Second passenger train line faces two-month closure

A second Sydney rail line will be closed to train passengers for more than two months, forcing thousands of commuters onto replacement buses or to seek alternative ways to get to their destinations.

The closure of the T6 Bankstown and Lidcombe line from April 27 to June 29 comes several weeks after the NSW government confirmed that the shutdown of the T3 line between Sydenham and Bankstown will last longer than the planned 12 months.

Commuters will be forced to catch replacement buses between Bankstown station and Lidcombe.Credit: Kate Geraghty

The looming 63-day closure of the T6 line is connected to the conversion to metro train standards of the T3, which has been shut since September. Up to 60,000 commuters a day have been forced to catch replacement buses to travel along that corridor in the city’s southwest.

Transport officials say the two-month closure of the T6 line is necessary to allow major construction works associated with this conversion.

Work also involves signalling upgrades and extending platforms at Bankstown station to enable eight-carriage trains to run on the T6 line to Lidcombe, up from the current four-carriage trains.

“These important works will allow all Sydney Trains fleet to access Bankstown station and provide additional capacity for future service growth on the T6 Bankstown line,” Transport for NSW said. “We know this will be disruptive for passengers and the community that relies on the T6 line, and we apologise for the inconvenience.”

Fare-free replacement buses will operate during the T6 line’s closure, comprising express services and an all-station stop route between Bankstown and Lidcombe.

Shuttle train services operating on the T6 have provided more travel options to commuters disrupted by the partial shutdown of the T3 line by connecting Bankstown to Lidcombe via Yagoona, Birrong, Regents Park and Berala.

About 11,000 passengers use trains on the T6 line on an average weekday.

While Yagoona, Birrong, and Bankstown stations will be closed to trains, commuters at Berala and Regents Park stations will be able to use services on the T3 Liverpool line to travel to and from the CBD and inner west during the two-month shutdown of the T6 line.

Commuters also face disruptions from full or partial closures of the popular M1 metro line over several weekends to allow work and testing necessary for the Sydenham-Bankstown conversion. A section of the M1 line between Central Station and Sydenham was shut last weekend.

Sydney Metro said testing of the new extension from Sydenham to Bankstown was due to start shortly, adding that powering up of the line was complete.

“Sydney Metro is working closely with stakeholders to lock in a date for metro trains to make their first journey on the new line,” it said in a statement.

The agency warns that passengers on the M1 line will experience “significant disruption” as the testing program progresses due to full or partial closures on several weekends, along with services ending at 10pm some nights.

Platforms at Bankstown station will be extended during the two-month shutdown.Credit: Louise Kennerley

“We apologise for the inconvenience this may cause, but the disruption is required to complete the rigorous testing to prepare for first passenger services,” it said.

“When the metro was extended from Chatswood to the lower north shore, CBD and Sydenham, the north-west section of the line was closed for 73 days over 12 months to enable the safe extension.”

The 13-kilometre section of track between Sydenham and Bankstown was originally due to reopen as the final part of the M1 metro line late this year but has been delayed until next year.

The government has said that a date next year for the opening will depend on the testing of metro trains on the line over the coming months.

It committed up to an extra $1.1 billion in late 2023 to finish the troubled conversion, pushing the price tag for the entire metro line between Chatswood and Bankstown via the CBD to $21.6 billion. That was up from an original forecast of $12 billion when the project was announced last decade.

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