Sydney light rail opening: Everything you need to know
For the first time since 1961, a tram service will once again run along George St in Sydney’s CBD when the long-awaited $2.9 billion light rail project officially opens in mid-December.
NSW
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Sydneysiders will be able to ride the $2.9 billion light rail project in less than two weeks after the opening date was confirmed for December 14.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Transport Minister Andrew Constance this morning announced the first passenger-carrying light rail service will start at 11am on Saturday December 14 and run until 1am the next day.
Trams will be free to use for the opening weekend.
Services will run between Circular Quay and Randwick, and each coupled tram can hold up to 450 passengers, the equivalent of up to nine standard buses.
Regular services on the CBD and South East Light Rail will run from 5am to 1am every day.
The Kingsford stretch of the line will not be completed until March 2020.
A spokesman for Transport for NSW said ALTRAC, the consortium behind the CBD and South East Light Rail, expects initial travel times from Randwick to Circular Quay to be about 50 minutes for safety reasons.
“With a new mode of public transport being introduced into the busy CBD, we are prioritising the safety of customers and the community,” the spokesman said.
“In George Street, for example, tram drivers are slowing right down because some pedestrians are still not behaving safely near light rail.”
She said Transport NSW would be working with Altrac over the next few months to improve the journey time as the light rail’s integration into the city’s traffic is finetuned.
“This will continue as we ramp up to full services on the L3 Kingsford Line in March 2020.”
The ‘bedding-in” is similar to other light rail projects around the world, which take time to achieve optimal travel times.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the new network will move up to 13,500 commuters an hour during peak time in both directions, replacing “the conga line of buses which used to sit in traffic on George St”.
The long-awaited announcement comes more than three years after it was first touted and more than $1.3 billion over budget.
The project has suffered extensive delays, with major construction initially set to end in April 2018. Testing of the service has been ongoing for the past few weeks and the line has been hit by multiple breakdowns.
Transport Minister Andrew Constance urged pedestrians to be careful around the new trams.
“With passenger services right around the corner it’s more important than ever for the community to pay attention to safety messages around trams,” Mr Constance said.
“We have launched multiple safety campaigns telling people to stay safe around light rail. We need pedestrians to keep their heads up and drivers to stay out of the tram corridor and not queue across intersections.
Late last month the NSW Rail, Tram and Bus Union slammed the state government, saying there are at least 11 design flaws and serious safety issues.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
WHICH LINE
● L1 Dulwich Hill Line currently runs between Central Station and Dulwich Hill in Sydney’s Inner West.
● L2 Randwick Line running in both directions between Circular Quay and Randwick via Central Station opens December 14. Stops include Royal Randwick, Wansey Rd, UNSW High St and Randwick (High St and Avoca St intersection).
● L3 Kingsford Line operating in both directions between Circular Quay and Juniors Kingsford via Central Station will open in March 2020.
L2 TIMETABLES
Turn up and go services will run every 4-8 minutes between Circular Quay and Central, and every 8-12 minutes between Central and Randwick from 7am to 7pm.
This will become more frequent after the bedding in period.
Normal tram services will then operate between 5am and 1am on the L2 Randwick Line and L3 Kingsford Line seven days a week (from March).
Estimated service arrival times will be visible on electronic information boards on platforms and transport apps such at the Opal Travel app.
FARES
Light rail fares are the same as bus fares, calculated on distance.
They are set by Transport for NSW in accordance with independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) advice.
Payment is via Opal cards, debit or visa card, or single trip tickets available at all tram stops.
All light rail stops are accessible with level access between platforms and trams for people using wheelchairs, scooters, walking frames and prams.
BUSES
The light rail aims to complement bus services, not replace them, and express and some all-stops and cross-city services will continue to operate.
However there will be some changes after the Kingsford line opens.
South East bus network routes will be affected, with many city routes likely to be truncated at Randwick and Kingsford, forcing people to change modes to complete their journeys.
The Anzac Pde busway will continue to run for day-to-day all-stops and express services from the South East to the city and major event services.
HOW LONG IS THE ROUTE
When the L3 opens in March, the 12km route will feature 19 stops, from Circular Quay along George Street to Central Station, through Surry Hills to Moore Park, Kensington and Kingsford via Anzac Parade and Randwick via Alison Road and High Street.
WHERE DOES THE L2 STOP
The CBD and South East Light Rail stops will be at:
Circular Quay (on Alfred St near Pitt St)
Bridge Street (George St south of Bridge St)
Wynyard (George St between Hunter St and Angel Place)
QVB (George St south of Market St)
Town Hall (George St between Park and Bathurst streets)
Chinatown (George St near Campbell St)
Haymarket (Rawson Place west of Pitt St)
Central Chalmers St (between Eddy Ave and Devonshire St)
Surry Hills (Devonshire St at Ward Park, near Riley St)
Moore Park (opposite Sydney High north of Cleveland St)
Royal Randwick (north side of Alison Rd west of Darley Rd)
Wansey Rd (south side of Alison Rd near Wansey Rd)
UNSW High Street (corner of High St and Wansey Rd)
Randwick (High St west of intersection with Avoca Street)