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Sydneysiders warned of morning commute delays after train crisis
Sydneysiders are tentatively approaching their public transport this morning amid more warnings the trains may not fully recover until later today after yesterday's peak hour chaos.
Thousands of commuters were left stranded while trying to get home yesterday following a complete shutdown of the Sydney trains network.
A massive backlog of people spilled onto buses, trams and ferries and tried to order taxis or Ubers in an attempt to make it to their next destination.
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The shutdown occurred around 3pm with students finishing school only adding to the huge number of commuters having their journeys thwarted.
Trains resumed service after 4pm after a communication issue hours earlier brought the entire system to a standstill – but the travel nightmare remained with "serious delays" for the rest of the evening.
9News understands a software update over the weekend failed yesterday causing the chaos.
Commuters were left furious by the delays with some people being stuck in a train for an hour then facing extensive delays on other public transport.
"The universe has provided another fun day on the railway system," one commuter said.
But fears of delays are not over yet with warnings the train system may not fully recover until later today.
"Allow plenty of extra travel time due to a train communication issue earlier," Sydney Trains said this morning.
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So far, the services seem to be running on schedule which is good news for passengers.
Not only is Sydney Trains in the firing line for the chaos but Uber is under scrutiny for price gouging customers during the crisis.
Surge prices kicked in when customers needed the transport the most with a rideshare from Central Station to the airport quoted at $90 while a trip from North Sydney to the Sutherland Shire was seen as high as $280.
A trip from the city to Mount Annan would normally set a customer back $40 but at the height of the chaos it peaked at $500.
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Transport minister David Elliott yesterday slammed the rideshare operator for the price hikes.
"I'm absolutely disgusted that Uber have decided to take advantage of an unfortunate situation in Sydney," he said.
Sydney Trains say they are continuing their investigation to ensure this doesn't happen again.
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