Transport authorities have urged festival goers in Sydney to avoid the opening of Vivid on Friday night as heavy rain causes chaos on roads and rail lines.
More than 200mm of rain fell in Richmond, about 90mm in Camden, more than 50mm in Katoomba and at least 75mm at Sydney airport in the 24 hours to 9am on Friday.
Parts of the Illawarra, including Clover Hill, received more than 200mm of rain, causing localised flooding on the coast.
Sydney and the Blue Mountains were expecting a further dump of up to 100mm over the next 24 hours. Warragamba dam was at 97% capacity and could spill on Friday or Saturday, Water NSW said.
Days after a downed power line crashed Sydney’s rail system for almost 48 hours, the network was again plagued by disruptions, with stretches of two lines not running.
“Residual delays” were expected to continue across the majority of Sydney’s train network for the rest of Friday. Timetables were altered to a 15-minute frequency across all lines except the Eastern Suburbs and Intercity lines.
However, by Friday evening, trains had still not resumed operating on a section of the Central Coast line between Newcastle and Morisset after a landslip and flash flooding shuttered services.
Trains were not running for much of Friday on the Airport and South line between Revesby and Turrella after tracks were flooded, before waters receded and services resumed in time for the evening peak.
Limited buses were replacing train services, with passengers advised to seek alternative travel or delay non-essential movements.
Transport for New South Wales on Friday afternoon warned Sydneysiders to reconsider their need to travel – including for the opening night of the Vivid light festival.
The Transport for NSW coordinator-general, Howard Collins, said: “If you can come early next week instead, please consider doing that.
“You won’t get to see it all in one night – plan your Vivid Sydney experience over a few nights,” he said.
Collins urged anyone still keen to attend to allow “plenty of extra time” and “factor in extra walking time” due to closures.
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There were widespread delays and disruptions on other heavy rail lines, including theLeppington, Liverpool and Inner West, Eastern Suburbs and Illawarra, Hunter, Southern Highlands and South Coast lines. Intense rain also closed Lewisham station so water could be pumped out of the station.
There were cancellations across Sydney’s ferry network, including on the Parramatta River.
Meanwhile, Transport for NSW warned that flood waters had caused “several major closures” on roads on the mid-north coast, Hunter and in parts of Sydney.
Additional reporting Australian Associated Press
