What Sydney commuters will get to reduce fallout from metro delay

Extra buses will be put on several key routes in northern Sydney as an interim measure to limit commuter disruption following a delay to the opening of the city’s new $21.6 billion metro rail line.

A final major evacuation drill involving firefighters will also be held at the new Barangaroo metro station in the city’s CBD on Thursday, a day after Premier Chris Minns conceded his government should not have given commuters false hope that the mega line would open on August 4.

Following the completion of emergency drills, a new date for the opening will hinge on Fire and Rescue NSW’s evaluation and final approval from the national rail safety regulator.

A major evacuation exercise involving firefighters will be held at the new Barangaroo metro station on Thursday.Credit: Rhett Wyman

Despite the delayed opening, the government is pressing ahead with a shake-up of bus services in Sydney’s north and north-west on Sunday, which was designed to funnel passengers onto the new metro rail line from Chatswood to Sydenham.

In a bid to limit commuter disruption, extra bus services will operate in the interim from the city’s north-west, including the 610X service along the M2 motorway from Castle Hill to the CBD, as well as the 119 bus route along the Pacific Highway between Gore Hill and North Sydney. The extra services will remain in place until the metro line opens.

Transport for NSW secretary Josh Murray said the new bus timetable and routes for Sydney’s north-west needed to be put in place now to help with staff rostering and timetables. “We’re asking passengers to check their trip planning apps to get used to their new journeys,” he said.

“The railway is ready, the people are ready, the operator is ready, and the rest of the transport network is ready, but we just need a little more time to carry out safety checks before we can welcome passengers on the new metro city line.”

Transport Minister Jo Haylen on Tuesday announced that the 15.5 kilometres of new line from Chatswood to Sydenham could not be opened on Sunday as planned.

A combination of problems including a lack of final approval from the national regulator, a recent meltdown on a different stretch of line and industrial action from the firefighters’ union have been blamed for the delay.

The new line’s private operator was savaged two weeks ago by Fire and Rescue commanders for its dire response to a system-wide outage, which suddenly stopped 31 driverless trains.

Premier Chris Minns said he first heard on Monday that the planned opening of the line on August 4 was unlikely to become a reality.

“On Monday I was told that it was possible but unlikely. In the end, it wasn’t possible. And these things have to be certified by the national regulator – not by state agencies,” he said.

Minns apologised to commuters for the delay and said it was a lesson for the government “about not jumping the gun” and ensuring that when a date was named, it was certain it could go ahead.

“I don’t want to repeat the same mistake twice,” he said.

The entrance to the new Barangaroo metro station.Credit: Nick Moir

The $21.6 billion second stage of the city’s expanding driverless train network between Chatswood and Bankstown via the CBD and Sydenham has been known as the Sydney Metro City and Southwest during its seven years of construction.

It is an extension of the Metro Northwest line, and the entire line will be known as the M1 when the city-section from Chatswood to Sydenham opens. A final stretch of the line from Sydenham to Bankstown is not due to be completed until late next year.

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