Historic day for Sydney as Metro c0mes alive under the city
Monday, 19 August 2024
Today marks a historic day in NSW transport history, as the doors officially open on new metro services extending from the city’s north-west at Chatswood, below the harbour and through the Sydney CBD, to Sydenham.
This morning commuters are waking to an additional 15.5-kilometres of new railway to get them around the busiest parts of the city, with access to fast and reliable services via six new underground stations and metro platforms at Central Station and Sydenham Station.
The inaugural passenger journey under the harbour will depart from Sydenham Station’s Platform 1 at 4:54am this morning.
New metro services will launch to a weekday timetable, which means a service every four minutes during the peak and every 10 minutes during the off peak. For Opal fare consistency, peak times are the same as all other modes of public transport, 6:30am-10am and 3pm-7pm.
There is a four-minute frequency for trains travelling from Tallawong Station between 6:08am-9:24am and 2:54pm-6:46pm. Sydenham Station will see a four-minute frequency from 6:54am-9:46am and 3:16pm-7:32pm.
From tomorrow, interpeak trains will run every seven minutes, increasing after the first month to a train every five minutes.
A total of 445 new metro services will run through the heart of the city each weekday. The 45 new metro trains can each carry more than 1,150 people and will significantly alleviate pressure on existing transport and road networks.
This transformative new section of railway is the next stage of the M1 Northwest & Bankstown Line, which now extends 51.5-kilometres through Sydney with stops at 21 stations between Tallawong and Sydenham.
Train testing continues on the Sydney Metro rail line from Chatswood to Sydenham. This 15.5-kilometre section of the rail line is almost entirely comprised of underground rail tunnels –including beneath Sydney Harbour – and new stations at Crows Nest, Victoria Cross, Barangaroo, Martin Place, Pitt Street, Waterloo, and new underground platforms at Central.
The expanded metro network provides connections to Sydney’s employment, financial and retail districts, unlocks the Barangaroo harbourside precinct by delivering its first railway station, and has capacity to move more people across Sydney Harbour in the busiest hour of the peak than the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Harbour Tunnel combined.
Passengers can plan their metro trips by visiting transportnsw.info.
Over the coming days and weeks, while commuters become familiar with their new city services, there will be additional staff at each station and on trains during operating hours.
Audio and video help points located at each station also connect directly to friendly staff at Metro’s Operations Control Centre who will be available to answer enquiries.
While all city stations are now open, commuters will notice hoarding and minor ongoing work in the precinct areas at most new stations. This work largely involves improvements to roads, footpaths and traffic intersections and will not impact customer journeys.
The new buildings above Crows Nest, Victoria Cross, Gadigal and Waterloo stations remain under construction and will progressively open as they are finished.
New turn-up-and-go metro services are the fastest way to get from Sydney’s north west into the Sydney CBD, with a trip on the metro from Chatswood to Sydenham taking approximately 22 minutes, while a journey along the full alignment, from Sydenham to Tallawong takes under 60 minutes.
The remaining 13-kilometres of the M1 Line will open after the conversion of 10 existing stations on the T3 Bankstown Line. The T3 line will close for the works before the end of the year, once a consistent level of reliability is reached on Sydney Metro City.
The $21.6 billion M1 railway was funded under the former Liberal Government.
The Minns Labor Government has committed $13.4 billion over four years to Sydney Metro West and $5.5 billion over four years to the Sydney Metro-Western Sydney Airport project in the 2024-25 NSW Budget.
NSW Premier, Chris Minns said:
“I want to congratulate everybody who’s worked so hard on bringing this major project to fruition.
It’ll be a huge change for Sydney and a big step forward.”
“We’re urging those who use public transport this morning to be patient.
“Obviously, this will see hundreds of thousands of people get to work in a different way. It needs to fully integrate with the rest of the public transport system.
“This is a massive piece of transport infrastructure, and in part, credit should go to former Premier Mike Baird, his successor, Gladys Berejiklian, and her successor, Dominic Perrottet.
“It will genuinely transform the way people get to and from work, and it’ll be fantastic, so Sydney enjoy the experience.”
Minister for Transport Jo Haylen said:
“Sydney, welcome to your new railway. This is truly a historic moment that will forever be etched in the storybook of this great city.
“What an incredible day to experience the first passengers travelling on the new M1 extension deep below the city and under the harbour.
“I want to honour the legacy of the 50,000 workers who have built this railway, which will serve Sydney for the next century.
“We are anticipating crowds of potentially up to 200,000 people today for the first day of operations so please be patient and mindful as you get familiar with this fantastic new way to travel.”
Transport for NSW Secretary Josh Murray said:
“Sydney Metro has been an engineering and construction masterpiece – now we add in the most important ingredient, passengers. We will see new journey behaviours emerge as commuters try the new Metro City line, then settle on what works best for them.
“We’re expecting passenger numbers on Metro City and Southwest to quickly build to around 37,000 in the morning peaks and up to a quarter of a million trips on a typical weekday day.
“Our experts will be running a virtual New Year’s Eve operation, mapping the movement of people around the city and identifying the highest demand services.”
Transport for NSW Coordinator General Howard Collins said:
“We have stood up our joint operations centre to ensure there are as many eyes as possible on Sydney’s entire road and public transport network as we introduce the city section of the M1 line into the mix.
“For the first time in the CBD we will have a world-class metro that will provide seamless connections with our existing modes of public transport, something our global city deserves and needs.
“We’re asking people to please plan ahead at transportnsw.info, via the Opal app or third-party apps, or speak to our street teams in turquoise shirts for info about your journey.”
Sydney Metro Chief Executive Peter Regan said:
“This is a great moment for public transport in this city. I want to thank our teams, who have been at work since 2017; I know each and every one of them is so proud to welcome you all today.
“We know people will have a lot of questions, so we’ve bolstered our teams on the ground to help commuters familiarise themselves with the new network and get where they need to go.
“A reminder that metro trains can travel at speeds of up to 100km/h, so please hang on when taking off.”
