Tram breaks down near Circular Quay with others stuck near Randwick racecourse and Haymarket

This article is more than 9 months old

This article is more than 9 months old

Sydney’s much-maligned CBD light rail system has broken down just hours after the new service began taking passengers.

A mechanical issue was blamed for a tram stopping near Circular Quay on Saturday afternoon, forcing all other northbound services to terminate at Town Hall. The power loss left the broken-down tram blocking both lines for about an hour.

Earlier, technical issues caused two trams to halt for more than five minutes near Royal Randwick racecourse.

Erased from history: how Sydney destroyed its trams for love of the car Read more

“Allow extra travel time, listen to announcements and check information displays for service updates,” Transport for NSW advised passengers in a statement posted online.

Also on Saturday, a male passenger had a stroke near Haymarket, causing trams to be stopped for about 20 minutes.

The $2.9bn line between Circular Quay to Randwick was finally opened to passengers on Saturday after a cost blow-out that took the project’s price tag to $2.9bn – almost twice its initial projected cost.

The opening of the light rail network means the return of trams to Sydney for the first time since 1961.

A select group of passengers took the first trip from Circular Quay to Randwick on Saturday morning.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The NSW transport minister, Andrew Constance, says the original trams ‘should never have been taken out’. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

“It’s changed the city forever and it’s going to be a phenomenal project for so many, over many generations to come,” the NSW transport minister, Andrew Constance, said at the opening ceremony on Saturday.

“The trams should have never been taken out – everyone is nodding – so we put them back in.”

Frank Ayrton, an 83-year-old who worked as a conductor on the old network, was among the few able to ride the first service with Constance and the NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian.

“I started on the Waverley depot in 1957, they were not like these [trams],” he said. “We had the footboards. My job was to walk along the outside and get the fares.

“One hand was for the money, the other hand for the tickets and all you had to hang on with was your elbow.”

Brenden Wood (@BrendenWood) For the first time since 1961, a set of modern trams will begin moving passengers in Sydney again. Official opening at 11am. A VIP tram departed at 8:50am. These trams most likely will prove popular from day #1 - they’ll be a big hit with the @unsw students. #SydneyLightRail pic.twitter.com/kh4L1H6LVT

The service opened to the public at 11am.

No fares will be charged during the opening weekend of the project, which was plagued by significant delays to its opening date.

Airlie Walsh (@AirlieWalsh) JUST IN | Premier @GladysB and Transport Minister @AndrewConstance cut the ribbon on Sydney’s new light rail. @9NewsSyd #auspol #allaboard ✂️ pic.twitter.com/7L1AvagZoX

However, launch day did not go entirely smoothly, with what Berejiklian had warned would be “teething problems”. There were also complaints over the significantly longer time the journey takes than other public transport options.

Teevo (@teevou) It seems my return journey to Circular Quay has terminated at Central due to “technical issues.” #sydneylightrail pic.twitter.com/RIiKmEsWJ0

Travel times for the route from Circular Quay to Randwick are currently longer than buses, at around 50 minutes, reportedly due to drivers having to go much slower through parts of the city where pedestrians are “still not behaving safely around the light rail”, according to the developers.

David Shoebridge (@ShoebridgeMLC) Ok ... so the Sydney Light Rail has broken down on day one?!? I am appalled by how badly the light rail has been managed, but, now it’s built I really want it to work. So dreadfully frustrating this incompetence from the LibNats in #NSWpol pic.twitter.com/IIbfCMbrF2

The branch line to Kingsford is not expected to open until March.

A coupled tram holds up to 450 passengers, the equivalent of nine buses.

Some 200,000 kilometres of tram testing has already taken place while the 100 drivers have each undertaken 190 hours of training.

The new network will move up to 13,500 commuters an hour during peak time in both directions, the state government said.