Image: Minister for Transport Jo Haylen assures commuters of a “temporary transport plan” amid T3 shut down. Source: Twitter/Jo Haylen.
By LAUREN FROST
Thousands of Sydney commuters will face the consequences of the final instalment of the City and Southwest Metro which will be underway with the upcoming upgrade to the T3 Bankstown Line.
The near century-old T3 line will be converted to a high-tech metro line, and the Government has promised that “South West Sydney residents will receive the essential services and increased service frequency they need and deserve”.
“Currently, some stations on the Bankstown Line receive four trains an hour in the peak. When this section of the metro is completed, they will receive a train every four minutes. That’s a massive increase in services,” said Minister for Transport Jo Haylen.
A further $1.1 billion has been set aside for the conversion from existing transport budgets, with the project likely beginning in the tail end of next year, between July and October. This will pose significant disruptions to existing railway services due to an estimated 12-month shutdown.
“The Government recognises that the shutdown of the T3 Line during the conversion will be painful for tens of thousands of passengers across the South West,” a recent Transport for NSW media release said.
Big Promises
The media release went on to acknowledge the development of a “temporary transport plan” to accommodate the shutdown of the T3 line, which will include “dedicated, frequent bus routes, including express services.”
“While the conversion won’t be easy,” said Haylen, “we’ve come up with a solution that will get it done in up to twelve months instead of the original timeline of fifteen to eighteen months.”
“The former government grossly underestimated the complexity of this work and were not upfront with the community. This changes now,” she assured.
NSW Premier Chris Minns also announced the likely 2024 opening of the Sydenham to Chatswood section of the metro.
“That means more than just a train every four minutes,” he said.
“It takes a massive amount of pressure off the city circle so we can run more train services on other train lines.”
However, Natalie Ward, Shadow Minister for Transport has called out the Labor Government for making “a big song and dance out of honouring an election commitment and delivering an infrastructure project that was planned, funded and underway by the previous government”
“It shows how unusual it is for Labor to deliver any infrastructure project,” she continued.
In the meantime, regular T3 passengers will be left wondering how the 12-month shutdown will affect their commute.
The Restore Inner West Line & Save T3 Bankstown Line community action group are among those concerned about the upcoming shutdown.
In a recent media release, the group called on Transport for NSW and Sydney Metro to “cease planning efforts to close train stations in the West of Bankstown area in the long-term future.”
“Commuters in the West of Bankstown are once again the forgotten commuters of Sydney previously having 2 lines to Central, but soon to have none in the long-term future,” said Roydon Ng, convenor of the Restore Inner West Line community campaign.
“Transport for NSW needs to be upfront to the community about its long-term future intentions for West of Bankstown”
