Scathing review slams Sydney’s train network failures and a ‘lack of care’

An overhead wire that crippled Sydney’s rail system in May, stranding passengers and causing major delays for days, was detected as a problem as far back as 2020 but never fixed, a scathing review of the beleaguered network has found.

Following the review’s release on Tuesday, the Minns government will inject an extra $423 million into the heavy rail network over the next four years, highlighting the need to boost investment in the old system at the same time as it completes construction of three metro rail lines.

Binoculars used by rail staff to carry out inspections of wiring were found by the independent analysis to be “insufficient for the job”, and did not detect the issue that led to the meltdown in May.

The review was highly critical of the length of time between a train becoming entangled in the overhead wiring at Homebush on May 20 and the network’s recovery two days later, saying it was “far too long”.

It found that communications with passengers and within the rail operations centre at Alexandria was inadequate, adding to confusion and delay. The operations centre came under heavy fire for lacking a clear chain of command.

Transport Minister John Graham said the review made for “tough reading” and showed that the rail network, which carries a million people every working day, was “not up to scratch”.

“Missteps and mishandling of the response ensured two days of chaos on our city’s public transport system when a well-managed response could – and should – have limited disruption to one day,” he said.

The extra $423 million to be injected into the rail network over the next four years will go towards upgrading rail tracks, signals, overhead wiring and drainage in flood-prone areas.

Coalition transport spokeswoman Natalie Ward said the train network had deteriorated under the Minns government, noting that defects were at an “all-time high”.

“This government’s had three budgets to invest in the rail network. Instead, it’s rearranging chairs, rearranging the operations centre, appointing new heads,” she said. “It’s all talk and spin. None of it results in a better commute for rail passengers.”

The review found staff detected in 2020 that the overhead wire at Homebush was not up to standards and the defect ran for 630 millimetres, but that no one flagged it for immediate repair.

Over the following four years, crews conducted visual inspections of the same wire and failed to detect any issues.

Sydney Trains chief executive Matt Longland said the key findings from the review were that the wiring fault should not have occurred, and should have been picked up in the inspection process.

“Secondly, the response and the repair took far too long. This incident should have been contained,” he said. “It should have been repaired that evening, and we should have been running a normal timetable the next day.”

Longland said a number of changes had been made to leadership in maintenance and operations following the Homebush incident, and a “handful” of people had left the agency. A 30-year railway veteran has been appointed to head incident management at the rail operations centre.

As part of a maintenance overhaul, Sydney Trains will declare “maintenance critical zones”, starting with the Homebush-Strathfield corridor where multiple lines converge.

The review, led by transport and infrastructure expert Kerry Schott, is the second into Sydney’s heavy rail network in just over two years. A final report from the first review, which was released early last year, made scores of recommendations, including the need for a “fleet support strategy” to resolve poor performance.

The Schott report said a disturbing feature on May 20 and the next day was the “absence of effective communications”, noting passengers stuck on the train did not know what was happening. “We could find no defensible reason why it took so long to detrain the passengers at Homebush,” it found.

“A confusion about safe rules for detraining in this type of incident occurred even though a 2024 incident at Redfern had posed the same issues. We were also concerned about the lack of care offered to the 300 passengers on that train. No attempt to take their details or follow up if requested was made.”

The report noted a failure of power at the busy junction in the heavy rail network at Homebush was always going to have a major impact, and the only services not severely disrupted were on the T4 Eastern Suburbs and Illawarra line.

It also found a focus on time-based rather than risk-based maintenance was a major contributor to the heightened risk of major failures of the kind experienced in May.

“Maintenance activity should be risk-based rather than time-based so it focuses on those areas that are critical because of their location or function,” it said. “Other maintenance should be done, but critical assets need extra care.”

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