The Daily Telegraph has 75 family passes to giveaway for an exclusive trip on the Sydney Metro
Sydney Metro’s $8.3 billion northwest service from Rouse Hill to Chatswood opens at the end of May but readers of The Daily Telegraph have the chance to jump on board ahead of the official opening. Win one of 75 family passes to take the 36km trip.
Sydney, meet the people who built your new metro.
They have toiled, often underground and out of sight, for years on the $8.3 billion train service from Rouse Hill to Chatswood and now they are ready to welcome you on board.
Readers of The Daily Telegraph will be the first members of the public to take the 36km journey from Tallawong station to Chatswood station return next Sunday, May 12, two weeks ahead of the official opening on May 26.
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There are 75 family passes for five available for the trip which includes a guided tour of one of the stations.
“This is history in the making, the first time the general public has been given the opportunity to take a journey on a driverless train in Australia, the full 36km trip from Rouse Hill to Chatswood,” Transport Minister Andrew Constance said.
“I remember that amazing grainy vision of the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge almost a century ago — Sydney Metro will have a true city-shaping effect on our city, and I can’t wait for people to get aboard.”
Roads, landscaping and minor concreting is being completed at the station sites before they are given a final wash ready for passengers.
Thousands of workers over an eight-year period have contributed to building Australia’s biggest public transport project which was completed more than $1 billion under budget.
The service will initially carry up to 18,000 passengers an hour in each direction with Metro trains arriving every four minutes at stations during peak.
The Daily Telegraph has interviewed key workers who played a role in building the Metro, including project managers, engineers and construction experts.
Tunnelling specialist Scott Connor, who managed the construction of the twin six kilometre tunnels between Cherrybrook and Epping, says his job required a lot of planning and precision.
“It’s an operation that requires so many things to go right, and so many people to be doing their job and working harmoniously and in synch,” he said.
“It’s really satisfying to be standing there on a multimillion-dollar piece of machinery and literally eating through the rock, and watching the machine move past the walls, and knowing that it’s not just the guys at the rock face so to speak, but everyone along that line, all the way back to where the spoil is being loaded into trucks at the site maybe eight kilometres away.”
Project manager Kirsten Evans was responsible for delivering Norwest station. During the peak of construction she managed about 220 employees who overcame design and logistics challenges.
“Overcoming those challenges to deliver the first metro in Australia was very satisfying,” Ms Evans said.
“We are leaving a legacy, it’s one of those things you’ll drive past, show the grandkids, and say ‘I did that, I was involved with that’.”
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