
Sydney Trains planned weekend trackwork will see buses replacing Blue Mountains Line trains between Lithgow and Mount Victoria. Trains run between Mount Victoria and Central, some to a changed timetable.
Due to planned maintenance, there will be a full closedown of the L2 Randwick and L3 Kingsford light rail lines on Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 November. Buses will replace light rail services between Central and Randwick/Juniors Kingsford from 5am to 1am daily.
For more information on additional public transport services for the event and to plan your trip, visit transportnsw.info. For real-time updates on roads and traffic conditions, visit livetraffic.com