00:00Well, Ruby, New Year's Eve is undoubtedly the biggest night of the year in Sydney.
00:07Over a million people are expected to descend upon Sydney Harbour to watch the fireworks
00:12and Transport for NSW says preparations for the big night have been underway for many
00:18months.
00:19Now, it says that there will be continuous services operating for 46 hours from 4am on
00:24the 31st of December to 2am on the 2nd of January.
00:28That includes 1,000 extra trains, 29,000 buses and 600 Metro services, which is new
00:36from last year.
00:37The Metro only opened in Sydney earlier this year.
00:39There will also be extra staff in place as well.
00:42And it's not just Sydney, there will be more services in parts of regional NSW, including
00:48the Central Coast, Newcastle and also Wollongong as well.
00:51Now, the big fireworks in Sydney are the 9pm fireworks and also the 12am, the midnight
00:57fireworks.
00:58And in previous years, there have been issues with people trying to get home by public transport
01:04that tends to be a bit of a bottleneck at the train station when people are trying to
01:08depart from the harbour quite soon after those midnight fireworks.
01:12And Transport for NSW is urging people to plan ahead, to get to their destination early
01:18and to also plan how they're going to get home.
01:21And they're encouraging people to use the Metro and to use the buses rather than the
01:25trains.
01:26All of this nearly wasn't possible due to planned industrial action by the combined
01:32rail unions.
01:33Earlier this week, they withdrew some of their bans over New Year's Eve.
01:37And Transport for NSW says that there have been some negotiations taking place over pay
01:42conditions with rail unions, and they're not expecting any cancellations or delays over
01:48New Year's Eve.
01:49But they are expecting some strike action to take place from the 3rd of January.
01:54So a brief reprieve.
01:56As Transport for NSW had to say earlier.
01:59Our advice for passengers is to travel early.
02:02The event precincts, particularly Circular Quay and the lower North Shore, will be very
02:07busy.
02:08We're pleased that the major industrial action has been withdrawn by unions.
02:12That's really important to deliver an event like the New Year's Eve timetable over 46
02:17hours that we are working together, doing everything we do to ensure Sydney's sighters
02:22get home safely.
02:23So we're confident for New Year's Eve.
02:25There is still some residual industrial action that's occurring, even over this weekend.
02:30We're not seeing any major delays or cancellations as a result of that industrial action.
02:35It's a major event.
02:36That's why we have the top team in place.
02:42Now if you do plan to drive into the CBD or you actually live around the area and you
02:47own a car, Transport for NSW is reminding you that there are some clear ways in place
02:53and also road diversions.
02:55Last year, 220 cars were actually towed from Clearway.
03:00So it is a reminder for anyone who happens to be driving into the area.
03:03The Sydney Harbour Bridge will also be closed in the lead up to those fireworks on the big
03:08night.
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