Commuters can now tap back onto the Sydney T3 Bankstown line, after a two-week closure saw significant work completed in preparation for the line’s Metro City & Southwest conversion.
About 500 workers were on site during this time, many around the clock, undertaking crucial track upgrades, installing security fencing and cables, excavating the future Bankstown Metro platforms and testing new infrastructure.
Sydney Metro took advantage of the school holidays to complete this work, as train patronage is generally lower, meaning less disruption to passengers.
As Metro City & Southwest upgrades continue to ramp up, there will be additional closures and replacement bus plans during school holidays and weekend periods:
- Wednesday, December 27, 2023 to Thursday, January 25, 2024
- Saturday, April 13 to Sunday, April 28, 2024
- the target start date for the 12-month closure of the T3 Bankstown line is between July and October 2024.
Transport for NSW is developing detailed plans to support passengers during the final T3 conversion period and the community will be informed well ahead of time.
Meanwhile, a brand-new overbridge and stairs have opened at Dulwich Hill Station as part of the upgrades.
This upgrade means commuters no longer need to travel around the perimeter of the train station, slashing the time to connect between the two transport modes in half.
Previously Dulwich Hill Station had only one entrance via Wardell Road, with the new bridge adding two entrances on Bedford Crescent and Ewart Lane, giving the local community more access options.
From next month, Dulwich Hill commuters will also benefit from two new lifts from the footbridge becoming operational, which will make the station fully accessible for the first time.
In the coming months, work at the station will begin on the installation of the mechanical gap filler technology which will bridge the gap between the train and platforms to allow level access to metro trains for all commuters.
When the Bankstown to Sydenham section of the Sydney Metro City & Southwest opens in 2025, Dulwich Hill Station will have modern, fast, and reliable metro services to Central Station in 12 minutes and to Chatswood in 27 minutes, with interchange no longer required to reach stations in Sydney’s north.
Some stations on the T3 Bankstown Line currently only receive one train every 15 minutes in the peak. When metro services commence, these stations will receive a train every four minutes.
Rail Repair Plan passes halfway mark
Just four months in since the launch on June 4, the Sydney Trains Rail Repair Plan has hit 60 per cent completion, 10 weeks ahead of schedule.
With more than 1150 high-priority defects removed across the network so far, Sydney Trains is on track to complete the 1900 target ahead of the June 2024 forecast.
Weekend works were kept to a minimum over the Labour Day long weekend, to ensure the community could access major events including the NRL Grand Final.
Sydney Trains chief executive, Matt Longland, said this past month, the on-time running performance exceeded 92 per cent for the first time since May 2022, showing hard work is starting to pay off.
“While we are confident that the network will be more reliable with fewer incidents, it’s worth remembering this doesn’t mean there will be no issues. Our rail infrastructure is ageing and the network is complex,” he said.