TRAVELLING in the Hunter this weekend could become chaotic as ongoing train disruptions expected to clash with school holiday traffic.
Climate protesters have climbed on board coal trains or suspended themselves in the rail corridor at least daily since June 25 in an effort to block access to Newcastle's port.
Transport for NSW proactively suspended all trains on the Hunter line this week, including on Friday night, from 5.30pm until safe to reopen the line of a morning due to safety risks for the activists, rail staff and emergency services.
At least 22 people have been arrested after being rescued from the rail corridor by specialist police.
The Blockade Australia activists have come to the Hunter from all over Australia - including Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and southern NSW - and have ranged in age from 17 to their 70s.
Many have spent hours in custody before fronting Singleton, Maitland or Newcastle courts.
Several have been fined between $750 and $1300 and received non-convictions or good behaviour orders in Hunter courts.
A handful remain before the courts and subject to bail conditions, which vary, but at least two were not allowed to associate with other charged members of Blockade Australia and some were banned from entering parts of the region.
Police stood up Strike Force Tuohy 2024 and deployed extra resources - like the dog squad and PolAir - to the region to investigate the protests.
In the first six days of activism alone, more than 111 passenger train services were cancelled due to police operations to remove the protesters.
Transport for NSW has been trying to source replacement buses but they were not always available.
The unpredictable disruptions have made it difficult for people relying on public transport to travel between Newcastle, Scone and Dungog.
Separately, commuters headed in the other direction have also been held up on the Newcastle Central Coast line this week after localised flooding at Cockle Creek.
#CentralCoastNewcastleLine Please continue to allow extra travel time due to flooding on the tracks at Cockle Creek earlier.
— NSW TrainLink North (@TrainLinkNorth) July 5, 2024
Buses may supplement some trains btwn Newcastle Intg and Fassifern.
Check information screens and transport apps before getting on trains. pic.twitter.com/Fs81vc1pVd
Buses were supplementing some services but travellers were advised on Friday to expect delays.
Meanwhile, the roads haven't had much more luck.
Two major multi-vehicle crashes near each other on the M1 on Friday morning caused significant delays for drivers.
The Newcastle Herald was told it took Newcastle travellers several hours to reach the other side of Sydney.
Transport authorities urged people in the Hunter to plan ahead when hitting the road this weekend, with high volumes of school holiday traffic expected approaching Beresfield, Tarro, Hexham, Heatherbrae and beyond, during peak travel periods.
Despite the clashing transport issues and criticism levelled from politicians and authorities that the protests are illegal and dangerous, Blockade Australia members have stood by their actions.
A spokesperson said the protests had led to more than 70 hours of disruption to the "fossil fuel supply chain".
A 27-year-old woman, who goes by the name of Katta, climbed onto a traverse line strung between a rail bridge and a tree north of Singleton on Friday morning.
"Through my many years of environmental work, I have realised that the traditional mechanisms we are given, like voting and legal action, are powerless in genuinely addressing climate change," she said.
"We cannot rely on the Australian system to prevent climate collapse when it has always prioritised the interests of those with entrenched power.
"History has shown us that the only way to challenge corporate power and the rich is through disruptive action that stops the real functioning of the economic processes that are destroying the living planet."
Speaking in Newcastle last week, Premier Chris Minns said he expected those who engaged in illegal protests to face the full consequences of law.
"Firstly, if everybody just took it upon themselves, if they didn't like a particular policy, to disrupt in a massive way, society wouldn't function," he said.
"Secondly, my real concern is some of these protests are putting lives in danger, more certainly the lives of an emergency service worker who goes in to try and rescue them."
For real-time transport information on the weekend, visit the Live Traffic NSW app or website.
