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The number of morning peak passengers who passed through Gadigal metro station near Town Hall in February was nearly twenty percent higher than it was in November, as Sydneysiders continue to board metro trains in droves.
9,700 morning peak passengers boarded or disembarked at Gadigal, up from 8,100 three months earlier in November, which was itself above the official 2024 forecast for 7,500 morning peak passenger journeys.
It was a similar story across the harbour in North Sydney, where Victoria Cross station saw 11,400 passengers per morning peak, up fifteen percent from 9,900 in November. Both figures, however, were below the 2024 forecast expecting 14,400 riders to pass through the station in morning peak periods.
The busiest station was Martin Place, which is serviced by Sydney Trains suburban services and intercity South Coast Line trains as well as metro trains; the figures include passengers changing between the metro and other services. It recorded 17,700 metro journeys, up from 15,100 in November and above the expectation of 15,600 journeys.
Second to it was Central station, recording 14,300 metro passengers, up from 12,500 – but below the forecast of 19,100.
In the data, the morning peak is defined as starting at 6.30am and ending at 10am.
Sydney Metro was positive about the numbers, noting that ridership is expected to continue growing.
“The forecast data for 2024 assumes that patronage will have fully ramped up and stabilised at a steady state, which is expected to happen gradually over the first few years of operation. The introduction of services to Bankstown will further increase patronage,” the agency said, as reported by the Sydney Morning Herald.
Patronage at some stations lagging
So it may be expected that patronage at Crows Nest and Waterloo has yet to rise to expectations, with housing developments underway in the vicinities of these stations.
Morning peak patronage at Crows Nest climbed by 1,000 over three months to reach 6,200 in February, still far below the expectation of 10,100. 3,800 used Waterloo, up from 3,200 and below the forecast of 5,200.
Barangaroo is yet to reach its forecasted figure of 5,200. It recorded 4,500 morning peak passengers, up from 4,000.
Overall ridership expected to increase
Metro patronage overall has been fairly stable since September, following the opening of the extension from Chatswood to Sydenham the month prior. However, ridership is expected to rise with the opening of the metro extension to Bankstown, now expected in 2026.
The extension will see residents in a swathe of the Inner West and Western Suburbs regain access to trains, after much of the Bankstown line was closed last year to make way for the conversion. Metro trains will provide a significantly faster service than do the rail replacement buses presently operating along the corridor.Sydney Metro has proven popular, significantly reducing travel times for Hills residents. Intercity train passengers have taken to changing at Epping in order to arrive in the city centre faster.
