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If you've been spending your morning commute on a rail replacement bus, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Sydney Metro extension from Sydenham to Bankstown, we've got good news: the project has just entered its final phase of testing.
The Southwest Metro has officially begun Trial Running – the final hurdle before independent safety regulators decide whether the line is ready to welcome passengers. It's essentially the network's dress rehearsal, with trains now running to a full timetable while the entire system is put through its paces under real-world operating conditions.
That means people between Sydenham and Bankstown will start noticing a lot more metro trains on the tracks, with services ramping up to the network's four-minute frequencies during the morning and afternoon peaks. While trains have so far been operating with drivers on board during testing, they're now switching to fully automated operation, controlled from the Metro Operations Control Centre.
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Trial Running isn't just about making sure the trains run on time. More than 120 operational scenarios will be tested before opening day, including station evacuations, service disruptions, crowd management, lift and escalator failures, security incidents and emergency exercises involving Fire and Rescue NSW, NSW Police, NSW Ambulance, the Transport Management Centre and Sydney Trains. In fact, the first emergency drills – including simulated smoke evacuations at stations – are already underway.
Once Trial Running and the remaining regulatory approvals are done, the Southwest Metro will officially join the existing M1 line, creating one continuous 51.5-kilometre metro railway stretching all the way from Tallawong to Bankstown. According to predictive modelling, a whole lot of Sydneysiders will be making use of it – with numbers on the Southwest section expected to jump by 34 per cent (compared with the former T3 Bankstown Line – a much slower train line), with around 9,500 passenger movements expected between 8am and 9am on weekday mornings. Once open, the line will be capable of moving around 17,000 passengers in each direction every hour through the Sydney CBD during peak periods. It'll also seriously cut travel times, with journeys from Marrickville to Gadigal taking around 12 minutes, Bankstown to Central taking 28 minutes, and Lakemba to North Sydney's Victoria Cross taking just 37 minutes.
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Transport Minister John Graham says locals will soon get "a glimpse of what their metro service will look like when it's running every four minutes", describing Trial Running as the final step before safety regulators make their assessment.
An official opening date is still yet to be announced, but with the network now in its final testing phase, the finish line is well and truly in sight.
You can keep tabs on progress of the Sydney Metro project over here.
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