Heavy rain slashes peak hour train services across Sydney

The number of trains taking Sydneysiders home on Friday afternoon will be dramatically reduced as the brunt of the East Coast low – expected to worsen before Saturday morning – wreaks havoc across the city.

Transport authorities are scrambling to reduce the frequency of peak-hour train services on Friday afternoon in a bid to avoid the network being clogged, after rain damaged signalling equipment at Redfern station.

The SES, which has already received 823 calls for assistance statewide, issued dozens of warnings for this evening, including possible flooding across the south, west and south-west of the city, and residents of Chipping Norton were told to evacuate from low-lying areas.

The ferry wharf at Parramatta also has been inundated with water, forcing buses to replace ferry services between Rydalmere and Parramatta.

The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting between 100 and 200 millimetres of rain will fall over Sydney between Friday and Saturday morning, warning residents of Sydney, the Illawarra and the Central Tablelands of possible flash flooding.

The bureau said it was particularly concerned about the area between the Blue Mountains and Narooma, where intense rainfall may lead to “dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding” from Friday night into Saturday morning.

Since 9am on Friday, Lidcombe, Guildford, Marrickville and Canterbury experienced the most rain in the city, copping 27 mm, 26 mm, 26 mm and 25 mm respectively.

Water NSW, the government body responsible for the state’s dam systems, is also preparing for a controlled release from Warragamba Dam, which is Sydney’s main drinking water source, in coming days.

The dam is currently 96.3 per cent full, but Water NSW chief executive Andrew George said as little as 90 millimetres of rain would be needed for the dam to fill and spill. The Bureau of Meteorology is expecting 100 to 150 millimetres of rainfall over the dam’s catchment during the rain event.

“That means the Warragamba will move into a spill, likely Monday morning,” George said. “What’s important about that is that the spill will occur likely when the rainfall event has moved on, so it is very important that the community remain vigilant.”

Across the city, Northern Beaches Council workers preemptively excavated Narrabeen Lagoon, expecting more water to come from downstream.

“We opened Narrabeen Lagoon last night, but it closed again naturally because the lagoon level was roughly the same as the ocean,” Mayor Sue Heins said. “The lagoon level needs to be higher to beat the waves. Our contractor is onsite again, trying to keep the channel open, to allow water to escape.

“We have also lowered Manly Dam levels, to provide more flood storage, and expect to open Manly Lagoon sometime today.”

Lismore, which experienced horrifying floods in 2022, appears to have escaped the worst of the system. The Wilsons River peaked lower than expected last night, at 3.8 metres through Lismore about 3am on Friday.

At 10am on Friday, the bureau removed its flooding warning for the town.

More than 100 domestic flights in and out of Sydney Airport were cancelled, with dozens more delayed.

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