Rail commuters could be cut off from major area of Sydney for more than a year

Thousands of Sydney commuters would be majorly inconvenienced under an upgrade proposal set to cost more than $20 billion.

People living in a heavily populated part of Sydney could be cut off from the rest of the city for more than a year as part of a proposal to revamp the area’s heavy rail line.

Commuters from Bankstown to Sydenham, in the city’s west, would be forced onto buses in lieu of the regular train service while it receives an upgrade to meet Metro standards.

Briefing notes to the Labor government, according to Daily Telegraph, showed one of the options to upgrade the line was to shut it down west of Sydenham from July 2024.

An overview of Sydney Metro projects as developed by the previous Coalition government. Picture: NSW Government

Under the plan, buses would be brought in to replace trains for up to 15 months.

The project’s cost, according to the latest forecast, has jumped by an additional $2 billion, making it an enormous $8 billion more than its earlier indications.

The government however has yet to disclose whether it will endorse the expensive project and the 15-month T3 closure.

The Sydenham to Bankstown line would be down for more than a year under the proposal. Picture: Jeremy Piper

Documents indicated the regular heavy rail line would continue to operate between Bankstown and Liverpool for the full period.

It had initially been expected to take 12 months to complete, but a re-evaluation saw the end date pushed out by three months.

The T3 Bankstown line completes more than 1.6 million trips every month and is one of the busiest in the country.

Citing a 2020 update from Sydney Metro on the South West segment upgrade that claimed the line would only be closed for six months, Premier Chris Minns argued the initial projection was deceptive.

A huge part of Sydney would be affected.

“It appears the former Liberal Government kept hidden the true cost of Sydney Metro City and Southwest and the potential impact on passengers,” a spokesperson said.

“From an initial price tag of around $12 billion, we now know the cost of building the line is upwards of $20 billion.”

The full city and South West line was now projected to cost $20.11 billion but could be cut down if the government manages to sell $1.6 billion in land surrounding stations and the line.

It’s understood the Labor government is continuing to receive briefings on a number of Metro projects.

The project has blown out to being more than $8 billion more than first proposed.

The spokesperson said the state government had been uncovering many “key details” not disclosed to the public by the former government.

“We are being upfront and honest about the challenges we are inheriting. We’re not interested in assigning blame, we’re interested in finding solutions,” they said.

It comes as the new government this week announced for the first time what the Metro West project could cost – more than $25 billion.

Locals have since expressed concern over the closure forcing them into having to drive to the city.