Sydney Metro city: Everything you need to know about travel times, fares, passenger numbers, cost of stations
A massive 250,000 commuters are set to board metro city services for the first time in less than a fortnight – and the driverless network has even faster trains and more frequent services on the horizon.
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Hundreds of thousands of passengers are set to walk through Sydney Metro city stations for the first time in a matter of days – as it can be revealed the driverless network has been designed to cater for customers decades into the future with even faster trains and more frequent services on the horizon.
The team behind the Sydney Metro City project are putting the finishing touches on multimillion-dollar transport hubs stretching from Sydenham to Waterloo and Central, Gadigal station at Pitt St, Martin Place and Barangaroo, before diving under Sydney Harbour to Victoria Cross and Crows Nest stations in the city’s north, linking to Chatswood.
New patronage predictions have revealed 250,000 passengers are expected to travel through soon-to-be-opened city metro stations each day when services launch on the $21.6 billion transport project.
The Daily Telegraph has been given a sneak peek at station precincts before the public start boarding driverless metro trains from August 4.
Sydney Metro City and Southwest project officer Hugh Lawson told The Telegraph the entire driverless network has a future-proofed design, meaning services can be increased and travel times slashed even further.
“With the Metro stations we’ve been able to build for the future right now,” he said.
“So both in terms of the size of the stations, they are designed for growth to come, not just for the people we expect to use them on day one.
“The rail systems and the trains are actually a platform for growth.”
The project boss said the frequency of services can increase depending on future demand.
“So if in 10, 20 years time there’s been a huge growth in demand on the network, all of the technology allows us to actually increase the frequency and run more trains,” he said.
“All we need to do is basically buy the extra trains and the system is already enabled.
“It really does allow for the city to continue growing and for the metro to be able to take the population load, particularly through the CBD.”
Mr Lawson said while services will run as frequently as every four minutes during peak hour, when demand increases, more trains running at higher speeds could become a reality.
Throughout the $1.5 billion redevelopment of Sydney’s Central station, Metro construction staff demolished and removed platforms 13, 14 and 15, all while preventing a “single delay to the existing network”.
Mr Lawson said the 50,000-strong team of construction workers across the project had to “weave” a modern, driverless Metro network into a public transport system built more than a century ago.
“Metro really does take public transport to the next level here,’ he said.
“We’ve got the advantage that we have built these stations over the last few years, whereas a lot of our public transport network relies on infrastructure that was built 100 to 120 years ago.
“When you look at things like the Bankstown line and the station at Sydenham they have been developed over literally 100 plus years, so trying to weave a modern Metro into some of those older assets is quite challenging.”
While touring Gadigal Station at Pitt St in the CBD, 39-year-old Metro employee Sandra Castano, was abseiling off the side of the station to make sure sandstone tiles were clean before the station opens to the public.
Transport Minister Jo Haylen said 445 new metro services would soon race deep under the surface of the city from Chatswood to Sydenham each day.
“A peak hour trip from Tallawong to Martin Place will be about half an hour quicker than the car,” she said. “We want convenient journeys that save time like this to encourage more people on to public transport.”
Metro boss Peter Regan likened the opening of the Sydney Metro City Line to the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
“This is a history-making occasion that will transform the way Sydney moves and make us a more connected city,” he told The Daily Telegraph. “While all Sydneysiders are set to benefit from fast, reliable, turn-up-and-go services – the impact will be most felt by those in North West Sydney.
“For the first time, there will be a direct link straight into the Sydney CBD that is quicker than a car trip.”
INSIDE SYDENHAM STATION
It is the Sydney Metro station at the end of the city line expected to welcome more than 30,000 passengers a day onto the transport network.
Sydenham Station, in the city’s inner west, was redeveloped into an integrated Sydney Trains and Metro hub by 6500 employees for a $1 billion price tag.
Passengers getting onto the driverless network at the redevelopment station are expected to see travel times to the heart of the Sydney CBD at Pitt St cut by up to 12 minutes, with Metro trains scheduled to arrive every four minutes during peak hours.
Meanwhile, commuters will be able to access the new Barangaroo metro station in 13 minutes, with travel times cut by an estimated 27 minutes.
WHAT TO EXPECT AT WATERLOO
Commuters getting on the Sydney Metro city network at the $525 million Waterloo Station are set to see dramatic cuts to travel times to destinations across Sydney, with trips lasting just two minutes to Central station, while passengers will reach Martin Place in as little as six minutes.
Project manager Hugh Lawson said commuters will be shocked at how quickly you can travel from Waterloo to the CBD and Victoria Cross in the city’s north.
“It’s a matter of minutes and it will really make a difference to people.”
The station, built by more than 5000 construction workers, features three artworks created by Aboriginal artist Nicole Monks, including a giant sculptural map with the 1000 footprints of 1000 local residents.
MARVEL AT MARTIN PLACE
The mammoth Metro station site at Martin Place, built by 10,000 workers, is the biggest transport hub across on the new line, with a host of retail stores expected to move in over the coming months.
Commuters are set to be welcomed by an expansive glowing tunnel, which acts as a pedestrian link between the northern and southern sides of the $745 million station, known as ‘Muru Giligu’ or “path of light”.
The cavern that makes up the station totals 15 storeys in height, with commuters given direct access to the T4 Eastern Suburbs line, without need to tap on or off.
Passengers will be ferried from Martin Place to Chatswood in just 11 minutes.
VICTORIA CROSS
A massive 39,400 commuters are set to access Victoria Cross each day, with a Metro Station site that could fit the cabin of a 747 plane.
More than 5000 construction workers built the $662 million station precinct, which will see travel times to Central Station slashed to nine minutes.
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