TRACKWORK during big events is nothing new for Hunter commuters headed to Sydney for celebrations.
Chaos hit trains during recent lunar new year festivities, and the first of several massive Taylor Swift concerts tonight will divert travellers onto buses to make way for the works.
It is hardly auspicious timing, but Transport NSW say they have worked with concert organisers to ascertain roughly 500 Swifties will be making the trip south via train.
That estimate will be put to the test tonight, and likely to a greater extent when Saturday's show - the first the US superstar announced and prompty sold out - draws its crowd.
Judging purely by the pervasiveness of Swift since she announced her Australian tour, 500 people from a region of the Hunter's size seems conservative.
Schools have picked up on the trend among 'Swifties' of crafting friendship bracelets, while NFL fans in America have found themselves divided over the superstar's appearances at games.
That issue reached its peak when the Cruel Summer singer managed even to leave her mark on the Super Bowl simply by attending the match.
That American football league's own fortunes have improved from the association.
According to Apex Marketing, Swift has effectively generated an additional $331.5 million in brand value for the Chiefs and NFL since she began dating tight end Travis Kelce.
In anyone's language, that is a substantial sum.
Cash registers will likely already be ringing early in Sydney as merchandise and associated purchases deliver an economic effect.
This run of concerts has reached such fever pitch that Swift has become a topic of discussion with Reserve Bank of Australia governor Michelle Bullock in regards to the ongoing fight against inflation.
Few stars have commanded so much influence.
Oversaturation and backlash often go hand in hand, and the close scrutiny of Swift certainly has as many critics as the artist at its centre.
In a letter to the editor this week, Cardiff's Julie Robinson proposed that the appeal of major concerts including Swift's and the recent Newcastle show for Pink was escapism after tough times in recent years.
Who could blame young music fans for wanting to gather en masse after years when concerts risked becoming a thing of the past just as they reached an age to attend?
Beatlemania swept Australia before that storied act's legacy was cemented and their run tragically cut short.
To paraphrase Harry Styles, it was young female fans that first latched onto the Beatles: "who's to say that young girls who like pop music - short for popular, right? - have worse musical taste than a 30-year-old hipster guy?"
Those dismissing Taylor Swift as a pop star are perhaps ignoring a cultural moment, or letting it pass by them.
Memories of the Beatles' time in Australia remains precious to those who went, often female fans who recall being sneered at by others at the time.
Ellie Peach remembers a similar reaction when she attended Taylor Swift's Newcastle concert in 2010.
"When I went to Newcastle and her other concerts, people would be like 'why are you going to that, her music isn't even that good'," Ellie told the Newcastle Herald this week.
The Beatles are a high benchmark for comparison, but Swift's influence has reached rarefied air.
How long it might last, no-one can know. For now, the most important thing is that fans - those attending and those looking to commisserate after missing out on tickets - enjoy the occasion.
Hopefully Swift's next tour will include a return to Newcastle, and trackwork won't matter.
