First metro train rolls along the final stage of Sydney’s $21.6b line

A metro train has run along the final section of Sydney’s new $21.6 billion rail line, marking the start of more than 6500 hours of testing that will determine when it will open to passengers next year.

The first train – set TS28 – rolled into Campsie station at 4am on Thursday, completing a super-slow, five-hour test run from Sydenham. The 6.5-kilometre trip will take just 11 minutes when the line eventually opens next year.

Stopping at each station, the train made its way to Campsie before later travelling the full length of the new line to Bankstown.

The first stage of testing on the Sydenham-Bankstown line involves metro trains travelling at up to 25km/h. In the months that follow, they will be tested at speeds of up to 100km/h and transition from manual to automated operations.

All up, it will comprise more than 6500 hours of testing and commissioning.

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 that was recently delayed until 2026.

NSW Premier Chris Minns at Campsie station on Thursday morning. Credit: Nick Moir

Premier Chris Minns said it was an investment in the future for the people of the city’s south-west who had endured major disruption to their train services and waited patiently for what would be a transformative new metro line.

“We hope that most community members believe that it’s an inconvenience worth taking. If you look at the way the metro has transformed other stations and other suburbs and neighbourhoods, it’s been hugely beneficial,” he said.

The start of testing on the south-west section of the M1 comes a day after passengers on board a packed driverless metro train were left gripping handrails during peak hour between Chatswood and Crows Nest when a door was left open while it was travelling at high speed.

Sydney Metro chief executive Peter Regan said early indications were that two staff members manually overrode the system in an attempt to close the door, but the procedure to do so was not fully followed, which meant that it was locked in an open position as the train pulled out of Chatswood station.

“It is a serious incident. We are determined to ensure that the systems and procedures are reviewed,” he said.

Regan declined to say whether the final section of the M1 will open early or late next year, saying the first train marked a “very long and complex extensive testing process” which had extra complexities because of the older stations and curved platforms.

The government expects the opening of the section between Bankstown and Sydenham to add an extra 17,000 people to the rail network every hour during peak periods.

Since the city section between Chatswood and Sydenham of the M1 line opened last August, commuters have become accustomed to station announcements that some city-bound trains are reaching capacity during the morning peak on the busiest weekdays.

Sydney Metro has also warned that passengers on the existing 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.

The government 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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