New Year’s Eve 2024 LIVE updates: Australia awaits Sydney fireworks display to ring in 2025
Sydney’s public transport system is running as planned ahead of tonight’s New Year’s Eve celebrations, despite the threat of a small industrial action on the rail network this evening, says the state government.
A spokesperson for Transport NSW has said the body is aware of a plan by the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) to go ahead with industrial action for five minutes at 6pm.
Transport for NSW Coordinator General Howard Collins and Sydney Trains CEO Matt Longland provided an update on New Year’s Eve preparations on Saturday.Credit: Rhett Wyman
“The Sydney Trains team at the Rail Operations Centre will monitor any impacts to services and have plans in place to recover any lost time as quickly as practicable to reduce the impact on our passengers,” they said.
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Sydney’s rail network will run for 46 hours straight over the New Year period after a complete shutdown was narrowly avoided after a truce in pay negotiations was agreed by the RTBU and the state government last week.
Currently, large parts of the harbourside CBD are closed to public transport and cars, as part of pre-planned efforts to control crowds on their way to see the fireworks.
The new Sydney metro line, which has the capacity to move 42,000 passengers an hour, also faces its biggest test yet, with the busiest time on the rail network predicted to be between midnight and 2am.
