Two men have been charged after a “senseless act of vandalism” threw the Sydney rail network into disarray, forcing Matildas fans to endure long delays getting home from Olympic Park.
The incident has raised questions about the security of critical rail infrastructure, with NSW Premier Chris Minns announcing an urgent review.
Trains were affected from about 10 p.m. on Wednesday, the same time the Women’s World Cup semi-final between Australia and England was wrapping up in front of a crowd of more than 75,000.
Two men, aged 47 and 33, have been charged with a slew of offences, including aggravated break and enter, endangering the safety of a person on a railway, and destroying or damaging property.
“Clearly, the government has to look at the security of the transport network, particularly in relation to critical infrastructure,” Mr. Minns told reporters on Thursday.
The men were questioned by police after officers were told cables in a railway signal box had been cut and equipment damaged.
City-bound trains from the Olympic Park precinct, where the game was held, were diverted via the Bankstown line. There were also flow-on delays at other stations, Transport for NSW said.
Sydney Trains chief executive Matt Longland said it was believed a relay room in the city’s inner west was broken into and signal equipment damaged.
“A number of offenders have broken through security fencing, broken into a secure building and tampered with both our primary and our backup system that controls six critical signals between Summer Hill and Ashfield,” he said.
“When the power was cut, the signals have a safety system where every signal in that section will turn to red.
“What that means is during that period, trains cannot move through that section of track.”
NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Tracey Chapman said there was nothing to suggest the vandalism was deliberately targeted at the Women’s World Cup match.
“(It was) simply a senseless act ... which has had a significant impact on so many people,” she said.
The outage caused major delays for train services on multiple Sydney lines, with frustrated fans posting images of crowded platforms across social media.
Transport for NSW said specialist engineers were immediately deployed to rectify the issue, and services were restored within about 90 minutes.
Mr Minns said the government owed an apology to passengers, who showed admirable restraint and understanding in difficult circumstances.
“The government wants to offer a sincere apology to everyone who’s a commuter, a football fan or a concert-goer last night who wanted to get home on time in an orderly way,” he said.
“There are reasons for it, but there’s no excuses for it.
“We’ve got to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Ride-share operators were alerted in a bid to help deal with the crowds, but it took until midnight to clear the Olympic Park precinct.
By 5.30 a.m. on Thursday, train services were back to normal.
The two charged men have been refused bail to appear at Burwood Local Court on Thursday.
