Image: Sydney Metro's new Waterloo station. Image: Sydney Metro/ Facebook
The new section of Sydney Metro’s M1 Northwest & Bankstown line will not open this Sunday, August 4, 2024. Days before the opening, the government said that the opening was being postponed as the new metro line had not received final approvals from the national rail safety regulator.
A new opening date will not be announced until the proper regulatory processes are complete. This may take several weeks. However, the bus routes designed to align with the metro opening will come into effect on Sunday.
Premier Minns Apologises
On ABC Sydney radio, NSW Premier Chris Minns apologised for getting the public’s hopes up and stated the government would learn from this experience.
“It’s a bit of a lesson for us, to be honest, about how we announce these things to get the public ready for it. We want to make sure we get it right. Safety is obviously paramount here and the independent regulator needs a bit more time.”
Earlier in the week, both the ABC and The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) reported that the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator (ONRSR) is yet to grant permission for Sydney Metro to open.
A spokesperson from ONRSR told the SMH that they were still waiting for four safety exercises with firefighters and a number of documents to be completed.
“Timing of the decision will depend on the provision of that documentation. [The regulator] will process the application as quickly as possible, noting that it requires sufficient time to undertake the internal review process to assess the documentation.”
This comes after several sources close to the project disclosed that the line was at risk of delayed opening because of the tight deadline.
What To Expect
The rail extension is set to allow 2,645 new metro services each week, transporting approximately 37,000 commuters during morning peak hours.
Opening projections hope to see trains arriving every four minutes during morning and afternoon peak hours during the week.
Between peak times, services will arrive every seven minutes. As the project progresses, these services will gradually increase to every five minutes. Weekend and off-peak services will operate every ten minutes.
New stations at Crow’s Nest, Victoria Cross, Barangaroo, Martin Place, Gadigal and Waterloo, Central and Sydenham will be fully accessible. Additionally, bus stations will be available at each station with simple interchange access for ferries at Barangaroo, light rail services at Central, and trains at Martin Place, Central, and Sydenham.
Hundreds of new and secure bike parking spaces will also be available at new metro stations.
Travel time will be cut for thousands of commuters. Martin Place to Waterloo is expected to take six minutes, Sydenham to Macquarie University 33 minutes, Central to Chatswood 15 minutes, and Victoria Cross to Barangaroo just three minutes.
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