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Industrial Action impacts for Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink passenger services

Sydney Trains will run a regular train service on Thursday 21 November, including the planned 86 additional special event services to Sydney Olympic Park for the Pearl Jam concert.

However, there are some service reductions and cancelled services on the Sydney Trains Intercity Network today which will continue through the weekend, due to Protected Industrial Action.

This will impact passengers including those travelling to and from Newcastle, the Central Coast, the Blue Mountains, the Southern Highlands, and the Illawarra.

At this stage the notified bans in place by the union will mean services won’t run on the heavy rail network on Friday 22, Saturday 23, and through to the morning of Sunday 24 November.

Alternative transport

Transport for NSW is working to offer emergency transport options if there is an inability to run rail services due to the RTBU bans. These include:

  • Didi and Uber have confirmed they will limit surge pricing in Sydney during the industrial action, however commuters should be aware prices will likely be higher than normal in hotspots (like entertainment precincts) due to the need to encourage drivers to those zones.
  • Sydney Metro will uplift services to run every four minutes all day Friday until 8pm, where it will shift to eight-minute services until the last train from Central to Tallawong at 01:30 Saturday. Metro will then be in shutdown for scheduled maintenance work.
  • Sydney Light Rail services will have an increased frequency between 7am and 7pm on Saturday, similar to a Friday timetable.
  • A major event bus plan is under development for Sydney Olympic Park, but will not be able to cater to all usual routes or capacities. This will be confirmed ahead of Saturday.
  • Official transport apps and websites are being updated with disruption warning messages for passengers, however still show train services as these are still timetabled in the hope of services being available.
  • Passengers on NSW TrainLink services will still be able to purchase tickets for pre-booked services however will be advised that refunds may be necessary once service plans are clarified.
  • Motorists are advised that major roadworks are scheduled on the M7 near Roper Road, and at the Warringah Freeway Upgrade this weekend.
  • Transport for NSW Transport Commanders and additional incident response resources, including tow trucks, will be deployed across the weekend.