Meltdown in train tunnel a key factor behind shelving of metro’s August 4 opening

The planned opening of a $21.6 billion metro rail line which promises to reshape Sydney has been shelved, with a recent meltdown which trapped passengers on trains in tunnels for more than two hours emerging as a key cause of the “disappointing” delay.

The line underneath Sydney Harbour and the central business district was due to open on Sunday but the incident on a separate stretch of tunnel on July 13 - combined with industrial action from the state’s powerful firefighters’ union and a failure to secure an expected green light from a national regulator - has detonated the much-hyped August 4 start date.

No new opening timeline has been identified but a raft of bus route changes designed to align with the new metro line will come into effect from Sunday as planned.

It will likely take several weeks for Sydney Metro - the government agency overseeing the line - to secure agreement from the National Rail Safety Regulator for the project to open, as well as allay concerns from Fire Brigade Employees Union members about safety on the new trains and in the 15.5 kilometres of tunnels.

Transport Minister Jo Haylen described the delay as disappointing but unavoidable.

“I’m putting safety ahead of popping champagne corks,” she said. Asked when commuters would be able to use the line, the minister replied: “I’ll be back here with more information for the travelling public so that you can plan your journeys. It’s not going to be long.”

The space age-like Victoria Cross metro station in North Sydney.Credit: Rhett Wyman

More than a decade in the making, the main section of the Metro City and Southwest line comprises six new underground stations, including at North Sydney, Barangaroo and Martin Place, as well as new platforms at Central and Sydenham.

Haylen conceded the July 13 incident on a stretch of the existing Metro Northwest line between Tallawong and Chatswood had complicated the opening plans. That meltdown stopped 31 driverless trains and forced emergency services to rescue more than 100 commuters from several trains.

The Herald revealed after the incident that NSW’s fire agency commanders had savaged the private operator of the line for its response to the outage, warning of an “absolute failure” of emergency plans and “zero appreciation” of danger to life by rail staff.

“That’s not acceptable,” Haylen said on Tuesday. “I don’t want passengers stuck on trains - I want them to feel confident in public transport.

“Now that, in itself, meant that the regulator had to look at that incident, that paperwork had to be done, that it needed to be submitted and assessed. That added extra time, along with some other factors.

“But ultimately, this railway is 99 per cent there. We just need 100 per cent.”

Members of the Fire Brigade Employees Union are still in discussions with Sydney Metro and the Labor government over final testing and other details. The union last week lifted an indefinite ban on members taking part in critical safety exercises, which are now underway.

The metro line will take passengers from Central to the new Victoria Cross station in North Sydney in nine minutes, North Ryde to Martin Place in 18 minutes, and Waterloo to the Gadigal station beneath Pitt and Castlereagh streets in four minutes.

Driverless trains will run every four minutes in both directions on the line for three hours in the morning and four hours in the evening peaks, and initially every seven minutes in the inter-peak. Inter-peak frequency will eventually improve to every five minutes in both directions between 10am and 3pm.

Sydney Metro chief executive Peter Regan last week said the agency had been clear from the outset that the August 4 start date was subject to final sign-off by the regulator.

“We have worked through over 11,000 hours of testing between Chatswood and Sydenham,” Haylen said. “More than 200 exercises have been completed for trial running of the metro, our full fleet - 45 trains - has been tested, our bus timetables and changes are ready, our transport team is ready. The operator is ready.

“But we do need a little more time for the safety regulator to give us the final tick of approval. I’ve always said that safety and reliability comes first. And I’m not in the business of putting additional pressure on the national safety regulator.”

Driverless trains similar to the one pictured suddenly stopped earlier this month.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

Transport for NSW secretary Josh Murray said his department was ready to open the line shortly after final approvals were granted.

“Not to mangle an Olympic analogy too far, but we are fit, we are ready and we are on the blocks,” he said. “But we have to wait a little bit longer for the starter’s gun.”

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