Sydney Metro: Shaking on northwest trains, commuter fears voiced
There are growing concerns among commuters travelling on the Sydney Metro northwest, running through The Hills and north shore, at the ‘bouncing and shaking’ on the driverless trains. But Transport for NSW has moved to assure commuters they are not in danger, citing a simple solution.
Hills Shire
Don't miss out on the headlines from Hills Shire. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Electric freight trains to rumble under homes in Orbital tunnel
- $1.2b skyscraper with 42 storeys approved for Metro Station
- Revealed: Three new rail lines for Western Sydney Aerotropolis
- Revealed: Where 50,000 homes will be built in Sydney
Commuters on the Sydney Metro northwest are fearing possible derailment of the driverless trains after reporting “violent shaking” of the carriages through the tunnels.
Dozens of concerned travellers took to social media to raise the alarm on the shock shaking of the metro trains as they reached top speeds travelling between stations.
One commuter said the carriages had been shaking for months, however, incidents have become increasingly worse in the past few days.
Another commuter said their experience on the Metro was “such a rough, rough ride”.
One person riding the Metro questioned if the government was “waiting for a derailment to happen” before Transport for NSW looked into the issue.
However, Transport for NSW has moved to ensure commuters it is aware of the shaking, and there is no safety issue and would be solved by wheel re-profiling.
NewsLocal jumped on the Sydney Metro at Tallawong Station riding through to Chatswood and returning to find the biggest trouble spots along the massive driverless network.
Major issues of shaking was pinpointed between Kellyville and Bella Vista stations above ground.
Meanwhile, when diving into the tunnels, entire carriages repeatedly bounced during the trip from Norwest to Hills Showground and Castle Hill.
Another area commuters have been wary about was the retrofitted Epping station area where passengers said wheel screeching and shaking of the carriages was “really concerning”.
Lane Cove residents, Peter and Jane Kremer rode the Metro out to Tallawong Station on Wednesday, telling NewsLocal their ride was “a lot rougher than our previous experience”.
“You could hear the wheels rattling and looking between carriages you could see them bouncing and shaking,” Mr Kremer said.
Railway Operations Researcher Alex Wardrop said the Metro cars “were basically bought off the shelf”, citing issue with increased vibrations on trains.
“Their suspension would not have been tuned for Sydney tunnel conditions, unlike Sydney’s existing suburban double deck trains,” he said.
However, a Sydney Metro Transport spokeswoman said the service had travelled more than 3.8 million kilometres in the past year and carried more than 20 million commuters.
“Vibrations often happen on railways with train movements affected by various conditions, such as weather events and the shape of the track,” she said.
“Sydney Metro’s operator, Metro Trains Sydney, monitors the metro network in real-time and is aware of this issue — it is not safety related.”
The spokeswoman said the fleet of Metro trains, and the track they run on, are both subject to regular maintenance and safety checks.
“Over time, the wheels on any train require re-profiling, a grinding process to restore wheels back to their original wheel profile as a result of steel-on-steel contact,” she said.
“Sydney Metro’s operator, Metro Trains Sydney is starting this process, which is a standard part of operating and maintaining a rail line.
“Rolling stock on railway lines around the world are subject to regular wheel re-profiling.”