By Max Maddison

Copyright brisbanetimes

However, less than 24 hours later, a spokesman for Transport for NSW confirmed the original issue remained unresolved while the malfunction had expanded. He said contingencies had been put in place to ensure commuters who could only use contactless cards were still able to travel.

Gates were still accepting Opal cards on Saturday, he added.

The system malfunction on Friday evening was confined to a “technical issue affecting Top Up/Ticket Machines at train stations”, according Friday’s statement.

“We apologise for the inconvenience. Customers can still top up online via Opal Travel app or transportnsw.info and at Opal retailers. Funds already on Opal cards are not impacted, and customers with sufficient balance are still able to travel with existing funds on their cards,” the statement said.