Monday the 19th of August marks a historic day in NSW transport history, as the doors officially opened on new metro services extending from the city’s north-west at Chatswood, below the harbour and through the Sydney CBD, to Sydenham.
The inaugural passenger journey under the harbour departed from Sydenham Station’s Platform 1 at 4:54am this morning.
By 10am, an estimated 40,000 passengers had already jumped on board the game-changing new service, with 118 services running the full length of the 51.5-kilometre M1 Northwest to Bankstown Line from Tallawong to Sydenham.
The Joint Operations Centre (JOC) has been in action since 4am this morning, preparing for first service from Sydenham at 4:54am. The JOC is running a major operation, keeping a close eye on the transport and road network and monitoring new and emerging major interchange precincts including:
NSW Premier, Chris Minns congratulated everybody who worked hard bringing the major project to fruition.
“It’ll be a huge change for Sydney and a big step forward,” he said.
“Obviously, this will see hundreds of thousands of people get to work in a different way. It needs to fully integrate with the rest of the public transport system.
“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.
“It will genuinely transform the way people get to and from work, and it’ll be fantastic, so Sydney enjoy the experience.”
New metro services will launch to a weekday timetable, which means a service every four minutes during the peak and every 10 minutes during the off peak. For Opal fare consistency, peak times are the same as all other modes of public transport, 6:30am-10am and 3pm-7pm.
There is a four-minute frequency for trains travelling from Tallawong Station between 6:08am-9:24am and 2:54pm-6:46pm. Sydenham Station will see a four-minute frequency from 6:54am-9:46am and 3:16pm-7:32pm.
Minister for Transport Jo Haylen was on hand to welcome Sydneysiders to their new railway.
“This is truly a historic moment that will forever be etched in the storybook of this great city,” she said.
“What an incredible day to experience the first passengers travelling on the new M1 extension deep below the city and under the harbour.
“I want to honour the legacy of the 50,000 workers who have built this railway, which will serve Sydney for the next century.
“We are anticipating crowds of potentially up to 200,000 people today for the first day of operations so please be patient and mindful as you get familiar with this fantastic new way to travel.”
Interpeak trains will run every seven minutes, increasing after the first month to a train every five minutes.
A total of 445 new metro services will run through the heart of the city each weekday. The 45 new metro trains can each carry more than 1,150 people and will significantly alleviate pressure on existing transport and road networks.
This transformative new section of railway is the next stage of the M1 Northwest & Bankstown Line, which now extends 51.5-kilometres through Sydney with stops at 21 stations between Tallawong and Sydenham.
The expanded metro network provides connections to Sydney’s employment, financial and retail districts, unlocks the Barangaroo harbourside precinct by delivering its first railway station, and has capacity to move more people across Sydney Harbour in the busiest hour of the peak than the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Harbour Tunnel combined.
Transport for NSW Secretary Josh Murray said Sydney Metro has been an engineering and construction masterpiece.
“We will see new journey behaviours emerge as commuters try the new Metro City line, then settle on what works best for them,” he said.
“We’re expecting passenger numbers on Metro City and Southwest to quickly build to around 37,000 in the morning peaks and up to a quarter of a million trips on a typical weekday day.
“Our experts will be running a virtual New Year’s Eve operation, mapping the movement of people around the city and identifying the highest demand services.”
Sydney Metro Chief Executive Peter Regan said the opening is a great moment for public transport in the city.
“I want to thank our teams, who have been at work since 2017; I know each and every one of them is so proud to welcome you all today,” he said.
“We know people will have a lot of questions, so we’ve bolstered our teams on the ground to help commuters familiarise themselves with the new network and get where they need to go.
“A reminder that metro trains can travel at speeds of up to 100km/h, so please hang on when taking off.”
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