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Aussie residents get complimentary train travel on Monday
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Opal gates and readers to be turned off
Australia’s busiest rail network will open its gates for fare-free travel to make up for commuter headaches when an overhead wire failure caused days-long delays.
On Monday, travel will be free on all
Sydney
Trains, Airport Link, and metro services within the Opal network.
The Opal gates and readers will be deactivated, so passengers won’t have to tap on and off.
The complimentary travel will not cover buses, ferries, light rail, regional train services, or coach tickets, which will continue to require regular fares.
The
NSW
government announced the changes on Saturday to placate frustrated commuters after a ‘nowhere-near-good-enough’ power outage caused carnage to the network on Tuesday.
A live wire suspended above train tracks near Strathfield station at Homebush hit a passing train, triggering a power outage and creating chaos for hundreds of thousands of travellers.
On Wednesday morning, commuters lined up at stations throughout Sydney, awaiting a sparse supply of substitute buses that were also hindered by heightened traffic congesting the city’s thoroughfares.
The repairs to the overhead wires were finished on Wednesday, however, Premier Chris Minns admitted that the performance of Sydney Trains has not met expectations.
Transport Secretary John Graham stated that over one million individuals would gain from the complimentary transportation, though he did not anticipate this would offset the disruptions experienced earlier in the week.
“We recognize that it tested the endurance of an entire city,” he stated on Saturday.
We expect more from the system, and the NSW government is committed to enhancing reliability and maintenance.
A ‘short and sharp’ independent review is also set to assess maintenance, punctuality and customer communications across the network.
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