Sydney commuters have been urged to travel via St Leonards station to get to the Macquarie Park precinct in the city's north in order to relieve pressure on the busy Chatswood station during the seven-month shutdown of a rail line.

Declaring the start of changes to temporary services a relative success, Transport Minister Andrew Constance said about 10,000 people had used “Station Link” replacement buses on Tuesday morning as they returned to work after the long weekend.

The bus services were frequent, but lines of passengers waiting to use them were long during both the morning and evening peak, prompting many to express frustration and concern about how the situation may worsen when school holidays conclude.

“This is never easy. It's just vital that people get used to new travel patterns and then at the same time making sure where possible, catch public transport, [and] don't rely on your motor vehicle,” Mr Constance said.