Latest news with #freeTravel
Daily Mail
25-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Free train rides for millions of Aussies TOMORROW - what you need to know
Australia's busiest rail network will open its gates for fare-free travel to make up for commuter headaches when an overhead wire failure caused days-long delays. On Monday, travel will be free on all Sydney trains, Airport Link, and Metro services on the Opal network. Opal gates and readers will be turned off and passengers will not need to tap on and off. The free travel will not extend to buses, ferries and light rail, regional train services or coach ticketing, which will charge fares as normal. The NSW government announced the changes on Saturday to placate frustrated commuters after a 'nowhere-near-good-enough' power outage caused carnage to the network on Tuesday. A live wire suspended above train tracks near Strathfield station at Homebush hit a passing train, triggering a power outage and creating chaos for hundreds of thousands of travellers. Commuters queued at stations across Sydney on Wednesday morning, waiting for a trickle of replacement buses, themselves hampered by increased traffic clogging the city's roads. Repairs to the overhead wiring were completed on Wednesday, but Premier Chris Minns acknowledged the reliability of Sydney Trains had 'not been up to the mark'. Transport Minister John Graham said more than a million people would benefit from the free travel but he didn't expect it would make up for last week's inconvenience. 'We acknowledge that it strained the patience of an entire city,' he said in a statement on Saturday. 'We want them to know the NSW government also expects better of the system, and we are working to improve reliability and maintenance.' A 'short and sharp' independent review is also set to assess maintenance, punctuality and customer communications across the network.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Yahoo
Fare-free train travel after days of commuter chaos
Australia's busiest rail network will open its gates for fare-free travel to make up for commuter headaches when an overhead wire failure caused days-long delays. On Monday, travel will be free on all Sydney trains, Airport Link, and Metro services on the Opal network. Opal gates and readers will be turned off and passengers will not need to tap on and off. The free travel will not extend to buses, ferries and light rail, regional train services or coach ticketing, which will charge fares as normal. The NSW government announced the changes on Saturday to placate frustrated commuters after a "nowhere-near-good-enough" power outage caused carnage to the network on Tuesday. A live wire suspended above train tracks near Strathfield station at Homebush hit a passing train, triggering a power outage and creating chaos for hundreds of thousands of travellers. Commuters queued at stations across Sydney on Wednesday morning, waiting for a trickle of replacement buses, themselves hampered by increased traffic clogging the city's roads. Repairs to the overhead wiring were completed on Wednesday, but Premier Chris Minns acknowledged the reliability of Sydney Trains had "not been up to the mark". Transport Minister John Graham said more than a million people would benefit from the free travel but he didn't expect it would make up for last week's inconvenience. "We acknowledge that it strained the patience of an entire city," he said in a statement on Saturday. "We want them to know the NSW government also expects better of the system, and we are working to improve reliability and maintenance." A "short and sharp" independent review is also set to assess maintenance, punctuality and customer communications across the network.
BBC News
17-05-2025
- BBC News
Yorkshire Wolds Railway marks 10th anniversary with free travel
Yorkshire Wolds Railway is celebrating its 10th anniversary by offering a day of free heritage railway, which opened on 25 May 2015, runs from the East Yorkshire village of Fimber using a section of the former Malton and Driffield Junction railway. Financial director Phil Robson said: "We're incredibly proud of what we've achieved over the past ten years."Free travel is being offered on Sunday 25 May. Mr Robson added: "This anniversary is a testament to the hard work of our volunteers and the amazing support from the local community and all visitors who keep the railway running."We can't wait to celebrate with everyone who have been part of our journey and we thought offering free travel as a thank you for the day was a great way to do that."Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
