10.22pm: One spectator stuck in the throng of passengers,who describes the debacle on Twitter as a “major Sydney Trains tech fail,stranding[thousands] in Sydney Olympic Park after the Matildas game”,reports that train staff are “continuing to ask people[to] ‘standby and listen’.”
10.30pm: The sold-out Luke Combs concert ends at Qudos Arena,adding 20,000 people to the throng.
11pm: Police are called to Brown Street in Ashfield,where they’re told cables in a railway signal box have been cut,and equipment damaged. Specialist Sydney Trains engineers are deployed to the site.
11.06pm: Sydney Trains issues a further update,saying that “due to vandalism of equipment at Ashfield,some trains are running late,may have changed stops,and journey times may take longer. Work crews are on-site;however,we have no forecast for trains to resume normal running.”
11.30pm: The engineers restore signalling services 90 minutes after being called to the site.
11.40pm: Sydney Trains advises some stranded passengers waiting for eastbound trains to instead hop on a train west to Lidcombe,before changing to a T3 Bankstown Line service and doubling back towards the city “as a diversion around the affected area”. Others resort to buses. Burgess and his two friends – who waited about an hour for a train towards Central without luck – are among those who choose the Lidcombe option,crossing to the westbound train platform where they get on a train within 10 minutes. Burgess says Lidcombe station is “pandemonium” when they arrive.
“There were zero announcements there as well. Everybody was standing at the information boards,it was totally blocked up. Staff were trying to help,but they just looked like headless chooks too.”
After dashing the prospect of a $125 Uber trip to Marrickville,the trio jumps on the first city bound train that pulls into the station – “an all-stops to Central via Bankstown I think,it took forever.”
11.45pm: Premier Chris Minns arrives at Sydney Olympic Park train station for a briefing with staff and to speak to passengers who are still stranded. On Thursday,Minns said at that time there had been “clear communication from a transport official named Stephanie,who was speaking directly to the ground with the microphone and explaining the delays,telling people where trains were headed,to the city or west,and keeping people up to date. Now,I’m not suggesting that was the case from the very beginning of the incident,but that’s probably as a result of a lack of information.”
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Midnight: Crowds clear at Sydney Olympic Park,two hours after the World Cup semi-final ended.
12.20am: Burgess’ train arrives at Erskineville station. Like countless others who were at the match or concert,he arrives home well after midnight. “It was just hilariously bad. It was ridiculous.”
1am: Police arrest two men who they allege broke into the restricted transport facility in Ashfield and damaged critical signalling infrastructure. Damian Zac Stewart,47,and Anthony Joel Pike,33,have each been charged with multiple offences,including aggravated break and enter to commit an indictable offence,and damaging property. They faced court on Thursday.