Train Strikes Update: Lilli Pilli Resident Found in Dubbo After Falling Asleep During World’s Longest Commute

Finn Seabrook | Local Correspondent | Sutherland Shire Gazette

16 January 2025

In a bizarre turn of events, Peter McAllister, a resident of Lilli Pilli, found himself waking up in Dubbo after what started as a routine commute to his North Sydney office. The journey, originally planned for a 9:00 am meeting, turned into an epic ordeal thanks to Sydney’s go-slow train strike.

Peter left home at 5:30 am, anticipating some delays due to the industrial action.

“I knew it was going to be bad, but I never expected this,” Peter recounted. After a series of unexpected train changes and delays, he found himself still en route by 1:00 pm, stranded at Redfern. "By that point, I just gave up and decided to head back home."

But Peter's odyssey didn't end there. Exhausted from the 30+ degree heat and the seemingly endless travel, he dozed off on the train back to Lilli Pilli. What he thought would be a brief nap turned into a deep slumber, lasting the entire journey to Dubbo, a town roughly 400 kilometres away.

"I woke up to a train conductor shaking me, saying, ‘Mate, this is Dubbo.’ I thought I was dreaming," Peter said. “I left home yesterday to get to North Sydney. How I ended up in Dubbo is beyond me.”

Peter’s unintended adventure has become the talk of the Sutherland Shire, with locals both sympathizing and chuckling at his plight. “He just wanted to get to work,” said a friend. “And instead, he ended up in a different region entirely.”

The journey, which should have taken a couple of hours at most, turned into a 24-hour saga. Peter’s experience highlights the chaos caused by the strike and the unpredictable nature of Sydney’s public transport system. “I’ve never been so happy to be home,” Peter said. “But next time, I’m taking a thermos of coffee—and maybe a sleeping bag, just in case.”

As Peter recovers from his unexpected regional getaway, he’s become a local legend, proving that sometimes the commute really is the journey—just not the one you signed up for.