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This article is about the construction project. For the associated passenger rail line that was built, see Metro North West & Bankstown Line.

Sydney Metro City & Southwest
The City and Southwest project (dotted) extends the Metro North West Line (shaded)
Overview
StatusPhase 1 complete, Phase 2 under construction
OwnerTransport for NSW
Line numberM1
LocaleSydney, New South Wales, Australia
Termini
  • Tallawong
  • Sydenham
Stations18 (7 new stations, 11 stations converted)[1]
Service
TypeRapid transit
SystemSydney Metro
Rolling stockMetropolis Stock
History
Opened19 August 2024 (Chatswood to Sydenham)
Announced2013
Start of major construction2017
Planned opening2025 (Sydenham to Bankstown)
Technical
Line length30 km (19 mi)
Number of tracks2
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification1,500 V DC from overhead catenary
SignallingAlstom Urbalis 400 moving block CBTC ATC under ATO GoA 4 (UTO), with subsystems of ATP, Iconis ATS and Smartlock CBI[2]
Route map

Map

Legend
Metro Northwest to Tallawong
North Shore line to Hornsby
Chatswood
North Shore line to Central
 Crows Nest
Victoria Cross
Sydney Harbour
 Barangaroo
Martin Place
Gadigal
Central
Waterloo
Illawarra line to Illawarra Junction
Sydenham depot
 Sydenham
Port Botany line to Port Botany
Down arrow Bankstown line conversion
Illawarra line to Bomaderry
 Marrickville
Dulwich Hill
Hurlstone Park
Canterbury
Cooks River
 Campsie
Metropolitan Goods line to Chullora Junction
 Belmore
Lakemba
Wiley Park
Punchbowl
Bankstown
Bankstown line to Birrong
 Metro service
Sydney Trains service
Disabled access
All Metro stations
have wheelchair access
This diagram:

Sydney Metro City & Southwest is a 30-kilometre (19 mi) rapid transit construction project in Sydney, Australia. The project will extend the Metro North West & Bankstown Line from Chatswood on the North Shore, to Bankstown in the city's southwest via the Sydney central business district. The line is part of the Sydney Metro system. Its first phase, Sydney Metro City (between Chatswood and Sydenham), opened on 19 August 2024.[3]

The project consists of two main components. The first is a new 16-kilometre (9.9 mi) twin-tunnel rail crossing under Sydney Harbour and through the city to Sydenham with seven new underground stations in central Sydney.[4] The second is the conversion of 11 stations on a portion of the existing Bankstown line on the Sydney Trains network for use by autonomous trains.

When complete, the new track will form part of a single 66-km rail line on the Sydney Metro network. Together with planned improvements to the Main Western line, the project is expected to increase capacity on the Sydney rail network by up to 60%, and allow for the movement of over 100,000 extra commuters across the network every hour.[5]

The project began construction in 2017.[6] The tunnel between Chatswood and Sydenham had been planned to open on 4 August 2024,[7] with the converted portion of the Bankstown line planned to open in 2025.[8] The opening of the Chatswood to Sydenham line was later postponed to 19 August.[9]

Tunnelling was completed in March 2020.[10] In 2023, the state government confirmed the cost of the project had overrun initial estimates by $9 billion to a total cost of $20.5 billion, due to budget blowouts and station redesigns.[11]

Project history

[edit]

In 2013, a proposal was raised to extend the then-proposed North West Rail Link, by building a metro-style tunnel from just south of Chatswood Station via St Leonards and North Sydney and under the Sydney Harbour towards Central and Redfern, before joining the newly converted metro lines towards Hurstville, Bankstown, Lidcombe and Liverpool.[12] This largely renews a previous proposal known as the CBD Rail Link (see below), except with metro-style trains instead. The Hurstville extension was subsequently dropped.

The proposal was officially announced by the New South Wales government on 10 June 2014. The proposal was contingent on funding from privatising at least 49% of the state's power infrastructure, which was secured in June 2015.[13][14] Preliminary works involving drilling to depths 70 m (230 ft) below Sydney Harbour commenced on 9 April 2015 to find the alignment for the new Sydney Metro tunnels.[5][15]

Chatswood to Sydenham section

[edit]

Planning approval for the Chatswood to Sydenham section of the project was received in January 2017.[16] In June 2017, a John Holland, CPB Contractors and Ghella joint venture was awarded the contract to build the twin tunnels from Chatswood to Sydenham.[17][18]

A contract for a major upgrade of Central station was awarded to Laing O'Rourke in March 2018. The project includes construction of two new underground platforms to serve the metro and a new underground concourse called Central Walk. The new platforms will be built beneath platforms 13–14.[19]

Tunnelling commenced in October 2018.[20]

In November 2018, a $1.376 billion contract was awarded to an unincorporated joint venture between CPB Contractors and UGL to be known as Systems Connect, which will include the laying of track from Chatswood to Sydenham as well as converting power on the Bankstown line to Metro standards and also the building of further Metro train facilities at Rouse Hill and Marrickville.[21]

Sydenham to Bankstown section

[edit]
Excavation of the Marrickville dive in August 2018

From Sydenham, the Sydney Metro takes over the existing Bankstown railway line between Sydenham and Bankstown, which will be converted for use by single-deck autonomous trains with platform-edge doors. Bankstown will become an interchange station between M1 North West & Bankstown and T6 Lidcombe & Bankstown services. The conversion and incorporation of this section of track into Sydney Metro has not been without controversy, with a letter written by four former rail executives John Brew, Ron Christie, Bob O'Loughlin and Dick Day casting doubts on the government's claims of improved reliability as well as warning that commuters west of Bankstown face additional interchange for travel towards the City Circle.[22]

The Sydenham to Bankstown phase of the project involves the conversion and upgrade of large parts of the current suburban Bankstown line to rapid transit standards

Planning approval of the upgrade of Bankstown line between Sydenham and Bankstown was received in December 2018.[23] Beginning in December 2019, the Bankstown line between Sydenham and Campsie and the Illawarra railway line between Hurstville and Central was closed during certain periods in order to allow the Bankstown line to be converted and upgraded to metro standards.[24][25]

The NSW Legislative Council announced on 22 August 2019 an Inquiry into the "Sydenham - Bankstown Line conversion"[26] examining decision making in relation to the transport project. The Inquiry to be conducted by Portfolio Committee 6 - Transport and Customer Service and chaired by Abigail Boyd released its report on 9 April 2020, recommending that the conversion not take place with Sydney Metro instead to terminate at Sydenham.[27] The NSW Government rejected most recommendations from this report.[28]

In December 2020, Transport for NSW announced it was considering when the Bankstown line closes for conversion to metro in 2024, the Liverpool to City service via Regents Park and Lidcombe will be reinstated and a shuttle branch service will run between Lidcombe and Bankstown.[29] Regents Park will be the main interchange point between both services as the direct train between Bankstown and Liverpool will be withdrawn.[29] Such changes were confirmed in late 2023 with the NSW Government ruling out earlier plans to close stations in the West of Bankstown between Bankstown and Lidcombe/Cabramatta when Sydney Metro City & Southwest opened.[30]

In April 2023, it was confirmed by the government that the conversion of the Bankstown line was delayed by at least twelve months and was expected to open in 2025, after the main CBD tunnel commences operations.[31]

In response to the recommendation of the Sydney Metro Review, in August 2023 the state government announced the continuation of the Sydney Metro Southwest project, with the conversion of the line between Sydenham and Bankstown requiring a 12-month temporary closure from September 2024 onwards.[32]

In September 2024, the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) threatened to go on strike due to what they saw as unreasonable working conditions on Metro services relating to measures such as putting a qualified Sydney Trains driver on every Metro train, and reducing fares to 50 cents as has happened in Queensland.[33]

Cost

[edit]
A tunnel boring machine being assembled at the Barangaroo station dive site in June 2019. Budget overspends were primarily driven by the cost of the underground sections of the line

In 2020, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that an internal government review found the project had blown out by $4.3 billion for a projected cost of $16.8 billion.[34] Detailed budgeting was not released as part of the business case in 2016, but the project was originally estimated to cost between $11.5 and $12.5 billion.[34][35] These increases were in part driven by unexpected costs of building the underground CBD stations.[34]

The new Labor government of Chris Minns elected in the 2023 state election initiated a broad review into the Sydney Metro projects in April 2023, and announced that internal documents under the previous government of Dominic Perrottet had shown that the City & Southwest project was budgeted to cost $20.5 billion, a $9 billion escalation from the initial projections.[11][36] The ABC reported that further increases were possible before the line is fully completed in 2025.[36]

A Metropolis Stock train at Chatswood station; the original terminus of the Metro North West & Bankstown Line, until 19 August 2024.

Route

[edit]
The first stage of the extension will initially terminate at the major interchange of Sydenham station
Bankstown station will become the final terminus of the Sydney Metro Northwest, City & Southwest in 2025

The project is a major extension of the Metro North West & Bankstown Line, connecting Chatswood–the line's initial terminus–to Sydenham, with new stations at Crows Nest, Victoria Cross, Barangaroo, Martin Place, Pitt Street, Central and Waterloo.[37] At Sydenham, the new line will join the existing Bankstown railway line, which will be converted to allow single-deck autonomous trains to run between Sydenham and Bankstown as part of the Sydney Metro City & Southwest project.

The original list of stations consisted of Crows Nest, Victoria Cross, Martin Place, Pitt Street (now Gadigal), Central, Sydenham and 10 stations on the Bankstown line. Potential additional stations were also proposed for the industrial area of Artarmon (underground), St Leonards, Barangaroo and either the University of Sydney or Waterloo.[37][38] Barangaroo station was confirmed in June 2015 and Waterloo was confirmed in December.[39][40] The other three stations will not be included in the project.

West of Bankstown, Sydney Trains continues to operate services as the T6 Lidcombe & Bankstown Line, while services to St Peters and Erskineville east of Sydenham were picked up by the T4 Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line and T8 Airport & South Line.

Liverpool has been proposed as a potential future extension to the line

Potential extension

[edit]

A scoping study into rail investment to service Western Sydney and the proposed Western Sydney Airport was announced by the New South Wales and Australian governments in November 2015.[41] The study's final report was released in March 2018 and included a proposal to extend the Sydney Metro City & Southwest from Bankstown to Liverpool. The extension is unlikely to be built for at least 20 years.[42] Transport for NSW is also considering rapid buses and trackless trams for the corridor[43] although following the 2023 NSW Government election, this Metro extension has been cancelled.[44]

Previous proposals

[edit]
Further information: Proposed railways in Sydney
[edit]

The CBD Rail Link[45] was a component of the now-cancelled Metropolitan Rail Expansion Program (MREP) in Sydney. First announced in 2005, the line was to have started at Redfern Station, travelled under the city centre, crossed under Sydney Harbour, passed through the lower North Shore and ended at the existing Chatswood railway station. It was to have provided the centre section of a planned North West-CBD-South West rail arc connecting major areas of employment with the CBD and airport. Alternative names for the planned route have included the Redfern to Chatswood Rail Link (RCRL), Redfern to Chatswood Harbour Rail Link and MetroPitt.

The proposal was announced by Labor Premier Bob Carr on 15 June 2005 (shortly before his resignation), and formed part of the $8 billion Metropolitan Rail Expansion Project (MREP). The MREP consisted of the New South Wales government's $8 billion North West – CBD – South West Line, including the North West Rail Link (to extend from Cheltenham to Rouse Hill), and the spur to Leppington in Sydney's South West. The six kilometre CBD Rail Link was slated to cost $5 billion, and was to include duplicated tracks on the North Shore line between St Leonards and Chatswood. It was to provide a second railway line transversing Sydney Harbour to ease congestion at Town Hall and Wynyard stations, both considerably crowded and unable to be easily expanded, and to reduce travel times between the city and the lower North Shore.

The government's previous plan of constructing an additional CBD underground line was known as MetroWest. It was to have run from Haymarket in the city's Chinatown precinct near Darling Harbour, along the western edge of the city under Sussex or Kent Street and either ended at Wynyard station or continued over the harbour 'strapped' to the Sydney Harbour Bridge. This option would not have served the part of the city experiencing the fastest growth of employment, and would have necessitated the destruction of eight office buildings. A previous MetroPitt proposal, travelling further east (and under its namesake Pitt Street) and through the financial district, could also be built deeper underground, limiting the impact on existing infrastructure.

In 2006, both of these corridors were protected with planning buffers to allow the option of future construction.[46] Developers who want to excavate deeper than two metres within a 25-metre buffer zone of the corridors need to seek RailCorp's approval.[47]

In the plan the stations along the CBD Rail Link would have included:[48]

A map[49] of the protected corridors suggested there may have been the potential for another station at Macquarie Place, between The Rocks and Castlereagh Street.

In March 2008 the State Government announced that the line would be cancelled, its role to be partly superseded by future metro rail lines.[50]

Later Labor proposals

[edit]
Further information: Sydney Metro (2008 proposal) § Sydney Metro
Further information: CBD Relief Line

One of the metro lines announced in 2009 by the Rees state government was CBD Metro, which ran along a similar CBD alignment to the current Sydney Metro proposal between Central and Barangaroo. However, the alignment continued west from Baranagaroo, crossing Darling Harbour and heading towards Rozelle and beyond. Therefore, there were no metro lines proposed linking the CBD to Chatswood.

In 2010, the new Keneally government cancelled the entire metro project, and the CBD Relief Line & Western Express concept was announced as replacement. The relief line was largely a return to the CBD Rail Link proposal, but used the MetroWest alignment instead. The line would have offered an alternative heavy rail link in the CBD between Redfern and Wynyard, but also did not cross the harbour into the North Shore. The relief line was cancelled by the incoming Liberal-Nationals government when they won the 2011 state election, who then announced the current project in 2014.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Transport for NSW (2017). "Project Overview". 5.1 Overview and key components. p. 56. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2017. New metro stations at Crows Nest, Victoria Cross, Barangaroo, Martin Place, Pitt Street and Waterloo as well as new underground platforms at Central Station{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  2. ^ Jehan, David; Honan, Andrew (January 2016). Sydney Metro - Australia's first fully-automated rolling stock (PDF). Melbourne: Railway Technical Society of Australasia. ISBN 9781922107800. Archived from the original on 10 September 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  3. ^ Gerathy, Sarah (19 August 2024). "The Sydney Metro City line is finally open. Here's what you need to know". ABC News. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  4. ^ "Chatswood to Sydenham". www.sydneymetro.info. Transport for NSW. Archived from the original on 21 April 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  5. ^ a b Walker, Ian. "Construction begins on second Sydney Harbour rail crossing". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  6. ^ Sanda, Dominica (22 June 2017). "Work on Sydney Harbour tunnels to start". News Limited. Australian Associated Press. Archived from the original on 25 June 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  7. ^ "Full speed ahead as trial running starts on the new city section of the Sydney Metro City & Southwest project". www.sydneymetro.info. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
  8. ^ "Minns Labor Government will deliver Sydenham to Bankstown section of City and Southwest Metro" (Press release). Sydney: Government of New South Wales. Department of Transport. 1 August 2023. Archived from the original on 4 August 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  9. ^ Shields, Bevan (30 July 2024). "Opening date for Sydney's new metro line shelved". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 15 August 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  10. ^ "Tunnelling for Sydney Metro City and Southwest complete". 24 March 2020. Archived from the original on 24 March 2020. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  11. ^ a b Murray, Duncan (13 April 2023). "Sydney Metro faces review over cost blowouts, delays". The Canberra Times. Archived from the original on 6 May 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  12. ^ Clennell, Andrew (6 December 2013). "Second Sydney Harbour crossing to follow North West Rail". The Telegraph News. Archived from the original on 8 December 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  13. ^ Gerathy, Sarah; Foschia, Liz (11 June 2014). "Sydney rapid transit rail build could begin in three years, NSW Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian says". Archived from the original on 12 June 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  14. ^ "Funding secured: Sydney Metro to be a reality" (PDF) (Press release). NSW Government. 4 June 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 June 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  15. ^ Getting down to business: Early work begins on Sydney Rapid Transit Archived 16 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine Transport for NSW 8 April 2015
  16. ^ "Signal turns green for Sydney metro extension under the harbour". Transport for NSW. 10 January 2017. Archived from the original on 12 January 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  17. ^ "The big dig: New Harbour Metro crossing underway". Sydney Metro. 22 June 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  18. ^ O'Sullivan, Matt (22 June 2017). "Barges to shift thousands of tonnes of rock from Sydney's new rail tunnels". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  19. ^ "$955 Million Central Walk, Sydney Metro Contract Awarded - securing more NSW jobs". Transport for NSW. 7 March 2018. Archived from the original on 7 March 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  20. ^ Haydar, Nour (17 October 2018). "Sydney Metro project reaches milestone as boring machines begin to drill". ABC News. Archived from the original on 17 October 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  21. ^ Metro on track as $1.376 billion contract awarded Archived 21 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine Transport for NSW
  22. ^ John Brew, Ron Christie, Bob O’Loughlin and Dick Day (July 2015). "A report dated July 2015 about the Sydney Metro and long term transport planning" (PDF). Transport for NSW: Access to Information (GIPA Act). Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 April 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  23. ^ "Sydney Metro Bankstown Line Metro Upgrade gets green light". Transport for NSW. 19 December 2018. Archived from the original on 18 June 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  24. ^ "Rail line closure to force 100,000 commuters a day to catch buses". Sydney Morning Herald. 18 July 2019. Archived from the original on 19 July 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  25. ^ Sydenham to Bankstown Preferred Infrastructure Report Overview Archived 22 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine Sydney Metro June 2018
  26. ^ "Sydenham-Bankstown Line conversion". www.parliament.nsw.gov.au. Archived from the original on 22 September 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  27. ^ "Sydenham-Bankstown line conversion report" (PDF). NSW Parliament. Portfolio Committee No. 6 - Transport and Customer Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  28. ^ NSW Government response Inquiry into the Sydenham-Bankstown line conversion Archived 24 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine Andrew Constance, Minister for Roads & Transport 7 October 2020
  29. ^ a b "Rail options for west of Bankstown station in 2024 now confirmed". Transport for NSW. 8 December 2020. Archived from the original on 8 December 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  30. ^ Vella, Joanne (6 September 2023). "Sydney Metro proposed plan to shut nine train stations permanently after Bankstown-Sydenham Metro lines opens". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
  31. ^ O'Sullivan, Matt (10 April 2023). "'Nightmare': Residents enter fourth year of Metro pain as construction drags on". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 6 May 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  32. ^ Parkes-Hupton, Heath (31 July 2023). "NSW government commits to converting south-west Sydney rail line to metro". ABC News. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  33. ^ Lewis, Alexander (19 September 2024). "Unions NSW drop threats of industrial action after transport minister promises free rail travel in Sydney this weekend". ABC News. What does the union want?. Archived from the original on 20 September 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2024. The union's demands include putting a qualified Sydney Trains driver on every metro train, according to Ms Haylen. The RTBU is also asking the government to slash train fares to 50 cents a trip.
  34. ^ a b c O'Sullivan, Matt (8 February 2020). "How $4 billion blowout puts Sydney's transport plans on the line". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 18 September 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  35. ^ O'Sullivan, Matt (3 February 2020). "$4.3 billion cost blowout in Sydney's metro rail project". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 6 May 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  36. ^ a b "Major changes not ruled out after cost blowouts on Sydney's new metro network revealed". ABC News. 12 April 2023. Archived from the original on 12 April 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  37. ^ a b "Stations and Alignment". Sydney Metro – Transport for NSW. Archived from the original on 7 June 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  38. ^ Saulwick, Jacob (12 October 2014). "Jockeying begins over new train stations for Sydney University or Waterloo". Archived from the original on 14 October 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
  39. ^ Budget delivers $9 billion for public transport services and infrastructure Transport for NSW 23 June 2015
  40. ^ "Sydney Metro to rejuvenate Waterloo" (PDF). NSW Government. 16 December 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 February 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  41. ^ "Western Sydney Airport". Transport for NSW. Archived from the original on 2 March 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  42. ^ "Western Sydney Rail Needs Scoping Study Outcomes Report" (PDF). Australian Government and New South Wales Government. March 2018. p. 60. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  43. ^ McSweeney, Terry (26 November 2020). "Correspondence to the Minister for Transport and Roads regarding Yagoona Station and Metro City & Southwest" (PDF). Save T3 Bankstown Line. Letter to Roydon Ng. Lee Street, Chippendale NSW: Transport for NSW. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 July 2024. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
  44. ^ "Labor deserts Western Sydney commuters". Mirage News. 1 March 2023. Archived from the original on 24 July 2024. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
  45. ^ "Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation – Annual Report 2007" (PDF). Parliament of NSW. Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation. 2007. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 February 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  46. ^ "Iemma Government locks in future city rail corridors". Sydney Metropolitan Strategy. NSW Government - Department of Planning. 18 February 2006. Archived from the original on 11 November 2006. Retrieved 24 January 2007.
  47. ^ "Rail routes sealed off". Hill Shire Times. 20 February 2006. Archived from the original on 8 October 2007. Retrieved 24 January 2007.
  48. ^ "Revealed: the harbour tunnel to ease rail crisis". The Sydney Morning Herald. 9 June 2005. Archived from the original on 21 April 2008. Retrieved 24 January 2007.
  49. ^ "Protected CBD Rail Corridors Map" (PDF). Sydney Metropolitan Strategy. NSW Government - Department of Planning. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 December 2006. Retrieved 24 January 2007.
  50. ^ Besser L and Smith A. City catches fast-tracked metro Archived 13 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Sydney Morning Herald, 19 March 2008.
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