Govind Tekale
A falling 1,500-volt power cable brought Sydney’s train network to a standstill today, stranding hundreds of passengers and creating chaos across the city’s public transport system. The incident occurred when a train’s rooftop power collector, known as a pantograph, became tangled with overhead electrical wires near Homebush station.
Transport Minister John Graham called it “a very serious incident” that affected almost every train line except the T4 South Coast service. Around 300 passengers waited over two hours inside the affected train while emergency crews worked to make the scene safe.
Eighteen-year-old passenger Sophie Jones described the tense moments inside: “We sat there for two hours just watching these men talk. Eventually, they had to take off the drivers’ seat compartment and put up ramps at the front of the train because we couldn’t walk off the platform.”
Howard Collins, Transport for NSW coordinator general, explained why the evacuation took so long: “The power connection device on the train collided with a number of wires. We needed to shut off power to the cable before attempting to remove the passengers.”
The timing of the incident – just before afternoon peak hour – created a ripple effect across Sydney’s transport network. By late afternoon, most train services were either cancelled, running late, or missing entirely. Less than 10% of services were running on time by evening.
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The location near Strathfield station made this incident particularly disruptive. “We have had these incidents before, as recently as last year, but it’s the location that’s really magnified its impact,” Graham noted. “So many lines run through this one Strathfield-Central corridor.”
Replacement bus services proved inadequate for the stranded commuters. Many faced difficult choices between long walks, expensive ride-shares, or hours-long waits. Despite agreements with Uber to limit surge pricing during transport emergencies, many commuters reported significantly higher fares. One passenger, Emma, said her usual fare of around 110-150 dollars jumped to 250.
Transport crews worked through wet and windy conditions into the early hours of the morning to clear the damaged train and repair the overhead wiring. Officials expect some disruption to continue into tomorrow’s morning commute.
Collins dismissed suggestions of maintenance issues, describing the incident as “an unusual situation” and “a catastrophic event.” Transport for NSW will analyze CCTV footage and computer diagnostics to understand exactly what caused the wire collapse.
The incident highlighted both the complexity of Sydney’s rail infrastructure and its vulnerability to single-point failures. When one critical connection point fails in a busy corridor like Strathfield, it can paralyze much of the city’s rail network, affecting the million people who move around Sydney daily.
