Three-month lookahead: Weekend closures for Southwest Metro testing
07.05.2026
Passengers are encouraged to plan ahead, with an intensive three-month testing program scheduled across several weekends from May through to the end of July.
Services on the M1 line will be closed on the weekend of 9-10 May, followed by six additional weekend closures over the next 12 weeks to support the final stretch of Southwest Metro testing as the project moves toward trial running.
This Mother’s Day weekend, passengers are advised to check before travelling, as trackwork will also affect Sydney Trains services between Central and Wynyard, as well as on the City Circle.
Across the three-month testing program, M1 line closures are scheduled for:
- 9-10 and 16-17 May
- 20-21 and 27-28 June
- 11-12, 18-19 and 25-26 of July
A partial line closure between Central and Sydenham is also scheduled for Sunday 14 June, following the conclusion of Vivid Sydney on Saturday 13 June.
On weekends when the M1 line is closed, replacement buses will operate every 4-8 minutes between Tallawong and Chatswood. Passengers can connect to bus services or Sydney Trains at Epping or Chatswood, the City and Sydenham.
During closure weekends, last services will depart Tallawong at 12.50am and Sydenham at 1.24am on Saturday. Services will resume on Monday morning, with the first departures from Tallawong at 4.08am and Sydenham at 4.54am.
Sydney Metro will support travel to and from Vivid Sydney, held from 22 May to 13 June. Additional services will run on weekends and the King’s Birthday public holiday, as well as from Monday to Wednesday between 7.30pm and 11pm to accommodate increased demand associated with the drone shows.
Sydney Metro appreciates the patience of passengers as this important work continues in the lead-up to opening. Closures are essential to enable full line testing and will help ensure a safe and reliable railway is ready for passengers when Southwest Metro services commence in the second half of the year.
When metro services to Bankstown begin in the second half of this year, the M1 line will stretch 66 kilometres from the Sydney’s northwest, beneath the Sydney CBD and through to Bankstown. The line will serve 31 stations, connecting some of Sydney’s busiest suburbs through the heart of the Sydney CBD.
Customers will be notified of service changes via transport apps, travel alerts, station signage and announcements. More information is available at https://transportnsw.info/