A high-pressure gas leak, which has placed multiple Sydney CBD streets and Martin Place train station into lockdown, was ruptured by an excavator sub-contracted to work on the Sydney Metro rail project.

Transport minister Andrew Constance said on Saturday the “very serious” incident occurred within the government site, more than 15 hours after Fire & Rescue NSW first established a 200-metre exclusion zone around the street-level gas main.



Castlereagh Street, Elizabeth Street and Phillip Street were closed between Hunter and King streets since the leak began about 10.30pm on Friday, while Macquarie Street had reopened.

“Sydney Metro is going to have a new Martin Place station and as part of that, there’s preliminary work that needs to be undertaken,” Constance told reporters.

“An excavator in the area has hit a high-pressure gas pipeline and as a result we’ve had a major incident.”

The minister said he was not “going to get into the ins and the outs” of which company was responsible.

The leak emitted a strong smell and deafening hissing sound, and a number of commercial buildings were evacuated. Police and Hazmat crews were brought in to assist.

Sydney Metro project director Tim Parker said the excavator was from a particular sub-contractor pre-approved by Jemena – the gas company with carriage of the pipe.

“When you’re dealing with a high-pressure gas line, you need to have a special sub-contractor,” Parker said. “Also, for Jemena, there is a spotter so you have someone in the field who’s looking over what’s happening so if anything occurs on the site, you can see. We had all that in place. But not withstanding that, unfortunately this incident occurred.”

He labelled the incident “regrettable” and said they were working with SafeWork NSW to find out what happened.

According to a statement from Jemena issued on Saturday morning, repair works could take between 10 and 12 hours to complete, the gas pressure has been reduced “to a safe level” and no customers are without gas due to service diversions.

The company apologised to those affected. The pipeline rupture is yet to be completely patched.

“They’ve been able to put a plug-type system in there which has stemmed the gas leak but not fully stopped it,” FRNSW superintendent Paul Johnstone said.

Motorists and commuters were asked to stay away from the area until further notice.