Ms McGarry said rail staff moved the massive sea of people from Wynyard Station to Town Hall Station, before moving them on again to Central Station. Janet McGarry's 88-year-old mother Pauline luckily stayed in a spare room at her nephew's after the celebrations and avoided the crush. "They weren't letting people through the ticket barriers so thousands of people just starting flooding into the main concourse at Central," she said. "When they finally let people go through, they only opened one barrier, so people were just pushing and crushing people against the gates." Ms McGarry said many were jumping the ticket gates to get onto the platforms, but she and others who were physically unable were pushed and shoved against the closed gates in the rush. "A young woman who saw what was going on had to basically push back the crowd for me so I could get to one of the barriers that were actually opened," she said. "It was so dangerous, there could have been a serious incident."

Tania Holt had a similar experience after spending New Year's Eve at Barangaroo Reserve with her family, including her five-month-old nephew Jenson. The night turned into a disaster for the Holt family once everyone started to make their way home, after being stuck in an enormous queue of people waiting for both trains and buses at Wynyard Station. Ms Holt's brother Marc and fiancée Lyndsey Wagstaff took their son Jenson to the fireworks, who was "inconsolable" after the rail chaos. "My nephew started to get extremely distressed and started to panic as many of the crowd were drunk and abusive as we passed through," she said. "My brother and his fiancée were so upset by the end as they were just so worried about his safety; it was completely incompetent planning and appalling service." Sydney Trains released an alert on social media around midnight, blaming "severe thunderstorms" and "multiple lightning strikes" for the huge delays.

Delays of up to almost three and a half hours were felt by New Years Eve revellers. Credit:Twitter- @_duaxcx A Sydney Trains spokesperson thanked employees for their efforts overnight. "Trains have been operating throughout the night and into this morning at least every 15 minutes to get people home safely," she said. "Most of all, we thank our customers for their patience while vital repair work due to the storm cells was undertaken." Sydney Trains has also recommended those wishing to use rail services today to consider "alternative travel arrangements" or "delaying" your trip. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she “completely accepts the frustration” of the thousands of people who were stranded by Sydney Trains last night.

She says it was a “freak lightning storm” that brought down the system but ruled out any refunds or compensation for revellers. Ms Berejiklian said the government was working to untangle the lines of the train system and that Sydney Trains would provide her with a full briefing on last night's chaos. “I completely accept why commuters trying to get home felt frustrated but a freak thunderstorm did bring down rail lines," she said. “At the moment, if one rail line goes down, it affects the whole rail line.” One passenger quoted his train guard during his journey home, who allegedly said: "I wouldn't rely on this train if I were you, I'd recommend a cab".

At lunchtime, delays are still affecting the T1 (North Shore, Northern and Western), T2 (Inner west and Leppington), T3 (Bankstown), T4 (Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra) and T8 (Airport & South) lines. Last night's meltdown began at 6pm, after rain poured across the city. Delays began to pop up across the grid, with cancellations starting as early as 8.30pm before the family fireworks began. Metropolitan Field Operations and Operation New Year’s Eve 2018 Commander, Acting Deputy Commissioner Mark Walton, said he was "pleased" with the patience of the crowds as they made their way home despite the significant delays.

“Due to the storms, there were delays across the public transport network and as a result, police were holding crowds away from train platforms for safety reasons and to prevent overcrowding,” Acting Deputy Commissioner Walton said. “New Year’s Eve really is a night of celebrations, and as people left the city, they remained in high spirits and handled the consequences of being in a large crowd very well." Over the course of the night, police arrested 35 people over 43 offences, 21 of which were drug-related. Six others were charged with affray, while another six people were charged with offensive behaviour. Four were charged with assaulting police and resisting arrest, while two were charged with common assault. The remaining four charges were for a traffic offence, stealing offence, possessing a prohibited weapon, and unlawfully deploying fireworks.