Industrial action delays completion of the Sydney Metro service between Sydenham and Bankstown

Completion of a major transport upgrade between Sydenham and Bankstown has been delayed until 2026, leaving many commuters stuck on replacement busses.

Completion of the Sydney Metro service from Sydenham to Bankstown has been delayed until 2026, with the government blaming strike action for the blow-out.

Passengers will be forced to use buses while they wait longer to jump on a metro from Bankstown to Sydney’s CBD as work is carried out to complete the Southwest Conversion project.

More than 130 days of work have been impacted by the Combined Rail Unions-led industrial action which delayed construction and testing programs on the project, a statement from NSW Transport Minister John Graham said.

Access to work sites and work permits needed by contractors to complete work in live electrical environments were restricted during the action.

More than 130 days of work have been impacted by the Combined Rail Unions led industrial action which delayed construction and testing programs on the Southwest Conversion project. Picture: Supplied

This led to construction activities being reprogrammed, which consequently delayed dynamic train testing to ensure the new railway was safe for passengers.

Commuters on the M1 line will continue to experience disruptions while work progresses to convert the 130-year-old line to modern metro standards.

Mr Graham said the government had always indicated this “complex and difficult” project could take longer than one year to complete.

“Works like upgrades to overhead wiring and station platforms, as well as electrical work to disconnect the line from the wider train network haven’t been able to proceed on schedule,” he said.

“Testing will start soon but industrial action has been very disruptive.

“We promise it will be worth the wait – passengers can look forward to fast, safe and reliable trips, with a train arriving every four minutes in the peak.”

Rail, Tram and Bus Union secretary Toby Warnes said there was no industrial action that would have impacted the project, and that workers were being “scapegoated”.

“To put it simply, there was no industrial action affecting the Bankstown Metro and it is galling of the government to again blame rail workers for its own incompetence,” he said.

“The NSW Government and Transport for NSW should stop playing the blame game every time there’s a transport failure- they are the ones responsible and should take accountability if they can’t deliver their projects on time or on budget.”

Transport Minister John Graham said the government always said this complex and difficult project could take longer than one year to complete. Picture: Supplied

Mr Graham said when the extension to Bankstown does open, a trip to Central will take 28 minutes, Marrickville to Macquarie University will take 36 minutes, and Dulwich Hill to Victoria Cross will take 21 minutes.

To date, all platform screen doors and mechanical gap fillers along the Marrickville to Bankstown line have been installed, taking about 500 hours to fit out each station.

New lifts have been installed at Wiley Park, Dulwich Hill, Hurlstone Park, Punchbowl and Canterbury Stations, as well as new kiss and ride zones and refurbishing of station buildings and platform surfaces.

A total of 28.3km of high-tech railway fencing has been installed along the alignment, which is made up of 5.8km of segregation fencing to separate the existing freight line and the metro corridor.

More than 22km of security fencing includes an intrusion and object detection system which uses fibre optic cables to monitor for trespassing and other offences.