'Not great': Trains cancelled, delayed across the whole network

Major train delays caused chaos for travellers on Sunday after a new signalling system implemented on Saturday night failed to be installed on time.

The result was lengthy delays as trains were cancelled along a critical section of track between Central and Strathfield.

Sydney Trains CEO Howard Collins said the delays were caused by a "massive change" of the signalling system.

"The plan was from last night at 11pm to 6am this morning we'd get that work done. It took longer, there were some issues with the software," Mr Collins told Seven News.

Passengers crowd platforms at Central station on Sunday.
Photo: Seven News

There were 400-500 engineers working on the installation which took until 9.30am to complete, Mr Collins said, before "a couple of blips" caused further delays.

On social media, passengers heaped criticism on Sydney Trains management for not communicating about the delays.

Some people reported being stranded in stationary carriages between stations.

Sydney lawyer Nick Karam was one of those affected by the delays, with a quick commute into the city for work turning into a lengthy ordeal.

"I got to Lidcombe at 10am to get the 10.03am [train] as this was one of the few trains on the TripView app showing as going straight from Lidcombe to Wynyard," Mr Karam said.

"We were forced to get off at Redfern - this was around 12pm. I decided that an Uber was going to be better than going to another train that may or may not get me to Wynyard."

"Usually the trip is 20-25 minutes. I didn’t get to work until 12.30pm. So it turned into a 2½ hour trip.

"It was not great and I don’t think any 'global' city should ever be in a position where essentially the entire system is down."

The delays impacted thousands of train passengers with services affected on the T1 North Shore and Western line, the T2 Inner West line, Newcastle and Central Coast line, and Blue Mountains line.

Buses were replacing trains between Central and Strathfield in both directions, and between Hornsby and Chatswood.

According to Sydney Trains, the delays were caused by "extended overnight trackwork".

"Train services are experiencing major delays after extended overnight trackwork and customers are advised to delay all non essential travel," according to the Transport NSW website.

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