Frustration As Sydney Metro Extension Hindered By Lack Of Fire Hydrants

The final portion of the Sydney Metro North West & Bankstown Line has hit another obstacle, with it revealed that there are insufficient fire hydrants on station platforms.

Running from Sydenham to Bankstown, it was initially intended to carry passengers this year, after the extension from Chatswood opened in August 2024. However, it has been beset by delays and frustrations, including becoming mired in the long-running industrial dispute which gripped the railways.

On Monday 1 September, The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Fire and Rescue NSW was concerned about “excessive intervention times” to conflagrations at stations. Up to 211 metres of hose would be necessary to reach the far end of platforms, with the worst case being at Wiley Park.

Stations between Sydenham and Bankstown, which were previously on the suburban system, are expected to reopen for Metro services in mid-to-late 2026.

Old stations, but new-ish concern

The final extension utilises the bulk portion of the Bankstown line, which closed for conversion in September last year. The stations which Fire and Rescue NSW are concerned about opened between 1895 and 1938.

Fire and Rescue NSW first advised in 2018 that hydrants be installed during the conversion.

A typical station platform in Sydney is about 160 metres long. A single hose length is 30 metres.

Commenting to the City Hub for this piece, a Sydney Metro spokesperson did not directly address the concerns.

“Safety is the highest priority of Sydney Metro and we continue to engage with the Office of the National Safety Regulator and emergency services ahead of opening the Southwest Metro – just as was the case before opening the city section of the M1 Line last year.”

Residents inconvenienced by delays to completion

Trains have been replaced by free replacement buses, named Southwest Link, for the duration of the closure. In many cases, these take substantially longer as they wind through the suburban streets.

One Dulwich Hill resident told this masthead that the station being a 10-minute walk away was “a massive part of the reason” for her moving there in the first place, and that she has had to quit her job.

“The promised Metro opening in first late 2024, then early 2025, and now 2026, would have made my commute to Chatswood to tutor not take over an hour,” she said.

“However, I ended up having to quit that job because the travel time was unsustainable and far too long without the trains running.”

“The constant disruptions to regular train timetables have also been massively inconvenient, and at times doubled my travel time.”

A Maroubra resident who frequently passes through the area the line traverses said that the “traffic near those stations” is far greater than when they were open.

“Also, there is constant road work which adds to traffic.”

The price of progress

Since the city entered an infrastructure boom in the early-mid 2010s, Sydneysiders have become accustomed to uncertainty surrounding major projects. Last year, the Minns Government even mulled the cancellation of the under-construction Sydney Metro West project, before deciding to press ahead.

In 2022, it was revealed that the Bankstown line conversion was delayed by a minimum of one year owing to the coronavirus pandemic, industrial disputation and adverse weather. Up until that point, the entire Metro project was expected to be completed in 2024.

If Sydneysiders have been frustrated by such impediments, it has not dampened their sentiments at the culminations of their struggles. There was widespread jubilation when Sydney Metro City opened last year, which was reaffirmed last month on its first birthday.