Public transport
All aboard for NYE
Your best bet for travelling to the celebrations.
With thousands of extra services running and major road closures in place, public transport is the only way to travel on New Year’s Eve. Large crowds are expected so plan your trip to and from the celebrations and consider all the available travel options. Checkviewing area capacity beforeleaving home and until you arrive on the vantage point map.
You can tap on and off public transport services using an Opal card or American Express, Mastercard, Visa contactless card or linked device.
The way you arrive during the day may be different to the way you leave after the midnight fireworks. Transport services will be affected by road closures and crowds throughout the night. Be patient and follow the directions of event staff. Stay out later to avoid the largest crowds travelling on public transport.
There’ll be no direct public transport access to Circular Quay and surrounding vantage points from around 3pm. Be prepared to walk from nearby transport hubs and allow extra time.
See detailed public transport information including service changes.
View Transport for NSW Sydney New Year's Eve interactive map detailing road closures around Sydney.
Trains
Extra trains will run during the day on New Year’s Eve and into the early hours of the new year.
These stations have different arrangements for New Year’s Eve to safely manage crowds:
Circular Quay: from 3pm until midnight trains won’t stop at Circular Quay Station. For access to harbour foreshore vantage points, use Wynyard, St James or Martin Place stations and continue on foot.
Milsons Point: from 6pm until midnight, trains from the city centre to the north shore won’t stop at Milsons Point. For access to vantage points or properties around Milsons Point and Kirribilli, get off at North Sydney station.
Domestic Airport and International Airport: from 12:30am to 4:30am, trains won’t stop at Domestic Airport and International Airport stations. Sydney Airport will be closed during this time.
Metro
On New Year’s Eve, Metro services will run frequently throughout the day and into the early hours of New Year’s Day.
Metro stations in the city centre are located at Barangaroo, Martin Place, Gadigal (near Town Hall) and Central.
For access to Circular Quay vantage points, board at Martin Place and walk towards the harbour and Circular Quay. For access to Darling Harbour, board at Gadigal or Central stations.
Barangaroo station closed 5pm to 11.45pm: If you’re arriving after 5pm, use Martin Place Metro station or Wynyard train station and continue on foot to Barangaroo.
Martin Place and Gadigal stations will have different entry and exit points.
No access to trains services from Martin Place in the evening.
For access to North Sydney vantage points, the closest Metro station is Victoria Cross. Board at Victoria Cross to and walk to Blues Point, Lavender Bay, Milsons Point and Kirribilli vantage points. You can also board a train from North Sydney to Milsons Point to get within closer walking distance of surrounding vantage points.
Victoria Cross station: from 8pm Victoria Cross station will operate as one-way only with all passengers to enter the station at Miller Street. Exit only at Denison Street.
After the midnight fireworks: If you’re travelling to stations on the north shore, catch Metro services from Victoria Cross. If you’re traveling back to the city centre, catch trains from North Sydney station and enter at Blue Street.
Buses
Thousands of extra bus services will run throughout the day and night to help you get to and from the celebrations.
Buses will be affected by road closures and will be using different routes and stops as roads close throughout the night. Be prepared to walk further than usual between bus stops and vantage points. The bus stop you arrived at is likely to be different to where you need to catch buses home after the midnight fireworks.
In the city centre: from 2pm buses that usually run to Circular Quay will relocate to Martin Place. From 5pm and 7pm all buses will use temporary terminals at Hyde Park, Wynyard, QVB and Town Hall. Some local buses will also be affected by closures earlier in the day.
In North Sydney: from 3pm buses will divert and using different stops around North Sydney and Victoria Cross stations. Buses won’t run to Milsons Point or McMahons Point due to road closures.
Buses in the inner west, northern beaches, north shore and eastern suburbs will also be affected by road closures so plan your journey.
See full details and maps of bus changes.
Ferries
A very popular way to travel on New Year’s Eve typically begins to reach capacity from mid-afternoon. If you’re looking to catch a ferry, plan to arrive early in the day as queues will be long and consider buses if ferries are full. Plan your trip before leaving home.
Access to some ferry wharves including Circular Quay, Milsons Point and McMahons Point will be affected as surrounding vantage points reach capacity during the day. Some ferries will stop running from the early evening.
You may not be able to catch a ferry to your preferred destination and will need to consider other transport options including trains and buses, and walk instead.
Service changes
Ferries won’t stop at McMahons Point wharf from 10am and Milsons Point wharf from 3pm. Catch trains to North Sydney or Milsons Point stations instead.
Ferries won’t stop at Woolwich Wharf from 11.30am.
From around 5.30pm ferries won’t run to or from Circular Quay.
Limited ferries run after the midnight fireworks to Manly and Lower North Shore wharves only.
There are no late night ferries on the F3 Parramatta River, F4 Pyrmont Bay, F7 Double Bay and F9 Watsons Bay routes.
See details about ferry changes.
Light rail
Regular services through the city centre, south east and inner west suburbs until 4am on New Year’s Day.
L1 Dulwich Hill light rail services run regularly between Dulwich Hill and Central station (Grand Concourse).
L2 Randwick light rail services run between Circular Quay and Randwick via Central Station (Chalmers Street). L3 Kingsford line services run between Circular Quay and Juniors Kingsford via Central station (Chalmers Street).
Service changes:
From 2pm L2 and L3 services won’t run between Circular Quay and Town Hall due to road closures
From 7pm L2 and L3 services will start and end at Central due to road closures.
Change at Central for trains to Wynyard or Metro to Martin Place and walk to the harbour. For access to Darling Harbour and Pyrmont, walk from Town Hall or Central.
From 8pm to 2.30am, L1 services won’t run between Convention and Central due to large crowds and road closures. Walk to Central for trains home.
See details about light rail changes
Walking and riding
Some roads will be closed to people walking and cycling. The Sydney Harbour Bridge walkway and cycleway will close from 6pm New Year’s Eve until 2am on New Year’s Day. The Cahill Expressway walkway over Circular Quay will close from 6am Tuesday 31 December to 5.30am Wednesday 1 January. The Western Distributor walkway above Darling Harbour will close from 8:30pm to 9:15pm and 11:30pm to 12:30am.
Major cycleways in the city centre will be closed on New Year’s Eve. Spaces to lock up bikes in the city centre will be limited.
Bicycles including share bikes and food delivery services aren’t allowed on closed roads. If you plan to ride, you must walk your bicycle to your destination once roads have closed.
Look for share bike hubs in the city east, Central and Pyrmont outside the road closures. You can complete your journey on public transport or foot.
Don’t drink and ride. People riding bikes face the same alcohol restrictions as drivers.
Getting home
Getting out of the city centre is different on New Year’s Eve. The way you arrived will be different to the way you leave to get home as many roads will be closed to people walking and driving. Plenty of event staff will be available along with extra signs to help you get home.
Be prepared for a longer walk to buses, trains, metro and light rail. Some train and metro stations may have different entry and exit points. Try to leave the city centre after 1am to avoid the crowds.
Live updates
Follow @TrainsInfo , @SydneyMetro , @BusesInfo , and @FerriesInfo on X (formerly Twitter) for real-time service information or use a real-time transport app such as the Opal Travel App to track your service.
From early December you can visit TransportNSW.info for more details on all the extra services and to plan your trip on New Year’s Eve.
For real-time updates on road closures and traffic conditions, follow @LiveTrafficSyd .