$25.3 Billion Metro West Project Creates Underground Pedestrian Transportation

A missing link between a series of Sydney tunnels will be constructed as a part of Sydney’s largest metro rail project, allowing commuters to walk beneath central stations and interconnect with additional public transport services.

Giving Sydney commuters the ability to travel underground between the CBD’s eastern and western sides, the project aims to ease the flow of passenger numbers surrounding metro stations. 

The project aims to divert commuters from the busy streets of Sydney, allowing for people to travel swiftly by foot through a series of network tunnels underneath the CBD.

Expected by 2036, more than 10,000 people will commute through the Hunter Street station, with numbers tripling to 32,000 in two decades.

The $25.3 billion Metro West project will allow for a multi-level walkway that connects platforms from the Metro West station to those on the M1 Metro Station at Martin Place.

The new 24 kilometre metro rail line will connect Sydney and Parramatta, aiming to improve transport capacity, reliability, and fast transport networks across the CBD.

The project will result in two underground pedestrian connections where commuters will be able to travel through four railway stations and underneath streets near Barangaroo to Martin Place.

Changing the way we commute

Sydney’s project of the largest underground train station will consist of a pedestrian link that will utilise the pre existing Hunter Connection tunnel that was constructed in the 1930s. 

The Hunter Street tunnels will be eight meters wide, allowing for easy accessibility through the installation of elevators and escalators. The tunnels will feature a disability friendly environment that allows for people to switch between transport services with ease.

The new metro line is anticipated to open in 2032, and will operate independently as one of three metro rail lines that reside amongst Sydney’s CBD.

Sydney Metro chief executive Peter Regan told Sydney Morning Herald that, “Rarely does a city like Sydney get the opportunity to connect four major transport hubs, but this is the type of city-shaping connectivity Hunter Street station will unlock.”

The implementation of the pedestrian tunnels will allow Sydney to have similarities with cities such as Sapporo in Japan and Toronto in Canada, where the underground links provide increased commuter mobility through demanding public transport areas.

The Metro West Line will follow the M1 line and the underground concourse at central station. This will allow the four major transport hubs to connect and enable the repurposing of transport connections, creating smooth accessibility to vital travel amongst the busy CBD.

Transport for NSW has been contacted for comment.