The moment has almost arrived, folks: Taylor Swift‘s Melbourne shows are over, she’s touched down in Sydney and she’s checked in to her bougie $38,000-per-night accomodation. The Sydney Eras Tour is nearly here.
By, now you’ve probably sorted your Eras Tour outfit, and your friendship bracelets — but actually getting to Taylor’s concerts will be a journey of its own.
There are 300,000 fans expected over the four nights of concerts. Sydney Olympic Park is expecting 100,000 concert-goers on Friday and Saturday alone because Blink-182 is also performing — so to say it’s going to be hectic getting in is an understatement.
Here’s everything we know about transport to the Eras Tour, so you can get there safely and on time!
How to get to and from Taylor Swift’s Sydney Eras Tour Concerts via train
Catching a train is likely the easiest way to get to Taylor Swift, especially because your cost of travel is actually already included in your concert ticket. Just show your ticket to transport staff when you’re entering the train station and voila, you’re in!
Of course, I know you must have some trepidations — Sydney trains does not have the best reputation for punctuality and a single raindrop is usually enough to derail your entire trip — but NSW Transport insists it is ready and we’ve just gotta trust that the people over there know what they are doing and are ready for us!
Transport for NSW Coordinator General Howard Collins said more than 1,200 extra trains and buses are running just for the Eras Tour.
“We will have more than 550 additional high-frequency trains and 700 major event buses servicing the precinct across the four nights on top of regular services,” he said in a statement to PEDESTRIAN.TV on Wednesday.
If you’re catching a train to Accor Stadium, remember that its closest station is Olympic Park which is a 10-minute walk away.
Gates for the Accor Stadium open at 4.30pm. The show starts at 6.20pm, and will finish at 11pm. Jesus, that’s a long time.
NSW Transport will run express and limited-stop trains to Olympic Park from Central and Western Line stations from mid-afternoon until late (and by late, NSW Transport actually means about midnight).
Ideally, if you’re catching public transport, you probably want to leave room for any, uh, drama. Friday is forecast to be 35C and thunderstorming. So I really, really recommend allowing plenty of time for any wayward weather-related delays.
Friday and Monday
Extra express trains will run from Central at 3.29pm, 3.52pm, 4.09pm and 4.23pm, and then every seven to eight minutes, stopping at Redfern, Strathfield and then Olympic Park. You can also catch a train to Lidcombe and then swap at Platform 0 for a train straight to Olympic Park, which will run every 10 minutes until late.
There will also be extra trains running other lines too, especially the T1 Western Line service which will make an additional stop at Lidcombe between 5pm and 8pm. However, if you are coming down from Newcastle, be warned that your train line has trackwork and buses will replace trains.
- Extra trains will leave Blacktown at 5:50pm and Schofields at 6pm and 6.29pm which will both stop at Olympic Park.
- Special event trains will leave Macarthur at 6.24pm, Campbelltown at 6.05pm and 6.44pm and, and Liverpool at 6.09pm, heading to Olympic Park via Granville.
- Blue Mountains trains will make an additional stop at Lidcombe from 5pm to 8pm.
- There will be two extra trains running from Gosford to Central: one at 4.23pm and one at 5.16pm, and both will be stopping at all stations to Berowra, Hornsby, Strathfield and then Central. There will also be an extra train from Wyong at 6.03pm.
In terms of getting home, extra trains from Olympic Park will be heading to Central every five minutes between 10.30pm and 1am. These trains will be stopping at Strathfield, Redfern and Central. There will also be extra services leaving Lidcombe to Macarthur until 12.23am, and a few of the other train lines will have some extra trains.
NSW Transport told PEDESTRIAN.TV that there will also be transport officers monitoring the situation on the night and responding live, so don’t panic if you’re thinking the trains might not run late enough.
Saturday and Sunday
Extra express trains will run from Central at 3.29pm, 3.50pm, and 4.10pm, and then every seven to eight minutes from 4.30pm, stopping at Redfern, Strathfield and then Olympic Park. Again, you can still swap at Lidcombe, too.
There will be limited-stop trains running from Penrith and Blacktown to Lidcombe and Olympic Park every 15 minutes from 5pm… which is actually not a lot at all, RIP. There will also be extra trains running from Macarthur and Gosford.
In terms of getting back home after the concert, there will be express trains from Olympic Park to Central every five minutes from 10.30pm to 1am, which is where I imagine the vast majority of us will be heading. To the west, there’ll be trains every seven to eight minutes, and there will be extra trains to Macarthur until 12.26am.
How to get to Taylor Swift’s Sydney Eras Tour Concerts by bus
Good news! As horrible as Sydney buses are, at least their cost is covered in your Eras Tour concert ticket!
There are three bus routes that stop at Sydney Olympic Park:
- Route 525 which runs between Parramatta and Burwood via Sydney Olympic Park.
- Route 526 which runs from Rhodes to Burwood via Sydney Olympic Park Ferry Wharf
- Route 533 which runs from Sydney Olympic Park to Chatswood via Rhodes and North Ryde.
These three bus routes will have extra late night services to help people get home, but their stops will also be adjusted because of road closures. Make sure you triple check the stop you want to get on or off at is still on the route.
There will also be major event buses to the Sydney Eras Tour concerts — there’s a whole bunch of routes and stops which you can check out on this map.
- Friday and Monday: services will run every 5 to 20 minutes between 2:42pm and 6:33pm, depending on the route.
- Saturday and Sunday: services will run every 5 to 20 minutes between 3:05pm and 6:38pm, depending on the route.
The last return bus will leave Olympic Park at midnight though!!! Don’t end up forgetting your glass slipper and missing the bus, okay? But if you do, don’t stress — there will be plenty of transport officers around who can help you figure out another route home.
Driving to the Sydney Eras Tour
NSW Transport has asked, nay, begged Swifties not to drive to the Accor Stadium over concerns of insane traffic and no parking potentially causing roads to clog up.
But, if you really must drive, note that you have to pre-book parking ($35 flat fee) and Friday and Saturday are already sold out. Swifties are warned not to drive to Accor Stadium unless you have parking booked, because otherwise you will have nowhere to leave your car.
A good option if you’re driving is to park at a nearby station and then catch a train that’s one or two stops away, so you’re not adding to the chaos at Olympic Park (or having to pay $35 for parking) but you still have an easy way to get home!
Catching an Uber or other rideshare to/from Sydney Olympic Park
Melbourne saw almost 15,000 Uber trips to and from its Eras Tour concerts, with one fan actually travelling more than 130kms via Uber to see Taylor Swift (!!!).
“With almost 5000 rides per show in Melbourne, Uber driver-partners have helped hundreds of thousands of fans ‘Get Ready For It’ and experience the Taylor Swift phenomenon. We’re expecting that number to double as Taylor takes the stage in Sydney later this week,” Uber spokesperson Dom Taylor told PEDESTRIAN.TV in a statement.
If you’re catching a rideshare, there’s a drop-off zone opposite P6 car park along Australia Avenue that you can ask your Uber to leave you at for the Sydney Eras tour.
In terms of getting picked up to go home, there’s also a pick-up zone in the same area. The entry point is via Bennelong Parkway and Murray Rose Avenue. FYI though, free entry only starts at 10.30pm.
Be warned, my Uber-loving friends — there will likely be a price surge after the concert is over because thousands of people will be trying to head home at the same time, and you might be waiting a while for an Uber.
To avoid this, Uber has advised anyone looking to use its service to book their ride in advance using Uber Reserve — that way, you get a locked-in upfront price, and you know you’ve definitely got a way home.
Uber also told PTV it’s running a series of promotions to encourage extra drivers on the night, as well as encouraging concert goers to book Ubers ahead of time.
Good luck and stay safe!
