Sydney Metro

This page is an overview for the Sydney Metro system. For other uses of Metro see: Metro (disambiguation).

Sydney Metro is an automated rapid transit system operating in Sydney, the first of its kind in Australia. The network is controlled by Sydney Metro (Northwest Rapid Transit), which was established in July 2018, and is an operating agency owned by the NSW Government. Peter Reagan is the Chief Executive of the agency. The network is controlled jointly by MTR Corporation Hong Kong, John Holland and United Group Rail (UGL). The mode is assigned the colour teal and the letter M.

History[]

Plans and projects involving a high speed, rapid transit underground railway in Sydney date at least back to 2008, although an initial proposal was raised as early as 2001. Despite extensive plans for an underground network in the past, disputes over privatisation and funding had hampered government approval, delaying its inception. In spite of difficulties getting the project off the ground, government approval for what was initially known as the North West Rail Link, Sydney's first underground metro, was given in 2013. Route extensions and a name change to the Sydney Metro soon followed.

Sydney Metro Oct 19 — Map showing all current and future Metro projects in Sydney.

Lines[]

The system currently has one line: Sydney Metro Northwest. Three more lines are planned or are under construction: Sydney Metro City & Southwest, Sydney Metro West and Sydney Metro Western Sydney Airport.

Sydney Metro Northwest[]

Main article: Metro North West Line

The first stage connects Tallawong and Chatswood, running through the Hills and Macquarie regions of Sydney. Construction on Sydney Metro Northwest began in late 2013 and the Tallawong-Cherrybrook section was finished in 2018. The Cherrybrook-Chatswood section was constructed next. The Epping-Chatswood section was not new, but converted from a heavy rail line called the Epping to Chatswood Rail Link (ECRL). Services along the ECRL were replaced by a bus service called StationLink during conversion.

In November 2016, Sydney Metro, in particular the John Holland Group, Dragados and Transport for NSW, were awarded the 2016 NSW Premier's Award for Building Infrastructure for the 15 km twin-tunnels from Bella Vista to Epping, which are currently the longest tunnels constructed in Australia. The NSW Premier's award recognises "infrastructure projects in the state that make a difference to the local community".

Sydney Metro Northwest opened for service on 26 May 2019, with timetables available from the Transport for NSW website from 5 May 2019. [1] Services currently run every 4 minutes during the peak and every 10 minutes during the offpeak. To prepare for future demand, all platforms are 8 cars long and the signalling system can handle a train every 2 minutes.

Stations[]

Sydney Metro City & Southwest[]

Main article: Sydney Metro City & Southwest

The second stage will extend Sydney Metro Northwest, 30 km (19 mi) from Chatswood on the North Shore, to Central in the city central. The centrepiece of the project is a new twin-tunnel rail crossing under Sydney Harbour. 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. The City & Southwest extension represents the first phase of the "southern sector conversion" envisaged in Sydney's Rail Future (however the whole Bankstown Line was shown to be earmarked for metro conversion as opposed to just Sydenham to Bankstown). The existing T3 Bankstown Line corridor between Sydenham and Bankstown will also be converted to rapid transit standards, and therefore the stations on this corridor will no longer be served by Sydney Trains.

Construction for the Metro platforms at Martin Place (underneath the existing T4 line platforms) and Central (replacing intercity platforms 13-15), and the five new fully underground stations; Crows Nest, Victoria Cross, Barangaroo, Pitt Street (renamed to Gadigal) and Waterloo, commenced in 2017. The conversion for Bankstown Line stations will occur approximately 6-7 months before the scheduled opening date, after ceasing operation of existing Sydney Trains services. Sydney University was originally considered for a station, until the slot was ultimately given to Waterloo in 2015. The most likely reason behind the decision to have Waterloo host the station slot between Central and Sydenham is due to requests by MTR Corporation to pursue opportunities for major redevelopment of the Waterloo residential precinct, including 17 high-rise towers measuring 40 stories in height to replace the existing public housing.

Due to complications with the conversion of the T3 Bankstown Line To Metro standards, the Metro City and Southwest open in stages, with the Chatswood to Sydenham extension expected to open in Mid-2024, while the T3 conversion to Metro opening in late 2025. Interchanges with other Sydney Trains services will be provided at Martin Place, Central, Sydenham and Bankstown. Much like the Northwest segment, the City & Southwest section will also be operated by Northwest Rapid Transit (MTR Corporation Hong Kong).

Stations[]

Sydney Metro West[]

Main article: Sydney Metro West

The third stage of Sydney Metro is a second rail connection to Parramatta and Westmead in Sydney’s west, designed to specifically take pressure away from the T1 Western Line.

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. A discussion paper was released in September 2016. The paper proposed various options that could provide a rail link to the airport, some of which are or are likely to be metro lines.

The paper also suggested two other potential metro projects: a new line between the Sydney CBD and Parramatta via Five Dock and Sydney Olympic Park and conversion of a section of the Airport Line between the CBD and Revesby via the existing airport. The New South Wales Government announced Sydney Metro West in November 2016, turning the CBD to Parramatta line into an official project of the government.

Stations for Sydney Metro West were officially approved on 17th October 2019. Parramatta metro station is also stated to likely be at a separate location compared to the existing heavy rail station. Properties currently located on the chosen sites for the new stations will be acquired by landowners, and will be demolished starting in 2020 in order to make way for the stations, with affected residents likely to be relocated. Most of the line, if not the entire route, will also be underground. Sydney Olympic Park will also have a station at a different location from the existing heavy rail station, while Westmead and North Strathfield will gain new underground platforms, similar to Epping when the Epping to Chatswood line was initially built.

As of 21 October 2019, the line’s scheduled opening has been pushed back to 2030, with tunnel boring scheduled to start in 2020. Locations of the new stations can be seen here. The West line will add 7 new stations, with an additional one at Pyrmont being considered, bringing the total Sydney Metro network to 38 stations. The Environmental Impact Statement was released on 30th April 2020.

Stations (planned)[]

Westmead
Parramatta
Rydalmere (originally proposed, but deleted from plan in April 2020)
Olympic Park
North Strathfield
Burwood North
Five Dock
The Bays
Pyrmont
Hunter Street

Sydney Metro Western Sydney Airport[]

Main article: Sydney Metro Greater West

The study's final report was released in March 2018. It proposed two new lines to ultimately service the Western Sydney (Nancy Bird Walton) Airport precinct: a "North-South Link" from Schofields to Macarthur and an "East-West Link" from Parramatta to the "Badgerys Creek Aerotropolis" - an area south of the airport. The report suggested that "a metro or light metro style of train would suit the North-South Link". The East-West Link could form an extension of Sydney Metro West. Two extensions of the initial metro line were also proposed: an extension of the northern section from Tallawong to Schofields and an extension of the southern section from Bankstown to Liverpool.

At the same time, the governments announced the development of a new rail line serving the airport. This line would form part of the North-South Link, running south from St Marys to the airport, before continuing on to the Badgerys Creek Aerotropolis. Funding for the line will be split 50:50 between the governments. The line is scheduled to open by the time the airport opens in 2026.

St Marys will receive new underground metro platforms, while extensions (possible heavy rail extension) to the Aerotropolis from Macarthur and Leppington are also proposed.

Stations (planned)[]

Fleet[]

SydneyMetroAlstomMetropolis — Alstom Metropolis set

Main article: Sydney Metro Metropolis Set

Alstom Metropolis electric multiple units run on the network. Each of these single deck trains feature two dedicated areas for prams, luggage and bicycles. There are three doors per side per carriage and no internal doors between the carriages. In a 6-car configuration the trains will seat 378 people, with a total capacity of 1100 passengers. The trains have the capability to be extended to 8 car sets in the future, boosting capacity to 1539. The trains only have longitudinal seating to maximise standing space. Priority seating closest to the doors are colour-coded in a teal blue tone (the official colour scheme used for the Metro network) for passengers with disabilities or low mobility.

A full-scale model of the new train has been built for use on public display, including at the annual Sydney Royal Easter Show. It consists of the front carriage, including its distinctive nose. Members of the public are able to tour the inside of the mockup. It is approximately 75% of the length of the final design for the new carriages, having two doors instead of three.

These trains were built in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh, India. The first six-car Sydney Metro train arrived in Rouse Hill on 26 September 2017 and underwent its first round testing in the following months. In February 2018, dynamic testing on the first of the trainsets began. Testing has been done on brakes, passenger information displays, lighting and door operation.

22 six-car sets are currently in service.

Features[]

Features at each station on the Sydney Metro network include the following.

All stations on the Sydney Metro network are fitted with platform screen doors (PSD's or PED's) along the length of the platform. These doors only open when a train has stopped, and are designed to prevent accidents and fatalities caused by people and objects falling onto the tracks.
Every station will have approximately 100 CCTV cameras, while every train has 38 cameras. This allows maximum security for passengers.
Ten interactive video help points are present at each metro station. Passengers can press the top button on the interactive help points to contact a member of staff for assistance, while the lower button is for emergency use. The video help points also allow customers to contact Sydney Metro Customer Journey Coordinators. There are also audio help points onboard trains.
All Sydney Metro stations are fully accessible.
The gap/step between a train and a platform is very small, meaning ramps are not required for wheelchairs.
Stations have Braille signs, as well as tactile tiles on the floor, to assist passengers with vision impairment. The signs with wheelchair icons also indicate doors closest to carriages with a wheelchair space on board..
Sydney Metro services stop at all stations, with no distinctly different stopping patterns. This eliminates the need for customers to find the correct service for a certain station.
The Sydney Metro network’s stations and serviced locations are specifically chosen and designed to service major growth areas, allowing customers to reach new areas for jobs, residency and education.

Ticketing[]

Sydney Metro uses Transport for NSW's Opal smartcard ticketing system. Metro is considered the same mode as trains for ticketing purposes, so only a single fare is charged for trips on Sydney Metro and Sydney Trains, since there are no ticket gates between metro and train platforms.

Other Proposals[]

Hurstville (dropped)[]

The second phase of the southern sector conversion would have seen two of the four tracks between Sydenham and Hurstville, part of the Sydney Trains Illawarra line, converted to rapid transit and added to the Sydney Metro network. This plan would have increase rail capacity between Hurstville and the city by 10 trains per hour. Though a precise construction timeframe was not provided, the plan envisaged all work being completed by 2031. The Hurstville conversion would add eight stations (Tempe, Arncliffe, Banksia, Rockdale, Kogarah, Carlton, Allawah and Hurstville) and 9 km (5.6 mi) to the metro network. Developing plans for this extension has proven difficult, and the Sydney Morning Herald reported in February 2016 that the project may have been dropped. The likely reason behind the Hurstville metro proposal being dropped may have been due to issues with straighter platforms being fitted at some stations proven to be too difficult, and disruption for southbound freight trains running on the Illawarra and South Coast Lines to connect to Moss Vale if trackwork affects the Southern Highlands Line.

Controversy[]

The Sydney Metro network has not been without its fair share of criticism, namely from Michelle Byrne, the Mayor of Hills Shire Council. Dr Byrne criticised the Sydney Metro Northwest route for not being connected to the forthcoming Western Sydney Airport at Badgerys Creek, as well as not being directly connected with Schofields station on the existing Sydney Trains network, as Tallawong station is located 3km east of Schofields. She also believed that extending the line to Badgerys Creek also would have allowed the route to travel through Marsden Park, which is a huge industrial and commercial centre of Western Sydney.

The NSW Government also announced that some bus routes connecting the north-west suburbs with the Sydney CBD (including the commonly-used Hillsbus route 607X from Rouse Hill to the CBD) may cease operation in favour of being replaced by feeder buses serving to Sydney Metro stations, in a possible attempt to force customers to use the Sydney Metro system. This has not gone down well with some customers who regularly use these buses as a crucial method of transport to the city, as research has shown that trips from the northwest will take longer on a combination of bus and Sydney Metro rather than going by bus alone.

The Sydney Metro's use of single-deck automated Alstom Metropolis sets also attracted criticism, namely from those who say that the existing Sydney Trains double-deck fleet would provide more seated passengers per hour, as passengers prefer being comfortably seated on longer journeys. A major rebuttal to the claim is the bench-styled longitudinal seating on the Sydney Metro trains, often citing the excuse that other rapid transit systems around the world (such as New York City’s MTA Subway, the London Underground and other metro networks in Asia) have used this seating format on trains, claiming that it allows faster loading and unloading of passengers. In instances of journeys with shorter trips where most passengers hop on and hop off, bench seating allows passengers to stand and exit from the seat more easily, and providing more standing room in the carriage. Further criticism was raised upon research that upgrades to the existing Sydney Trains network’s signalling system will still provide more services per hour than the Metro, with more seating capacity than the Metro fleet.

Documents have also revealed that warnings have been made to the NSW Government about the inconvenience of Sydney Metro Northwest passengers being forced to change with existing Sydney Trains services at Chatswood, while the construction for Sydney Metro City & Southwest is ongoing. The NSW Greens' spokesperson for transport, Mehreen Faruqi, also criticised the passenger-carrying capacity of the Sydney Metro network.

After a man clinged onto the power lines at Redfern station on 18th April 2019, causing mass delays across the whole Sydney Trains network as result of the power having to be cut, activist groups such as EcoTransit and Our Transport, who heavily oppose the Sydney Metro network, further raised concerns over Sydney Metro Northwest, worrying that if a power cut was to happen, passengers would be forced to walk the entire length of the skytrain bridge between Tallawong and Bella Vista, or the 6km long tunnel between Epping and Cherrybrook. The size dimensions of the new tunnels also raised concern as they may not provide enough space for passengers, particularly those with disabilities, to evacuate in an emergency, due to the only emergency exit provided being on the very front and rear of the train.

After several bus services in the Hills District (including several express services to and from the City) were axed or rerouted to serve the Metro stations as of 28th July 2019, many Hills residents who live too far from Metro stations have also expressed outrage over the Metro's supposed role as a "bus replacement". Over 10,000 signatures for a "Bring Northwest Buses Back" petition have been signed, as the loss of local buses is making commute times longer and more frustrating. Most of the outraged Hills commuters and residents have criticised the Berejiklian Government for axing the buses as a ploy to deliberately force extra patronage onto the Metro. The worst affected areas are those served by the Cherrybrook metro station which include Cherrybrook and West Pennant Hills, with a massive lack of local buses serving the station area outside of peak periods, coupled with most residents being forced to drive and look for a parking space due to not living close enough to the station. Many commuters of the express City bus route 607X were also unhappy at being forced to catch a metro service from Rouse Hill to Bella Vista in order to link up with the bus service due to the route being truncated at the latter. Minister for Transport, Andrew Constance, has considered looking into a review of the bus services before considering future changes to better allow affected residents to access their locally serviced metro station. The Hillsbus network was later modified in October 2019 to patch up the significant gap in services in the Cherrybrook and West Pennant Hills area, due to the backlash.

On 23rd August 2019, while most of the Sydney Trains network ground to a standstill as a result of a Tangara T set, T50, having an upper hatch come loose and getting dangerously close to overhead wires, the Sydney Metro network was hit with another major blunder (the latest within 3 months of service) happening at Macquarie University station which saw a 2-year-old boy get separated from his mother after the doors on one of the driverless Alstom Metropolis sets closed unexpectedly (the Metro doors open and close automatically, only remaining open for 30 seconds), causing his mother to have to board another Metro service to reunite with her child at Epping. The NSW Rail, Tram & Bus Union used this latest incident as further evidence behind the fears that the Metro has truly compromised passenger safety, with the union fearing a future possible fatality as a result of people being trapped in platform screen doors.

The biggest criticism towards the Sydney Metro network as a whole is that it only exists not to serve passenger interest, but to make money by opening up its serviced suburbs to redevelopment (namely for foreign Chinese property developers, due to MTR‘s known history as being primarily a property developer) for higher density highrise tower apartments. This criticism was raised due to new high-density apartments measuring around 21-40 storeys in height earmarked to take over areas on the upcoming City & Southwest corridor while at the cost of displacing existing residents into alternative accommodation, with the suburbs most at risk including Marrickville, Bankstown, Campsie and Waterloo. The latter in particular, with a proposed plan of 17 highrise towers around the Metro precinct measuring 40 storeys in height, is set to overtake the neighbouring areas of Zetland and Green Square to become the highest densely populated suburb in the entire Sydney suburban area. Other areas in the Hills District on the Northwest corridor are also currently earmarked to be mostly taken over by medium to high-density apartments.

In November 2019, the NSW Rail, Tram & Bus Union found readings that stations on the Sydney Metro network are not meeting safety and accessibility standards for elderly and disabled passengers, as most of said passengers often felt concerned about the lack of staff to assist at stations, metro doors closing too fast, and poor station design which has only one entrance/exit, causing extra time to be spent with walking. The lack of consideration for those with special needs may possibly be due to MTR Corporation's for-profit business model, which already attracted controversy over station locations being chosen based on suburbs in which MTR Corporation wants to build future highrise redevelopment onto, such as proposed highrise developments in The Hills and a complete rebuild of Waterloo from scratch, forcing current disadvantaged residents (especially in Waterloo) to be forced to find alternative accommodation.

As of December 2019, around 45 incidents have been known to have occurred on the North West line alone.