Engineering, Passenger Rail, Rail Supply

Adele fans say ‘Hello’ to trackwork

Sydney Trains says it cannot move trackwork which will delay thousands of music fans this weekend, as it was planned years in advance.

Sell-out crowds of more than 90,000 are expected at British singer-songwriter Adele’s concerts at ANZ Stadium in Sydney on Friday and Saturday nights.

But thousands of concert-goers from north of the city will be packed onto train replacement buses on Saturday evening.

Maintenance is set to close the North Shore line between Berowra and Gordon, and between Hornsby and Strathfield via Epping, as well as the Central Coast & Newcastle and Hunter intercity lines.

Adele fans from Newcastle and the Central Coast have been advised to leave “two to three hours” extra travel time, whether travelling by bus or car.

Howard Collins, Sydney Trains’ chief executive, said the major trackwork could not be moved as it had been planned years in advance, and required extensive coordination.

“We work closely with event organisers and hosting venues to provide the best possible public transport arrangements for our customers during trackwork,” he said.

“Unfortunately this major event was organised after the trackwork was already locked in.

“Trackwork like this has to be scheduled years in advance with the majority carried out overnight or on weekends.”

The concert will begin at 7.30pm on both nights, and fans are advised to get there on time as Adele requires no support act.

Transport for NSW’s Sydney coordinator general Marg Prendergast said even with replacement buses in play, public transport was still the way to go.

“We’re expecting extensive traffic delays with so many people heading to Sydney Olympic Park, so the best advice to Adele fans is to travel early so you don’t miss a minute of the show,” Prendergast said.

“We’re running plenty of extra services to get you to the show with frequent trains from Central, Redfern, Strathfield and Lidcombe to Olympic Park, and we’re expecting high demand for Sydney Olympic Park major event buses.”

Roughly 95,000 fans are anticipated to attend each of Adele’s concerts, which would become the largest events hosted at Olympic Park since the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000.

Adele’s first ever Australian tour kicked off in Perth on February 28.

She performed in Brisbane over the weekend, and heads to Sydney this week for Friday and Saturday’s shows.

The tour will then head to Adelaide on March 13 and Melbourne on March 18 and 19, before crossing the Tasman for a series of shows in Auckland.