A troubled project to convert a Sydney rail line to driverless metro will be given the go-ahead after months of speculation it would be canned.
The conversion of the Bankstown line, along with the Metro West project between the CBD and Westmead, had been under threat of cancellation after mammoth cost overruns prompted NSW Transport Minister Jo Haylen to launch a review.
But the final stage of the City and Southwest Metro project has been spared the axe, with a likely opening date in mid-2025.
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Haylen and Premier Chris Minns confirmed on Tuesday the transformation of the existing 13.5km line between Sydenham and Bankstown to metro standards.
The process won’t be without its difficulties, as commuters must endure 12 months of replacement buses while the track is closed for construction.
The alternative presented by Sydney Metro bosses was a 15-month partial shutdown and even longer disruptions.
“We’re also announcing that the Sydenham to Chatswood section of the metro is on track to open in 2024,” Minns said in a statement.
“That means more than just a train every four minutes. It takes a massive amount of pressure off the City Circle so we can run more train services on other train lines.”
Earlier plans for the conversion envisaged the Bankstown line continuing to run through the majority of the project, with one closure of three to six months at its end.
Delays to construction due to the pandemic, wet weather and industrial action put paid to that plan.
Disruptive though the shutdown may be, it won’t be the first time commuters are forced to suffer a rail closure while an existing line is converted to metro.
Buses replaced trains for eight months when the Epping to Chatswood rail link was upgraded in 2018 as part of Metro Northwest.
When opened, the City and Southwest project will extend the Chatswood to Tallawong line to create a continuous 66km ribbon of railway.
Current 35 minute travel times between Bankstown and Central will be slashed, with single-deck trains running every four minutes during peaks.
Shifting traffic from the existing heavy rail line onto the standalone metro promises to clear a bottleneck in the congested city circle and significantly improve reliability across the network.
Several recent incidents have ground Sydney’s tangled rail system to a halt, leaving commuters stranded and damaging confidence in ageing infrastructure.
Testing of trains on the Chatswood to Sydenham leg has already begun, with the line to carry its first passengers in mid-2024.
Questions persist around the $25 billion Metro West, with a decision into the under-construction line’s future not due until after the September 19 budget.