A single sick worker managed to cause absolute chaos in Sydney

A single staff member calling in sick has been blamed for Sydney train delays and public transport chaos.

A sick person caused suspensions across the city which in turn ended up causing major disruptions across most of the network thanks to ripple effects. Then there were overcrowded platforms and delays of over an hour.

The sick staff member is reportedly a signaller, which involves telling train drivers when a path is clear.

Sydney Trains apologised for the disruptions, saying in a statement that “typical backup” that would be deployed in this scenario were “not available”.

“Sydney Trains had late notice of resourcing issues at the Rail Operations Centre and the typical backup resources that would be deployed in this scenario were not available,” it said in a statement.

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“The staffing issue was rectified just before 4pm when the workforce management team mobilised a replacement to perform this operationally critical role.

“Sydney Trains apologises to those impacted and we are working to avoid a repeat of this issue in the future.”

They said replacement buses were arranged for passengers and ran until 1am.

The New South Wales roads minister, John Graham, also apologised.

“That roster work has been ongoing, which means we’re now more confident that this won’t be repeated,” he said.

Graham said the delays put a “spotlight” on recruitment challenges in the industry.

“These are highly skilled jobs. It takes some time to recruit and train signallers. But the government recognises that is a challenge. There are plans to address what has been a workforce shortage in that particular area.

“And we do realise that along with the maintenance challenge is part of the challenge that the incoming government faces.”

One person causing a butterfly effect so profound, it has hit the news on the other side of the world - now that's what we call main character energy.

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