What should have been a relaxing getaway to enjoy the hot springs at Moree for three Central Coast friends got off to a nightmare start, with major problems on the rail network seeing dozens of passengers stranded for hours at Gosford and Broadmeadow stations.
Allice Gable of The Entrance arrived at Gosford station just after 9am on Wednesday, December 7, with friends Judy Roffey of Terrigal and Fiona Atkinson of Kincumber.
With the train set to depart at 9.30, the ladies were looking to arrive at Moree mid-afternoon for a pleasant three-day break.
Instead they finally arrived at 10.45pm, exhausted and $600 poorer.
“We were left waiting at Gosford for several hours, along with dozens of others, and were told the train had broken down and was waiting on parts but another would soon be sent,” Gable said.
“Finally another train pulled in and we were told it would take us to Broadmeadow, where a bus would be waiting to take us the rest of the way.
“But when we arrived at Broadmeadow at around 2pm there were no buses.
“Instead we were all left waiting on Broadmeadow station with nothing to eat or drink and only a couple of bench seats available for what was now close to 100 people.”
Gable and her friends, all of whom are aged over 70, were eventually offered a seat but the news finally came that a bus would be sent from Sydney and would not arrive until around 6pm.
“The situation was shocking,” Gable said.
“There was one train guard at the station and even he didn’t seem to know what was happening.
“We had accommodation pre-booked and none of us is young.
“We were very concerned at the thought of arriving at Moree late at night and wondered how all these people were going to fit on the one bus which had been promised.”
The friends finally decided to take a cab into town and hire a car to make the rest of the journey.
“The car cost us $600 to hire and after six hours of driving we finally arrived at Moree,” Gable said.
“But we were all so upset.
“Why could a train or bus not be sent from Newcastle to complete the journey?
“Why couldn’t some seating have been organised, especially for elderly travellers?
“We are still traumatised that the railways could not send buses to take us (the rest of the way) or at least give us the option of going home at the first hickup at Gosford station.
“There were no apologies or follow-up – it was the worst service ever.”
Gable said at the very least the women should be compensated for the $600 they were forced to spend on care hire.
Terry Collins