Sydney Metro Running 24 Hours For Mardi Gras Night

Sydney is preparing to dance the night away next Saturday at Mardi Gras, with metro and rail services running for 24 hours for the first time ever, and plans for venues to trade into the wee hours of the morning.

In honour of one of the biggest days in the city’s calendar, special event trading hours will be enacted allowing eligible hotels, bars, clubs, restaurants, nightclubs and live music venues in the Oxford Street cultural and creative precinct to trade until 6am on Sunday 1 March.

“It’s great to be able to give the Mardis Gras a boost after the late cancellation of the official afterparty,” said transport minister John Graham. “We want unofficial afterparties to kick on all around Oxford Street, knowing there’s even more safe and affordable ways to get home.”

Hopping from parade to party will be easier than ever with a a metro train every 5–10 minutes from 5pm to 2am, then every 20 minutes until regular daytime frequencies resume at 5am.

Sydney Trains will be operating a 24-hour service with trains running every hour from midnight to the first regular Sunday services on the City Circle, T1 Western Line, T1 North Shore Line, T2 Inner West Line and T9 Northern Line and to Bondi Junction on the T4 Eastern Suburb Line until 3am Sunday.  

The light rail will also be running a 24-hour service on the L1 Dulwich Hill, L2 Randwick and L3 Kingsford lines with a service every 15 to 20 minutes until it’s back to normal for Sunday morning.

Bus routes 370 and 343 will run 24 hours with added hourly services on Sunday, and around 300 extra bus services will be running to the city from Inner West, Eastern Suburbs and North Shore throughout the afternoon, along with additional NightRide buses.

Big win for one of the biggest parties of the year

With thousands of people expected to attend the parade, and even more using public transport to get around the city for one of the many parties on the night, the move is a huge boost towards the state government’s quest to rebuild Sydney’s nighttime economy.

Last year’s parade attracted more than 30,000 visitors to Sydney and injected over $39 million into the NSW visitor economy, seeing 11,000 people participate across more than 180 floats.

“This is a big win for Sydneysiders who want to come out and experience one of the best parties of the year,” said CEO of the Night Time Industries Association Mick Gibb.

“Industry has long said that when you give people safe, affordable ways to get home late at night, everyone wins.

“Late night venues can stay open with confidence, punters can enjoy themselves without stressing about the last train or breaking the bank on a taxi, and the city can actually function as the global destination it is.”