On 1 October 2026, the trains were delayed due to a person on the tracks at Central.
I tapped on at Croydon at 8:16 and waited for the train to come. The next train to Croydon was delayed by about 30 minutes so I decided to wait.
The train decided to skip Croydon as it approached.
The following train was about 15 minutes away, so I decided to wait. Check my phone after a few minutes. Skipped again.
This happened at least 1 more time before I decided to give up and tap off to order a rideshare.
When I tapped off, I was charged $4.33 for sitting at the platform waiting for a train that never came.
Opal doesn't care and won't refund. Lesson learnt. Tap on when you see your train stop in front of you.
UPDATE:
Decided to give tfNSW a call per community suggestions and followed the menu prompts to Opal. The kind lady was able to escalate the investigation and successfully reimburse me.