Sydney Metro Testing Begins in South-West as Door Incident Triggers Safety Review

Testing has begun on the new Sydney Metro line between Sydenham and Bankstown, as a separate safety incident involving an open train door in the city’s north sparks concern.

The first train ran along the southwest extension at 4 am on Thursday. It marked the beginning of over 6,500 hours of testing. The line is expected to open to the public next year.

NSW Premier Chris Minns called it a major step forward for public transport.

“This is a real milestone for this project — the beginning of the testing on the line,” Minns said. “This is transformative for Sydney and the area.”

During the test, the train took five hours to reach Campsie Station. Minns assured it would run much faster once the line opens.

“When it is up and running it is going to take about 11 minutes,” Minns said.

Once operational, the trip from Campsie to Central Station is expected to take 18 minutes. A trip to Chatswood will take 33 minutes. Minns said the project would boost housing development and ease traffic congestion.

“What it means is we can have rapid public transport into the city,” Minns said. “It means more people on public transport and fewer cars on the road.”

Sydney metro door incident is up for debate

The milestone comes as Sydney Metro faces scrutiny over a separate safety issue. On Wednesday, a door was seen wide open on a moving metro train during peak hour. When the malfunction occurred, the train was heading south between Chatswood and Crows Nest.

Minns said the matter is under serious investigation.

“I do not want anyone to believe we are trying to sweep it under the carpet,” Minns said. “The national regulator is looking at what happened.”

Sydney Metro chief executive Peter Regan said early findings suggest human error.

“The door was manually overridden, but the procedure was not fully followed,” Regan said. “The door was not fully secured while the train was moving.”

Regan said the system responded correctly. The control centre applied emergency brakes and staff stood near the door.

The Rail, Tram and Bus Union has called for metro services to be halted until safety measures are in place, but Minns dismissed the idea.

“This is a glitch,” Minns said. “It should not shut down the transport network while we investigate.”

Despite the incident, the government is pushing ahead with metro expansion, aiming to connect more suburbs and reduce road congestion across Sydney.