Wild weather stops rail services on multiple lines with impacts to continue into tomorrow
There were several weather-related service impacts throughout today, with the Central Coast and Newcastle line worst hit after trees fell on overhead wiring in two locations.
The first incident occurred at Dora Creek, with high voltage electrical wires coming to rest on top of a passenger and freight train. No one was injured and the 60 passengers on the Newcastle bound service were safely transferred to a replacement bus.
Assessment of the infrastructure damage is underway and engineers will commence repair work when it is safe to do so. At this stage, we are anticipating impacts at Dora Creek into tomorrow, and potentially later this week, following the significant damage.
The second incident involving a tree and overhead wiring on the Central Coast and Newcastle line occurred at Koolewong, with trains unable to operate between Hawkesbury River and Gosford.
Trains from the city will end at Hawkesbury River and services from Wyong towards the city will end at Gosford until further notice. Shuttle services will be operating between Hawkesbury River and Central, stopping at all stations.
On the Hunter Line, no trains are running between Newcastle Interchange and Scone/Dungog, due to flooding on the tracks at Sandgate.
On the T1 Western Line and Blue Mountains Line, trains were disrupted due to a tree crashing through the driver’s windscreen and impacting overhead wiring at Kingswood, while a tree is blocking the track at Lapstone. As a result, trains are not running between Valley Heights and St Marys in both directions.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for multiple parts of the east coast with destructive winds and heavy rainfall to continue through the night.
Passengers who need to travel on rail should allow plenty of extra travel time and check transport apps before leaving for their destination to get the latest service information.
For the latest public transport information, visit www.transportnsw.info or download a transport app for real time updates.