Premier announces Metro Northwest line more than $1b under budget
Gladys Berejiklian has tested out the new Sydney Metro driverless trains ahead of the Northwest line’s May opening with the Premier announcing the project will come in significantly under budget.
The Sydney Metro Northwest railway line will officially open in May more than $1 billion under budget, just weeks after the state election this Saturday.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian went for a test ride on the driverless train this morning from Tallawong station near Rouse Hill to Norwest station, located in the Norwest Business Park in western Sydney.
The four stop trip along part of the 36 kilometre track was a smooth experience for the Premier and the media selected to attend.
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The train had a ‘new car’ smell and reached speeds close to 100 kilometres an hour.
Ms Berejiklian said it was a “thrill” to ride along the $8.3 billion Metro line, which began construction in 2013.
“We’ve just taken a ride on the first Metro to come to New South Wales and to come to Australia,” she said.
“I am quite struck for words as to how awesome it was to experience what so many commuters will in May, (in) just a couple of months’ time.”
“We are thrilled this $8.3 billion project will be finished on time and $1 billion dollars under budget,” Ms Berejiklian said.
Minister for Transport Andrew Constance said the Metro Northwest railway line is the first of many Metro projects the Coalition government has pledged to deliver.
“We delivered this service for the people of Sydney’s Northwest, but we are not done, with the Metro currently being extended from Chatswood, under the Harbour and onto Bankstown,” he said.
All 22 trains built by French multinational company Alstom have been delivered to the marshalling yard at Tallawong in Sydney’s west and are currently being tested along the track. More than 35,000 kilometres of testing has already taken place through the 13 stations along the line.
The driverless trains can carry up to 1300 people, will arrive at stations every four minutes, and have three doors per carriage to speed up entries and exits.
Initially the Northwest Metro will carry up to 18,000 passengers an hour in each direction, with the ability to expand to40,000 an hour in the future.
The second stage of the Sydney Metro, the City and Southwest line from Chatswood to Bankstown, is predicted to have services running in 2024.
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