No wonder Sydney's transport is a disgrace! Minister denies having any knowledge of commuters being turned away from buses - after thousands faced chaos when trains were cancelled
- Trains cancelled on Sydney's north shore line on Thursday for track construction
- Thousands of morning commuters queued for buses that replaced train services
- It occurred as people returned to work or travelled to the India cricket Test series
- Transport Minister Andrew Constance denied commuters turned from buses
A transport minister has denied commuters were turned away from buses as trains were cancelled on a day when thousands of workers were returning from holidays.
Sydney's north shore line was a scene of chaos on Thursday morning as thousands of people queuing for a bus were unable to board on the first day of track work.
Daily Mail Australia witnessed long lines of commuters being unable to board a rail bus at Pymble, Gordon, Lindfield and Roseville before 8am, with angry commuters venting their displeasure on Twitter.
The line closure to upgrade signalling for the upcoming Sydney Metro and Sydney Metro Northwest lines also coincided with the cricket Test against India at the SCG.
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A transport minister has denied commuters (Gordon in Sydney pictured) were turned away from buses as trains were cancelled on a day when many workers returned from leave
New South Wales Transport Minister Andrew Constance, however, denied anyone was turned away from a bus despite queues of at least 30 people at each station.
'I’m not aware of anybody who was turned away from a bus,' he told reporters on Thursday afternoon.
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When the long queues were pointed out the Liberal minister, who lives more than 300km away from Sydney on the state's far south coast, doubled down.
'Just in response to that, they weren't turned away, they had to wait additional time, which we're apologising for, until we were able to get the standby buses to them,' he said.
Sydney's north shore line (Gordon pictured) was a scene of chaos on Thursday morning as hundreds of people queuing for a bus were unable to board on the first day of track work
Commuters weren't impressed and told Sydney Trains their thoughts on Twitter
One woman at Gordon was upset at having to wait a long time for a bus, only to find they were full
Lines stretched for hundreds of metres at Gordon as buses replaced trains on Sydney's north shore line
Trains on Sydney's north shore line will be out of action from Thursday until Monday morning as part of construction work on a new Sydney Metro line, which will connect Chatswood with the city via a new tunnel under Sydney Harbour.
Commuters weren't impressed and told Sydney Trains their thoughts on Twitter.
'This is seriously poor planning. The buses are packed and can't handle the numbers of people returning to work already,' one person said.
One woman at Gordon was upset at having to wait a long time for a bus, only to find they were full.
'More buses need to be on. Waiting at Gordon for 20 mins now and buses are full.
'Lines are massive. Line is hundreds of metres long.'
Daily Mail Australia witnessed commuters being unable to board a rail bus at Pymble, Gordon, Lindfield and Roseville before 8am
Another woman questioned the idea of during track work during peak hour in summer
Another woman questioned the idea of during track work during peak hour in summer.
'When quite a lot of people are already back at work?,' she said.
'Stuffing us on to a hot, overcrowded bus doesn't help.'
Another woman described the timing as 'the most bat s*** crazy idea ever'.
'Who sits around thinking this is a good idea?,' she said.
Sydney Trains chief executive Howard Collins rejected a suggestion the track construction work should have been done over a series of weekends instead of during the week.
Transport Minister Andrew Constance (centre) denied commuters were turned away from buses while Sydney Trains chief executive Howard Collins (left) said this was the best time of the year to do the track work
'I assure you as an experienced railway person, rather than someone who just commentates from the side, this would take eight to 10 weekends disrupting millions of people over a longer period of time,' he said.
Mr Collins said January was the best time to close down the train lines, for construction work on the Sydney Metro, when commuter numbers were 40 per cent lower than the rest of the year.
Chaos on Sydney's north shore line as people queued for buses
'Traditionally, around the world, this is the time ... when we do open-heart surgery while trying to keep part of the patient going,' he said.
Signalling is being upgraded from Chatswood to North Sydney to accommodate the upcoming Sydney Metro and Sydney Metro Northwest lines.
The first stage of the Northwest line is due to open by mid-2019.
Mr Constance admitted there weren't enough buses put on, despite this being day one of the fourth cricket Test against India starting on Thursday at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
'We apologise for the inconvenience, the frustration and anger that was caused to customers this morning,' he said.
'We knew the cricket was on but we didn't expect the numbers we did see this morning and for that we're sorry.'
Extra buses from other parts of the network were later sent to the north shore line, with the minister promising more buses for the afternoon peak period.
The latest Sydney Trains fiasco occurred just days after hundreds of thousands of commuters were stranded on the north shore line on New Year's Eve following lightning strikes hampering signals at Gordon.
This also affected the western and northern lines.
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