Travel Alert: Major Delays and Cancellations Impacting Journeys in New Zealand

• Commuters urged to 'avoid travel' on Sydney trains
• A live wire dropped onto an approaching train, resulting in significant delays.
• EXPLORE FURTHER: Scary incident as train doors stay open during the journey

People who commute are being asked to avoid traveling today. Sydney 's train network as major delays and cancellations cause widespread chaos.

On Tuesday afternoon, the network suddenly ground to a halt when a train passing through encountered downed high-voltage lines above the tracks close to Strathfield station in Sydney’s inner-west. This incident led to a power failure.

Significant service interruptions within the rail system persisted through today, with multiple routes still being covered by bus replacements across various parts of town.

Transport for NSW warned commuters early Wednesday that significant delays and cancellations would continue to plague Sydney’s rail services throughout the day, including the T1, T2, and T3 lines.

'Those intending to use the rail system today should consider avoiding travel altogether or look into using alternate forms of transportation where they can,' stated Transport for NSW.

'If travelling on the network is necessary, only a few shuttle services will be running.'

'In case you need to travel, make sure to prepare in advance and allocate additional time for your journey. Currently, we have services operating across all routes; however, they are less frequent than usual.'

'Sydney Trains crews have been laboring through the night and successfully eliminated a faulty train and finalized repairs on the overhead wires that led to significant disruptions across the railway system yesterday.'

About 22 bus services will be supplementing trains between Lidcombe and Ashfield from 6am.

'Sydney Trains apologises again to passengers for the inconvenience of the continuing disruption,' Transport for NSW said.

'It's expected the work will be completed later this morning and we will look to transition to normal timetabled services for the afternoon peak services.'

Around 300 passengers aboard the overcrowded train struck by live electrical lines remained trapped for approximately three hours until each carriage was removed one at a time as part of their evacuation process.

New South Wales Transport Minister John Graham characterized the circumstance as perilous and posing extreme danger due to a 1500-volt power connection lying atop the train.

"This is indeed a highly significant occurrence, taking place right at the core of Sydney's railway system," Mr Graham stated to ABC News.

Mr Graham stated that the train's pantograph hit the overhead wires, resulting in the damage.

Video footage depicted affected passengers being guided off the train and making their way along the tracks to reach safety.

A power failure led to three additional trains stopping, prompting officials to arrive at the scene for passenger evacuation.

Strathfield serves as a key junction for several routes, and this particular event disrupted service on all Sydney Metro lines excluding the T4 line.

The metro, light rail, and local bus services were not affected.

Teams will conduct their last inspections on Wednesday morning prior to restoring electricity across six routes at Homebush and then beginning operations.

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