How to get to and from the 2025 MS Gong Ride
29 SEPTEMBER 2025
The iconic MS Gong Ride rolls off the start line on Sunday 2 November. Here is a handy guide on how to get to the start line and home from the finish line. With notes on parking around Thomas Dalton Park, additional train services and how to take advantage of our Bag Drop services, this article is worth the read.
Parking will be limited around the start and finish lines, so we encourage you to leave your car at home and take full advantage of the public transport available on the day.
Additional Opal Ticketed Services and Special Event Trains will be operating on the day. Why not take full advantage of public transport to find your way to the start and home again. You can even take your bike onto the train with you – even your e-bikes*!
Here are our tips to make your journey easier:
TIP 1: Leave your car at home!
There is no parking available at the Tempe Recreation Reserve (please do not park at IKEA), and partial road closures at the Engadine Start Site. Our advice is to leave your car at home and take public transport to the start site wherever possible.
If you are getting dropped off to Tempe by a very, very nice person that early in the morning then they can use IKEA as a drop off location, there is no parking allowed at IKEA. The parking lot is open as a Kiss and Ride location from 5:10am – 8:00am. From there, Tempe Recreation Reserve is a short bike ride away.
NOTE - PARKING AROUND THE EVENT VILLAGE: If you or a loved one wants to park at Thomas Dalton Park, please note that the Fairy Meadow Surf Life Saving Club car park will be a clearway on Sunday 2 November from 5am - 3pm. Participants are advised not to park their vehicle in this car park on Saturday to secure a parking spot for the event on Sunday.
Additionally, the car park at Carters Lane will be used by the MS Gong Ride on Sunday and is not available for parking.
There is ample parking in and around Thomas Dalton Park, but participants should expect to walk up to 15 mins. You can also make use of the P1 and P5 car parks at UOW Innovation Campus.
Road and lane closures will be in place around the start lines at Tempe and Engadine (4am and 10am) in Sydney, along the course through the Royal National Park (5am and 2:30pm) and around the finish line at Fairy Meadow (5am and 4:30pm).
For the majority of the course, riders will be sharing roads with general traffic. See road closure and clearway locations in the Transport for NSW interactive Map.
TIP 2: Take advantage of the additional and Special Event trains
GETTING THERE: Additional early morning trains will run to get you to the start lines at Tempe and Engadine:
- 80km course from Tempe: the closest stations to the 80km start line are Tempe, Wolli Creek and Sydenham on the T4 Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line. Tempe Recreation Reserve is a less than 10-minute ride from these stations.
- 53km course from Engadine: the closest station to the 53km start line is Engadine on the T4 Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line. Cooper Street Reserve is a short 5 min (1.3km) cycle ride away.
Plan your train trip using Transport for NSW’s Trip Planner for the latest timetable information. You’ll need to use an Opal card or regular ticketing payment method such as contactless payment when travelling by train to the start areas.
Please note that planned weekend trackwork is taking place across parts of the rail network during the event including between Strathfield and Central (express trains continue to run), the City Circle and the entire Sydney Metro line. Allow extra travel time and consider the alternative travel options.
Bikes are not permitted on buses including rail replacement buses, so plan ahead. For more details see the Travelling with bikes page.
Have a look at the additional early trains timetable here:
GETTING HOME: After the ride additional special event trains will run from Fairy Meadow Station back towards Sydney’s Central Station. Event trains will run every 25 to 35 minutes between 9:30am and 5:30pm, stopping at Thirroul, Stanwell Park, Otford, Waterfall, Engadine, Sutherland, Hurstville, Wolli Creek, Tempe, Sydenham, Redfern, and Central. Remember to show your MS Gong Ride pre-purchased train ticket when boarding these special event trains.
Purchase your Special Event Train Ticket via our Online Store and leave your car at home. Plan ahead and get home faster! Yes, you can take your bike on the train, even your e-bike*.
TIP 3: Use our Bag Drop Service
For a small $5 donation, you can leave your bags with our Bag Drop Service at both Tempe and Engadine start sites and collect them from the finish village in Thomas Dalton Park after your ride. Speed things up and avoid the queues by making your donation online before-hand. Bag drop will be open from 6am onwards.
Safe, secure and convenient – you won’t need to worry about the safety of your belongings.
* Participants are able to travel with e-bikes on Sydney Trains & NSW TrainLink intercity services and Sydney Metro services to get to and from MS Gong Ride on Sunday 2 November. This excludes converted e-bikes (regular pedal bikes that have been fitted with batteries and motors) which are banned on Trains and Metro services effective 1 November 2025.
