Project overview
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About Sydney Metro
Sydney Metro is Australia’s biggest public transport project.
By 2030, Sydney will have a network of four metro lines, 46 stations and 113km of new metro rail.
Sydney Metro is revolutionising how Australia’s biggest city travels, connecting Sydney’s north west, west, south west and greater west to fast, reliable turn-up-and-go metro services with fully accessible stations.Â
Chatswood to Sydenham
This project covers the construction and operation of the Sydney Metro rail line from Chatswood to Sydenham. This 15.5-kilometre section of the rail line is almost entirely comprised of underground rail tunnels –including beneath Sydney Harbour – and new stations at Crows Nest, Victoria Cross, Barangaroo, Martin Place, Pitt Street, Waterloo, and new underground platforms at Central.
The Environmental Impact Statement was on public exhibition from 11 May to 27 June 2016 and received more than 300 submissions. Sydney Metro collated the responses and released a Submissions and Preferred Infrastructure Report (available in the document library). This report included a number of key changes made as a result of the feedback.
The Minister for Planning approved the project on 9 January 2017.
Using five tunnel boring machines, tunnelling finished in early 2020 on new 15.5-kilometre twin railway tunnels between the end of the Metro North West line at Chatswood and Sydenham.
New stations will be delivered at Crows Nest, Victoria Cross, Barangaroo, Martin Place, Pitt Street and Waterloo, along with new underground platforms at Central Station.
Sydenham to Bankstown
Sydney Metro received planning approval on 19 December 2018 to upgrade the T3 Bankstown Line between Sydenham and Bankstown to metro standards. Customers will benefit from a new fully-air conditioned Sydney Metro train every four minutes in the peak in each direction with lifts, level platforms and platform screen doors for safety, accessibility and increased security.
For more information see the Bankstown Line Metro Conversion newsletter.
The Submissions and Preferred Infrastructure Report for the Sydenham to Bankstown Metro upgrade was on exhibition until 18 July 2018.
You can view a summary of the project in the Sydenham to Bankstown Preferred Infrastructure Report Overview.
The Submissions and Preferred Infrastructure Report for Sydenham to Bankstown metro upgrade and accompanying documents may be viewed on the NSW Department of Planning and Environment website and the document library.
Martin Place Station: located in the heart of Sydney’s CBD
Crows Nest Station: new metro rail access to the Crows Nest residential area
Barangaroo Station: servicing Sydney’s newest business hub
Central Station: fully connected with other modes of transport
Project features
- An air-conditioned metro train every four minutes in the peak
- Fully accessible stations including lifts
- Improved CCTV surveillance, platform screen doors, platforms level with train floors, minimal gaps between platforms and trains
- New or upgraded concourses and new station entries
- Improved station interchange facilities
- All trains stopping at all local stations – no waiting for the right train
- Less time spent waiting due to higher frequency services
- Safe and efficient connections during the peak and non-peak periods between key centres along the T3 Bankstown Line
- Reduced travel times to key employment and education precincts
- New, direct and fast services to Martin Place, Barangaroo, North Sydney, Chatswood and Macquarie Park
- Interchanges to other rail services at Sydenham, Central and Martin Place.
Indicative timeline for city stations
| 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Early works From 2017-05-13 to 2018-05-13 | ||||||||
| Tunnel construction From 2018-02-13 to 2020-02-13 | ||||||||
| Station excavation and structual works From 2018-02-13 to 2020-02-15 | ||||||||
| Services facility excavation and structural works From 2018-03-13 to 2018-11-13 | ||||||||
| Tunnel fit out From 2021-01-13 to 2023-01-13 | ||||||||
| Station construction and fit out From 2021-03-13 to 2023-02-13 | ||||||||
| Services facility construction and fit out From 2021-04-13 to 2021-09-13 | ||||||||
| Testing and commissioning From 2023-02-13 to 2024-08-13 |
Room for 100,000 extra customers across Sydney
Sydney Metro, together with signalling and infrastructure upgrades across the existing network, will increase the capacity of train services across Sydney from about 120 an hour today, to up to 200 services an hour beyond 2024.
After the conversion, metro trains from Bankstown will run at least every four minutes in the peak, or 15 trains an hour.
The metro network will be fully segregated from the existing Sydney Trains network between Sydenham and Bankstown, improving the reliability of services on the line. Interchange between Sydney Metro and Sydney Trains at both locations will be provided, with improvements to station way-finding and signage.