Commuters may have to take three trains to get to city in near future

COMMUTERS on Sydney’s T1 Northern Line may have to travel on up to three trains and could double their travel time to the city due to the construction of the Sydney Metro tunnel.

The Chatswood to Epping tunnel may increase travel times by up to half an hour and have residents travelling on three trains to get to North Sydney. Kent Ross (from the Beecroft Cheltenham Civic trust) and other concerned residents at Pennant Hills Train Station. Picture: Adam Ward

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COMMUTERS on Sydney’s T1 Northern Line may have to travel on up to three trains and could double their travel time to the city due to the construction of the Sydney Metro tunnel.

Concerned residents say they are desperate for details as work on the North West Rail Link gets closer to the current line, which the government says will be closed in “late 2018”.

The current service on the T1 Northern Line provides commuters from Normanhurst, Thornleigh and Pennant Hills with a direct connection to the CBD, but this is set to change.

Commuters from stations between Normanhurst and Cheltenham will be forced to get off at Epping, and travel via Strathfield to the city.

Work on the north west rail link will disrupt trains from Epping.

Pennant Hills Civic Trust member Noel Oxley said the “entire region will be stuffed around heavily during the closures” and questioned the effectiveness of the Temporary Transport Plan of replacement bus services.

“One of the issues residents of Pennant Hills have raised is the fact that commuters will have to travel on three trains just to get to the CBD, on a line that theycurrently have a direct link on,” Mr Oxley said.

“Residents have been asking questions and raising concerns about this issue for years but not one of our local members can tell us exactly what is going to happen next year. The deadline is approaching.”

A Transport for NSW spokesmansaid that from late 2018 buses would replace trains for seven months between Epping and Chatswood while the line was converted.

The spokesman could not provide the Advocate with specific travel time estimates, despite their planning documents stating trips would increase between 10 and 45 minutes.

“To enable the operation of rail replacement buses in the Temporary Transport Plan, special works will be implemented across the temporary bus routes to provide extra bus stops, shelters and seats, provide special signage at key intersections, introduce bus-only signal phasing at selected locations, and remove some on-street car parking to make way for extra bus parking,’’ he said.

It is work on the new rail link linking Epping to the north west that will cause issues.

Beecroft Cheltenham Civic Trust president Kent Ross said residents “weren’t listened to when it came to their concerns and now we will have to pay the price”.

“The reality is that comments regarding the Metro line have fallen on deaf ears,” Mr Ross said.

“Many still don’t accept the plans for the line and the changes being made to a public asset.

“The state taxpayer has built the Epping to Chatswood rail link. It was a significant asset and reduced travel times by up to 15 minutes to the city. However, this asset is being passed over to a private company and will transform a line which had a direct, one-train city line, to commuters being herded on to three different trains – of course people are upset.”

Mr Ross also raised concerns over the 2690 passengers that tap off at Macquarie University between 6am and 9.30am each weekday being forced to use the bus replacement.

“To stop train services to Australia’s Silicon Valley, Macquarie Park, for even just a few days would be a nightmare,” he said.

The Transport for NSW spokesman said people could travel to the city “without changing trains on the main Northern Line via Strathfield” and that details about the replacement services would be “finalised later this year’’.