New $21 billion Sydney Metro Line Officially Opens: Everything You Wanted To Know About It
Image: Image: Sydney Metro
The $21 billion Sydney Metro line has officially opened its doors to commuters after it received the final approval by the national independent safety regulator last week.
Tens of thousands of commuters experienced their first ride on Sydney Metro’s new city section Monday morning, marking the debut of the first new train line beneath the city centre in over forty years.
The first passenger journey departed at 4:54 a.m. on Monday, reaching Chatswood Station by 5:16 a.m. Each day, approximately 445 services are expected to run between Chatswood and Sydenham.
What is the new metro line?
The new 15.5-kilometre M1 Line extends the Metro North West line from Chatswood to Sydenham, beneath Sydney Harbour and the CBD.
This underground metro features driverless trains that connect to the existing Metro Northwest line. During peak hours, trains will run every four minutes and every seven minutes during the day.
The new M1 metro line is set to revolutionise city travel with 2,645 additional services each week, transporting 17,000 passengers per hour during peak AM hours.
The line offers travel times of just 3 minutes from Victoria Cross in North Sydney to Barangaroo and 4 minutes between Martin Place and Central. Also, the new direct route between Sydenham and Chatswood will cut travel time to 22 minutes, reducing the current peak-hour commute by at least 13 minutes, which previously required a train change at Town Hall.
To complement the new metro line, an updated bus timetable has been introduced and has been operating smoothly since August 4, providing seamless support for M1 passengers.
Key Features of Sydney’s Metro Line
The key features of Sydney’s new M1 line include:
- 445 new metro services on weekdays, with trains running every four minutes during peak times, every seven minutes between peak hours (increasing to every five minutes after the first month), and every ten minutes during off-peak hours and weekends.
- Six fully accessible new stations at Crows Nest, Victoria Cross, Barangaroo, Martin Place, Gadigal, and Waterloo, plus new platforms at Central and Sydenham.
- Convenient interchanges with buses at all stations, ferries at Barangaroo, light rail at Central, and train services at Martin Place, Central, and Sydenham.
- A state-of-the-art control centre monitoring safety, featuring approximately 100 CCTV cameras at each station and 38 cameras inside each train.
- Over 600 secure bike parking spaces at Crows Nest, Victoria Cross, Waterloo, and Sydenham, contributing to a total of 900 new bike parking spaces across all eight stations.
- Platform screen door technology to ensure safety by keeping passengers and objects clear of the tracks.
Metro’s official opening delayed due to safety concerns
The eagerly awaited city extension of the driverless metro line had been scheduled to open on 4 August. However, the planned opening of the $21.6 billion metro rail line was delayed after failing to receive the sign of approval from the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator (ONRSR).
The delay followed an incident where a firefighter conducting safety drills received an electric shock while opening a door on a driverless train during a final search-and-rescue drill on the Metro City and Southwest line.
Last week, the NSW government announced a new opening date of Monday, shortly after the rail safety regulator granted final approvals.
Celebrations Mark the Opening of Sydney’s New Metro Line
Premier Chris Minns spoke to Today during the Metro’s opening, stating “It seems to have gone well, no major teething problems this morning. There was a bit of overcrowding at Sydenham but they were just some very enthusiastic first-time Metro users.”
“Good on them, they’ve been waiting a long time and it’s great to see them use this wonderful bit of public transport,” he said .
Minister for Transport Jo Haylen said “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.”
Sydney Metro Chief Executive Peter Regan expressed his excitement at the metro line’s opening, “More than 50,000 people have worked on this project and I know they are as proud as I am to show Sydney what we have been working on.”
“This comes after a year of testing and commissioning, including more than 200 simulated exercises that have included disruption, emergency scenarios and security drills to ensure the trains and stations are ready for passengers to enjoy,” he said.
The new metro line will carry up to 40,000 passengers per hour at peak times, nearly doubling the 24,000-passenger capacity of Sydney’s existing suburban system.
Passengers can plan their metro trips by visiting transportnsw.info.
