Sydney Metro: Commuters can expect delays as buses replace trains on Bankstown Line
Work on the Sydney Metro southwest will force train stations to close and commuters to catch buses over the festive season. See if you will be affected.
The Express
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LONG-SUFFERING commuters will be forced to jump on buses as preliminary work on the Sydney Metro southwest will see many stations on the T3 Bankstown Line close over Christmas.
With trains stopping from several stations between Central and Campsie, Transport for NSW will be adding up to 90 buses each day during peak hours to fill the gap.
Trains will not run from Campsie to Central on the T3 Line during the shutdown period but there will be services between Campsie and Central via Lidcombe and Regent Park stations.
Both residents and Transport for NSW are bracing for busy times with more than 30,000 daily trips recorded during last year’s Christmas and the holiday period.
From 8pm, December 24 to 10am, December 28, the following stations will be shut: Canterbury, Hurlstone Park, Dulwich Hill, Marrickville, Sydenham, St Peters, Erskineville and Redfern.
From 10am, December 28 to January 5, the affected stations are: Canterbury, Hurlstone Park, Dulwich Hill and Marrickville, with train services resuming from Sydenham to Redfern.
Co-ordinator General Transport for NSW Marg Prendergast confirmed the additional buses will provide extra services between Punchbowl and Central stations. These include express and limited stop bus services.
Roydon Ng, the co-ordinator for Save the T3 Bankstown Line and restore Inner West Line, claimed many replacement buses won’t be accessible for wheelchair users and prams.
“The buses replacing trains will not be the modern fleet provided for Macquarie Park commuters during the shutdown of the Epping – Chatswood line,” he said.
“Many of the buses will not be accessible for wheelchair users or parents with prams and young children.”
However, Ms Prendergast said a large number of the bus fleet will be accessible with low floors and room for prams and wheelchairs.
“This two-week temporary closure is different to the upgrade of the Epping to Chatswood line, which required a fleet of buses to replace trains for around seven months,” Ms Prendergast said.
BUSES WON’T MATCH TRAIN SPEEDS
“Bus marshals will be located at busy bus stops to assist customers, including people with limited mobility requiring assistance.
“The reality is that buses will not be able to match the speed of trains.
“The bus plan over the holiday period has been designed to minimise impacts to the road and transport network by spreading the services across various key corridors and stations.
“For example, we are operating a bus service from Punchbowl to the city via Wiley Park, Lakemba and Belmore.
“This service will decrease the number of customers who need to transfer at Campsie.”
Ms Prendergast said commuters on the T3 Line can use trains to Central, with services running between Central and Campsie via Regents Park and Lidcombe stations.
She said Transport for NSW will also proactively monitor the network during the December-January closure to minimise impacts to customers.
There will also be additional replacement bus services on New Year’s Eve.
Mr Ng said his two community groups will continue to push for the restoration of direct lines to the city circle with a protest rally outside Parliament House at 1.30pm on Tuesday, December 10. It will be held just prior to the third hearing of the Upper House inquiry into the Sydenham – Bankstown Conversion for Metro Southwest.
MORE DRIVERLESS TRAINS
Meanwhile, Alstom has been appointed by the NRT consortium to deliver the next order of Sydney’s metro trains, to be used on the new southwest line when it opens in 2024.
Alstom will supply more than 20 driverless Metropolis trains from its Sri City factory in India.
A TfNSW spokesman said the trains will be identical to the existing ones serving the northwest line.
The city and southwest extension from Chatswood to Bankstown will add 15km of new alignment with seven stations through the city centre and convert 13Km of existing heavy railway to metro standards, with 11 stations.
The existing Rouse Hill depot will be expanded and a second depot is to be built at Sydenham.
Once the second stage opens in 2024, the Sydney Metro would serve a 66km route between Rouse Hill in the north and Bankstown in the south with 31 stations.
■ Details on the Christmas period bus schedules: https://transportnsw.info/plan/trackwork-on-t3-t4-lines