NSW transport system makes history

Written by

Charbel Abousleiman

Urban Planning Lawyer & Buyers Agent

01/05/2023

For the first time in history, trains are running deep below Sydney Harbour as the Sydney Metro City and Southwest project enters its next stage of development.

New metro trains are now travelling in the 15.5km twin metro railway tunnels, which extends the Metro North West Line from Chatswood to Sydenham, as part of a rigorous testing and commissioning program.

The first stage of testing was completed recently at a very low speed, with trains manually driven at a maximum speed of 25km/hour. Gradually, trains will reach a maximum speed of 110km/hour.

With the testing trains stored near Rouse Hill in Sydney’s northwest, each train will undergo acceleration and braking testing on the newly built track and complete a series of system checks to ensure it can perform reliably under operation conditions.

The line will be handed over to Metro Trains Sydney – a private consortium led by Hong Kong’s MTR Corporation.

Part Sydney Metro line

Fire and Rescue NSW and the firefighters union are deeply concerned about the lack of suitable protocols to provide emergency personnel timely and effective access from the station platforms to an incident within the new rail tunnels. If there is an incident in a tunnel, the operator will use a train in the other twin tunnel to transport emergency services to the scene. Cross passages between the twin tunnels, which will be operated independently, will allow passengers to be evacuated.

Assuming there are no further project delays, by 2024, Sydney will be more connected and easier to move around with 7 new underground metro stations and faster travel times, including from:

Central Station to Chatswood Station in 15 minutes,
Martin Place Station to Sydenham Station in 11 minutes, and
Victoria Cross Station in North Sydney, below Sydney Harbour, to Barangaroo Station in 3 minutes.

The metro trains are expected to move more people across the Harbour in peak hour than the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Harbour Tunnel, taking significant pressure of Sydney’s roads and existing rail network.

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