Monday, April 28. Commuters heading between Fassifern and Cardiff are facing delays this morning, with trains on the Central Coast & Newcastle Line affected by flooding at Cockle Creek.
Transport for NSW has confirmed that trains are as of 8 am on April 28, unable to run between Fassifern and Cardiff in either direction due to water over the tracks at Cockle Creek.
For those travelling from Central towards Newcastle Interchange, trains will now terminate and start at Fassifern. A shuttle train service is operating between Newcastle Interchange and Cardiff, stopping at all stations.
Passengers are advised to consider alternative transport options where possible and to allow for extra travel time. At this stage, there is no firm estimate on when the line is expected to fully reopen.
Cockle Creek, located between Cardiff and Fassifern, has a history of flooding, particularly during periods of heavy rainfall. The creek, named by Colonel William Paterson for the abundance of cockle shells found there, drains into Lake Macquarie. Past flood events have caused significant disruptions to the rail line.
Transport for NSW is urging passengers to check information displays and listen to announcements for the latest updates. You can also find information on the Transport NSW website or by calling 131 500.
Typical abandoned & neglected infrastructure.
Third world national transport systen..
First a cancelled train, everyone waiting another half an hour to get to Gosford. Next train turns up with four carriages instead of eight. Already full, people jammed to the gills. Why on earth would you shorten a train in this situation? We were told we could wait another half an hour for the next train. No one expected a flood apparently, though a quick check of the weather would have informed them, as its been raining non-stop for days on end. Next time Transport NSW, PREPARE rather than REACT.
I have absolutely had it with the state of the NSW trains. It isn’t just the weather, and areas that are likely to flood should have been fixed up years ago! EVERY day trains are cancelled, or the train has fewer carriages than it should, or the train stops far shorter than Newcastle. Right now in Gosford there are at least 6 high rise apartment blocks about to be completed and lived in. All these extra thousands of people in Gosford, needing to also use the trains to get to work in Sydney or Newcastle. It’s going to be an absolute nightmare if these trains and the staffing of them aren’t fixed now!! Whatever happened to the high speed trains for this line?
This flooding seems to happen frequently. I notice that it says “Flooding AT Cockle Creek” not “Flooding OF Cockle Creek”. The flooding appears to be in the retention pond adjacent to the creek. What is so toxic in the rentention pond that the flood water cannot be simply allowed to flow into Lake Macquarie?