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The NSW Minister for Transport John Graham has made a statement on the Sydney transport chaos this afternoon.

He says:

I have this evening been briefed at the Rail Operations Centre by Sydney Trains CEO Matt Longland and Howard Collins, TfNSW Coordinator General.

This is a very serious incident in a critical part of the rail network and we apologise to all train passengers affected and trying to get home tonight.

The position of the train at Strathfield is a major artery of the network and has caused huge disruption.

Passengers have now been taken off the stranded train that was entangled in wiring, as well as three other trains that were stopped with passengers onboard.

Teams are now working to cut the entangled train away and an assessment made of recovery work needed. We will update on how that work progresses tonight and any flow-on impacts into tomorrow morning.

Sydney Trains is running shuttle services that avoid the Strathfield – Homebush area to the north, west and south-west.

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All the votes in Goldstein have finally been counted and Liberal Tim Wilson has defeated independent Zoe Daniel by 128 votes.

Wilson’s lead, which was only 204 votes this morning, narrowed considerably with the small amount of postal votes counted today, but there were not quite enough in Daniel’s favour. Preference distribution is still to come, but unless it skews wildly towards Daniel, then Wilson has won.

With no votes left to count, Liberal Tim Wilson has defeated Independent Zoe Daniel to win Goldstein by 128 votes.

— Antony Green – elections (@AntonyGreenElec) May 20, 2025Share

Updated at 04.02 EDT

Elias Visontay

Sydney transport officials consulting Google Maps to help commuters find a way home

Communications between train workers in Sydney also appear to be strained as a result of the outages caused by this afternoon’s accident.

Frustrated commuters who swarmed around rail workers at Central station asking how they could get home, didn’t get clear answers from transport officials but were diverted to nearby bus stops.

Commuters look hopefully at signs advising passengers of train delays at Town Hall station. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

The Guardian saw transport officials checking Google Maps to work out routes home for commuters, relying on that data rather than on internal Transport for NSW communications.

Confusion was heightened by platform announcements at odds with information displayed on station screens for each train service. At one point, a train that appeared to be headed for the airport – which was packed with travellers – emptied abruptly as a platform announcement informed passengers that the train on the neighbouring platform would instead operate the airport service.

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Updated at 04.03 EDT

Passengers now being escorted off stranded Strathfield train

As we noted earlier, the public transport chaos in Sydney this evening was caused by an incident near Sydney’s Strathfield stations in which live high-voltage electrical wires collapsed on to a train containing about 300 passengers.

Passengers are escorted along the tracks near Strathfield station. Photograph: ABC news

Commuters are now being evacuated from the train, with news helicopters capturing footage of them disembarking one by one.

Passengers are escorted from the train stranded after live electrical wires fell on top of it. Photograph: Nine newsOnce out of the train, passengers must walk along train tracks. Photograph: ABC newsShare

Updated at 03.56 EDT

Luca Ittimani

RBA’s Bullock: monetary policy shouldn’t be used to control housing prices

The Reserve Bank governor, Michele Bullock, has said state and federal governments have to “step up” to fix the housing shortage, amid economists’ predictions today’s interest rate cut will see house prices surge.

All four major banks committed to drop their home loan rates by the end of the month after the RBA cut interest rates this afternoon, the second rate cut this year.

While that would drive homebuyer activity and lift home values, Bullock said her priority was jobs and consumer prices.

If the right thing to do in terms of employment and inflation is to lower interest rates, I think we have to accept what that might imply for housing prices.

If we start thinking about, ‘well, do we lower interest rates because of housing prices,’ we’re going to take our eye off the ball.

Bullock said the onus was on federal and state governments to resolve the underlying housing shortage.

I acknowledge that some people are worried that as interest rates come down, housing prices will rise, but other policies have really got to step up here.

While Bullock refused to say whether more rate cuts were on the way, markets are expecting at least another two this year, and to come sooner rather than later, raising their bets from a one-third to a two-third chance the rate will be cut at the next meeting in July.

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Updated at 03.49 EDT

Elias Visontay

Sydney commuter frustration mounts as train chaos continues

Rose Bilyk was at Central to catch a train home to the Fairfield area.

Passengers wait at Town Hall station after a power outage caused peak hour chaos. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

She lives on the T3 line, and previously relied on the Bankstown-Sydenham train line which is now shut for conversion to Metro. Her only alternative rail route in recent months has been to go via Strathfield – the centre of today’s chaos.

She said:

This is nuts, they have totally isolated south west Sydney because the only passage we had left was via Strathfield.

There is no train alternative for me, and they have cut the bus routes, so I have to try get as far south west as I can and then just get an Uber.

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Updated at 03.44 EDT

Coalition splits: the Nationals are breaking up with the Liberals after election defeat – video

The Nationals will enter into a new agreement with the Liberal party, ending the formal coalition for the first time since the 1980s. The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, said MPs had made the shock decision after a breakdown in negotiations with the opposition leader, Sussan Ley.

Catch up with that news here:

Coalition split: the Nationals are breaking up with the Liberal party after election defeat – videoShareElias Visontay

Sydney commuters pack Central station platforms, confused about train services

There were chaotic scenes at Sydney’s Central station this evening as thousands of commuters stood on crowded platforms hoping to board trains home.

Trains along the main western suburbs line were not moving, with carriages at crush capacity as commuters boarded, seemingly unaware that many services had been cancelled because of an accident involving high-voltage wires collapsing on the top of a train earlier in the day.

Commuters stranded at Central station. Photograph: Elias Visontay/The Guardian

Station staff have erected tape to block entry to various platforms, but commuters remained unclear about the closures, with many ducking under the barriers to continue to platforms.

Jordi Bradley had travelled to Central for what she thought would be a quick transit to an express train home to Meadowbank, but soon realised she’d be spending much more of her evening on platform 19 than she had expected.

It’s a good thing I’ve got no plans tonight because I don’t think I’ll be getting on a train anytime soon.

There were people heading to the airport on the train I was on to get here, but they’re now stuck at Central with their luggage.

She has decided to wait on the platform rather than board one of the overcrowded trains

Nothing is moving.

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Updated at 03.33 EDT

NSW SES says more riverine flooding expected, several emergency warnings still in place

The SES has performed 58 flood rescues since intense rainfall began in NSW this week.

The State Emergency Service says more riverine flooding is expected this week with further intense rainfall forecast for the Mid North Coast. A number of emergency warnings remain active.

The Hunter River at Raymond Terrace. Heavy rain continues to cause widespread flooding across parts of NSW. Photograph: Dean Sewell/Oculi Photos/The Guardian

The current status of major rivers is as follows:

• The Gloucester at Gloucester is above the major flood level and rising.

• The Manning at Taree and Wingham is at moderate flood level and rising, with emergency warnings asking people in some low-lying areas of Taree and Wingham to evacuate.

• The Williams peaked at major flood level and is now dropping, but more rain could cause more riverine flooding.

More than 140mm of rain is expected over the next 24 hours, with some isolated places expected to receive as much 200mm. Flash flooding and further riverine flooding is expected in coastal catchments.

Evacuation centres are open at Dungog RSL, Club Gloucester, Club Taree, Manning Point Bowling Club and Wingham RSL.

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Updated at 03.25 EDT

Cait Kelly

Victorian tenants group disappointed no extra funding for affordable homes in state budget

Victorian Public Tenants Association CEO Katelyn Butterss says it is “disappointing” the Victorian government has provided no increase for housing “Victorians really need” in its budget, which was handed down today.

The Victorian government has made no additional funding commitments to help Victorians stay in safe and affordable homes.

As demand only continues to grow for public housing in the state, the government must prioritise safety and security for public tenants and their access to homes.

Last week, the Victorian Housing Peaks Alliance released research showing Victoria needs 377,000 new public and community housing homes by 2051 to meet demand. To get there, VHPA is calling for annual growth of 7,990 homes a year each year for the next decade so that Victoria can reach the national average.

Butterss said:

If we want to end homelessness in Victoria, and ensure that everyone has a home who needs one, this needs to be Victoria’s next big project. All Victorians will be poorer if we do not make this an urgent priority.

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Updated at 03.16 EDT

Adeshola Ore

Jurors watch CCTV footage of Erin Patterson at a petrol station day after lethal lunch

Here’s an update from the Erin Patterson trial.

Jurors have been shown CCTV footage that captured Erin Patterson at a BP petrol station in Caldermeade the day after a lethal lunch in July 2023.

The prosecution has called their next witness, detective senior constable Khuong Tran, who is part of the homicide unit. He was involved in investigating the deaths of people who attended a lunch at Patterson’s home on 29 July 2023

Tran was responsible for obtaining CCTV footage from the service station as part of the investigation, the court hears.

In the footage, Patterson is seen getting out of a red vehicle parked outside the service station.

Patterson then enters the toilets inside the service station for nine seconds, the court hears. When she returns, she browses items on the shelves and in a fridge before heading to the counter.

Patterson then leaves the service station and returns to her car.

The footage, which lasts for about three minutes, is dated 30 July 2023 and starts at 3.19pm.

Patterson has pleaded not guilty to three charges of murder and one of attempted murder.

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Updated at 03.11 EDT

Transport NSW: Sydney train chaos not caused by ‘lack of maintenance’

Collins says the issue should be resolved tonight, but it might create other problems for tomorrow’s services so commuters should check service announcements in the morning.

He says he strongly believes the incident had “nothing to do with a lack of maintenance”.

The live wires are “life-threatening”. Given the amount of voltage and ampage, “it will kill you straight away”.

The really important thing is to understand, whilst there might be a lot of frustration from people out there, we want to make sure this is safe. I’ve seen the pictures. The wire is sitting on the roof. It is dangerous to actually get people [out of the train] until we fully confirm that everything is switched off and fully earthed and isolated. That is being done. Now, I’m sorry it’s taking so long, but we need boots on the ground, [it’s a] very complex area with six tracks and loads of cabling and isolation. It does take time.

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Updated at 02.59 EDT

Transport NSW: rare to see ‘catastrophic event of this nature’ on Sydney train system

Collins says dealing with the main train that has the power issue is the first priority – isolating the power, and getting the hundreds of people on the affected trains safely off them and home. He says:

This is obviously an unusual situation. It’s very rare to see a catastrophic event of this nature. But we will get to the root cause, and I’m sure City Trains will carry out the full investigation.

The good news about the investigation is this is a B-set train. It has all the CCTV on it. It has a good computer diagnostics, so we should be able to understand whether it was the wire or the trains involved, but that will take some time.

Commuters emerge from Sydney’s Central station in the hope of catching buses home, after train services were cancelled. Photograph: Scott Borcherdt/The GuardianShare

Updated at 02.53 EDT

Transport NSW: Avoid travelling by train in Sydney today

The Transport for NSW spokesperson, Howard Collins, says there aren’t many transport options for commuters.

I’d ask customers and passengers to be aware that if you are not travelling, please do not do so on the rail network, there are limited services in other areas. The only area not affected by this is the T4, under the south coast and central services. The rest of the other lines, including the airport line and other services on the North Shore, are impacted by this significant delay.

Once we isolate the power and get everyone clear of the area, we will be able to use the remaining four lines which are available to us to move trains in the area, but we cannot do that until we know this wire, which is on the top of the train, has been made safe.

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Updated at 02.47 EDT

Commuter chaos in Sydney as high-voltage wires collapse on train

A train accident, in which high-voltage wires have collapsed on the top of a train in Strathfield, has caused commuter chaos in Sydney, shutting down the entire westbound line.

A Transport for NSW spokesperson says response teams are on site:

They are now working to ensure that the correct isolations are put in place to remove the 300 passengers on that train, and also a couple of trains which are caught where the power was switched off in an emergency.

The most important thing here is safety, making sure we do that under safe conditions and [that] there’s no risk of the power being switched on by accident or other means. So once we’ve done that, our own response team plus also the assistance of police and other emergency services will safely evacuate those people.

Eyewitnesses have told Guardian Australia there’s a stream of thousands migrating from the Central concourse to Railway Square to catch westbound buses.

Meanwhile, Transport for NSW has activated the agreement with Uber against unreasonable surge pricing during this incident at Strathfield and its flow on effects.

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Updated at 03.33 EDT

Littleproud: party will ‘do whatever it takes’ to improve the lives of Nationals supporters

Asked if he acknowledges the Liberal and National parties cannot be in government without each other, Littleproud says:

I totally understand that, but with that comes what is important to each other. This is really important to the National party and people that we represent, electorates we represent. I think it’s a very strong message to this electorate that we have a healthy democracy, we have got people that you sent to this parliament, and they will do whatever it takes to make sure that we change your lives for the better. That’s the commitment I give, and the commitment my party room gave today, as tough a decision as it was.

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Updated at 02.36 EDT

Littleproud admits there was less than an hour between Nationals deciding to quit Coalition and telling Ley

After that denial, Littleproud seems to backtrack a bit – acknowledging that there was less than an hour between the party room making its decision to leave the Coalition and telling Ley.

Littleproud says:

I think that is quite reasonable considering that [the] decision was coming. I made it clear to Sussan that a decision would be predicated in that room at 8am this morning and when I was done, I would advise [her] of the outcome.

Littleproud says this was “not a couple of weeks’ of policy work” but rather “months of going back through the process”.

He says he would “rather be upfront with people and look them in the eye and tell them what we believe in and what we need to have an agreement, and if you cannot facilitate that than you do that in respectful way”.

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Updated at 02.29 EDT

Littleproud says process to split Coalition began ‘last Thursday’

Nationals leader David Littleproud is speaking to the ABC in the wake of Liberal leader Sussan Ley’s press conference about the split in the Coalition.

Littleproud denies reports that he only gave Sussan Ley 30 minutes’ warning about the split. He says the process “started last Thursday”.

Nationals Leader David Littleproud has denied he only gave Sussan Ley half an hour’s notice about quitting the Coalition. Photograph: Lukas Coch/EPA

In fact, Sussan Ley wanted to come to Canberra, to leave her dying mother, and I wouldn’t allow that. I drove to Albury, and then obviously we had discussions subsequently for that, and over the weekend when her mother died, obviously we were in no hurry but she wanted to get to a junction of being able to form a shadow cabinet, and to do that, she needed to have a coalition. We had a discussion about those policy areas that we wanted cemented in that way as part of the Coalition, so we weren’t asking for anything new that we wanted to have certainty around those, so these discussion took some time.

Then there was a process in my party room that we had to go through, and this wasn’t my decision individually, it was of the collective, and then had a process that I had to get my federal management to get ratification, then as soon as that was done, I went and saw Sussan personally and we had a discussion. So we followed the process and respecting the personal circumstances that Sussan is facing and making sure she dictates the terms.

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Updated at 02.25 EDT