It will cost $73 million to run 100 buses a day instead of a train line. That’s just the start

Taxpayers will fork out well over $73 million to put on replacement buses for up to 60,000 commuters disrupted each day by the 12-month closure of a busy rail line in Sydney’s south-west from as early as July.

Amid a chronic shortage of drivers across Sydney, tender documents show that the state government’s deal with bus company Transit Systems will last for almost 23 months, nearly double the anticipated yearlong closure of the T3 line between Sydenham and Bankstown.

The total bill for replacement buses will be millions of dollars more than the estimated $73 million cost of the contract with Transit – which includes GST – because that deal covers three-quarters of the required services.

Bankstown line commuters will be forced into the nightmare of catching replacement buses along gridlocked roads for 12 months.Credit: Edwina Pickles

Transport authorities are negotiating with other bus companies for the rest of the planned services, and they declined to reveal the likely cost of contracts that are due to be awarded within the next month.

About 200 drivers will be needed to operate 100 buses which will run between Bankstown and Sydenham for a year while a 13-kilometre stretch of rail track is converted to driverless train standards as part of the final section of the $21.6 billion Metro City and Southwest line.

Transport for NSW executive director Grant Knoetze said the near 23-month contract with Transit allowed for planning and logistics before and after the shutdown, citing the need for depots, fuelling facilities, marquees for bus stops and staff.

“It’s not just a case of turning on the tap. We need to make sure that we have all bases covered given that we have a fairly complex plan to deliver,” he said.

The agency is finalising the details of the temporary transport plan, which are due to be revealed within the next month.

Government figures show Sydney had 272 bus driver vacancies in February, up from 257 in January and 248 in December.

Knoetze said the agency would ensure that the hiring of bus drivers for the Bankstown-Sydenham services did not result in them being removed from routes elsewhere in Sydney.

As part of its deal, Transit offered to buy and operate 60 diesel buses for “dedicated use” during the Bankstown line’s closure. The first of the new buses being built in China are not expected to arrive until August.

Knoetze said the replacement services would start between July and October irrespective of when Transit’s Chinese-built buses reached Sydney.

Commuters face a doubling of travel times during morning and evening peaks when buses replace trains between Bankstown and Sydenham.

Coalition transport spokeswoman Natalie Ward said the lack of information provided to commuters was concerning, given that the shutdown was only months away. “It is starting to feel like a race against time,” she said.

A spokesperson for Transport Minister Jo Haylen said the government knew how important it was to deliver plenty of travel options because it would be a “very difficult” 12 months for everyone who relied on the T3 Bankstown line.

“This [Transit contract] is the admin work we had to do before we can finish the final temporary transport plan. The contract represents the business arrangement with the operator to deliver bus services, but it is not the plan itself,” he said.

A new timetable for Sydney’s rail network will be introduced within months to support the Bankstown line closure.

Transport for NSW secretary Josh Murray recently said the timetable changes were needed to account for the Bankstown line closure, which would have “flow-on impacts” on other services on the T1 Western, T2 Inner West, and T8 Airport lines.

A shuttle train service will operate between Lidcombe and Bankstown during the shutdown. Regents Park will be the main interchange point for passengers travelling to Bankstown, Liverpool and the Sydney CBD.

For commuters west of Bankstown, trains now running between Liverpool and the City Circle via Bankstown will instead operate to the CBD via Regents Park and Lidcombe.

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