All aboard: Sydney’s mega-metro rail line cleared for opening on Monday
By Matt O'Sullivan
Sydney’s new $21 billion metro rail line under the heart of the city will finally open to passengers on Monday after the national rail safety regulator approved passenger services.
The regulator said it had completed its safety assessment of the main section of the Metro City and Southwest line and granted the necessary approvals.
The new Martin Place metro station in Sydney’s central business district.Credit: Rhett Wyman
Transport Minister Jo Haylen confirmed that the new metro line would open to commuters on Monday.
“We look forward to welcoming passengers on board Sydney’s amazing new railway from Monday,” she said.
The new route between Chatswood and Sydenham was previously due to open on August 4 but was delayed due to a combination of problems, including a lack of final approval from the regulator and a recent meltdown of a connecting stretch of line.
Unlike the opening of Metro Northwest five years ago, there will not be a major ribbon cutting this weekend to mark the occasion ahead of the first passenger services.
In May 2019, tens of thousands of people filed through ticket gates less than an hour after then-premier Gladys Berejiklian cut the ribbon on the project on a Sunday.
Internal documents show that Sydney Metro executives had pencilled in this Sunday as a “fall-back” option for the opening if the earlier target date of August 4 had not been possible.
The firefighters union has repeatedly raised concerns about emergency response plans for incidents along the metro line.
In a letter to the Fire Brigade Employees’ Union earlier this week, the regulator said a “specialist emergency response capability” would be part of the conditions of the operator’s accreditation.
A spokesman for the regulator said conditions imposed on the approval related to tasks required to complete post-commissioning activities. “The granting of approval with conditions is not unusual when new infrastructure of this type comes online,” he said.
The regulator’s clearance for the new metro line comes as the underground City Circle line in the CBD, including between Central and Wynyard stations, will be closed this weekend for maintenance.
The track work in the central city will disrupt Sydney Trains services on the T1, T2, T3, T8 and T9 lines, which may result in different stopping patterns and timetables.
The new metro line comprises six new underground stations, including at North Sydney, Barangaroo and Martin Place, as well as new platforms at Central and Sydenham.
The opening date for the new line under the heart of the city will also influence the start of a 12-month closure of the T-3 Bankstown line to allow it to be converted to metro trains’ standards, as well as the launch of a new timetable for Sydney’s rail network.
The second stage of the city’s expanding driverless train network has been known as Metro City and Southwest during its seven-year construction. It is an extension of the existing Metro Northwest line, which opened in 2019 between Rouse Hill and Chatswood at a cost of $7.3 billion.
When fully open to passengers, the two stages will form one line, known as the M1 Northwest and Bankstown line. A metro journey from Chatswood to the new Gadigal station near Town Hall in the CBD will take 13 minutes, while Chatswood to Sydenham will take 22 minutes.
The opening of the final part of the Metro City and Southwest project between Sydenham and Bankstown has been delayed until late next year due to difficulties converting the existing rail line to metro standards.
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