Outrage as Sydney train lines closed on Mardi Gras weekend: ‘Unbelievable’
Sydney residents are furious after a sudden announcement that a major Metro line will close most weekends over the next two months, the first time on the evening of the city’s annual Mardi Gras parade.
The Metro North West Line, which runs between Tallawong and Chatswood, will be closed for six of the eight weekends in March and April from Saturday.
Rail works will also take place on the T4, T7 and South Coast lines this weekend, with many frustrated locals forced to use bus replacements from Saturday to Sunday.
A number of affected customers took to social media to complain about the inconvenience on one of the busiest nights of the year, when thousands of people descended on the CBD to watch the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade.
‘Mardi Gras night. Incredible. Great forward planning. Do you have enough bus drivers this time?,” one person wrote in response to a Sydney Metro post on X.
“t4 is closed again, fuck me, we’ve had closures over and over again,” said another frustrated customer.
“It seems like the T4 is closed every weekend, how about we just close it for a week and spend some quality time fixing it instead of this nonsense,” a third wrote.
Passengers are warned to allow extra travel time to reach their destination this weekend.
A number of affected customers took to social media to complain about the inconvenience on one of the busiest nights of the year, when thousands of people descended on the CBD to watch the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade
Sydney Metro thanked the community for their patience ahead of what is expected to be a frustrating few months.
“Sydney Metro will conduct tests over the next two months to ensure its trains and control systems can transition seamlessly between the existing Metro North West Line and Metro’s new city section before it opens this year,” a statement said. Said Friday.
Once the extended line opens, commuters will be able to catch a Metro service between Sydney’s northwest and the CBD every four minutes. Sydney Metro claims it will carry more people through the harbor during the busiest hour of the peak than the Sydney Harbor Bridge and Sydney Harbor Tunnel combined.
‘Mardi Gras night. Incredible. Great forward planning. Do you have enough bus drivers this time?,” one person wrote in response to a Sydney Metro post on X
Buses will replace Metro services on the following weekends, from 2am on Saturday to 2am on Monday:
- Saturday March 2 – Sunday March 3
- Saturday March 9 to Sunday March 10
- Saturday March 16 to Sunday March 17
- Saturday March 23 to Sunday March 24
- Saturday April 6 to Sunday April 7
- Saturday April 13 to Sunday April 14.
Buses also replace nighttime Metro services on the following weekday evenings from 8:40 PM to 2:00 AM:
- Tuesday March 5 and Wednesday March 6
- Tuesday March 12 and Wednesday March 13
- Tuesday April 2, Wednesday April 3 and Thursday April 4
- Tuesday April 16, Wednesday April 17 and Thursday April 18.
Travelers can plan their trip ahead by visiting transportnsw.info or using trip planning apps.