The new Metro trains began carrying passengers this morning, allowing Sydneysiders to witness the completion of a project that has taken over a decade to complete.
Trains will run every four minutes during rush hour between Chatswood and Sydenham, stopping at eight more stops along the way, which will take riders under Sydney Harbour and beyond.
In 2011, the proposal was first unveiled as a new rail route that would travel north-west of Sydney. Its construction cost $21.6 billion and lasted seven years.
In 2015, plans were announced for the Metro makeover, and in 2017, work started. At 4.54 a.m. today, the first voyage beneath the harbour departed from Sydenham Station.
Trains departing from Tallawong Station run every four minutes from 6.08 am to 9.24 am and 2.54 pm to 6.46 pm. From 6.54am to 9.46am and 3.16pm to 7.32pm, there will be four-minute frequencies at Sydenham Station.
Trains will operate every seven minutes during peak hours starting tomorrow, and every five minutes after the first month.
Each of the 45 new metro trains has the capacity to carry about 1,150 people.
The M1 Northwest and Bankstown Line, which already spans 51.5 kilometers across Sydney with stops at 21 stations between Tallawong and Sydenham, is presently being extended with this new piece of railway.
“We’re urging those who use public transport this morning to be patient,” Premier Chris Minns said. Hundreds of thousands of individuals will obviously start working in a new way because of this.
Complete integration with other modes of public transportation is required.
“This is a massive piece of transport infrastructure, and in part, credit should go to former Premier Mike Baird, his successor, Gladys Berejiklian, and her successor, Dominic Perrottet.”
