The weekend services will also run as per the timetable.

8am

The train timetable for the South Coast rail line has been thrown into chaos due to industrial action.

The industrial action affects all intercity services and is the result of the Rail Tram and Bus union objecting to testing of the New Intercity Fleet occurring on the Newcastle line.

Earlier this morning, NSW Trainlink tweeted that all South Coast services for Friday had been axed.

However the Transport for NSW information site is now stating "limited services" were in operation from 7am.

"A limited train service is operating on the Blue Mountains line, Central Coast and Newcastle line and South Coast line following industrial action earlier," the site said.

"Allow plenty of extra travel time or consider alternative travel arrangements. Also listen to announcements and check information displays."

Some commuters have reported that Dapto station was closed on Friday morning while other Illawarra commuters had to drive to Waterfall to get a train - causing them to be almost an hour late for work.

The morning services were thrown into disarray because staff were not on hand to get the trains out of the stabling yards and onto the tracks.

When mediation ended the strike early on Friday morning, it took time to get the trains out and onto the network, causing delays for morning commuters.

At this stage, Transport for NSW is hopeful of running to the standard timetable by peak hour on Friday afternoon.

The RTBU dispute is over testing of the New Intercity Fleet (NIF) on the Newcastle line on Friday and Saturday.

The union on Thursday called for an urgent stop to the testing, claiming a newly released report commissioned by the RTBU said the fleet was not safe.

"NIF project does not identify all material hazards and fails to assess them to the degree necessary, hence the NIF operating model is not safe so far as is reasonably practical," the report claimed.

"Particular concerns are raised with the CCTV view being obstructed by the open saloon door, shortcomings with the CCTV technology and the lack of monitoring of the platform gap."

Late on Thursday, staff voted to go on a 24-hour strike on Friday, due to the government's decision to continue with the testing.

"We've been warning the government of serious safety concerns on the New Intercity Fleet and now we regrettably have no option but to take action to protect the community and our members from these trains that are a safety disaster waiting to happen," RTBU NSW Secretary Alex Claassens said.

The strike was ended after several hours when the government decided not to go ahead with the testing.

RTBU NSW Secretary Alex Claassens said it was disappointing "rail workers had to stand up as the last line of defence in protecting the community."

"I look forward to upcoming discussions where safety concerns will be front-and-centre and railworkers views will be heard," he said.

Transport Minister Andrew Constance hit out at the RTBU over the strike.

"Wildcat strikes forcing crowding on commuter services in the middle of a pandemic? I'm not happy about it," Mr Constance said.

He said the government would consider its legal options.

"We quite rightfully will today consider our options as to what happened this morning," he said.

"Wildcat strikes are not on and there's penalties that can apply and we are well within our right to do that."

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