Sydney’s Southwest Metro extension scheduled to open on 30 October
NSW Premier Chris Minns has announced the first service from the converted Bankstown line for 4:31am, ending a two-year period of replacement buses for affected commuters.
Sydney’s Southwest Metro extension is scheduled to open on Friday 30 October, NSW Premier Chris Minns announced on Thursday 22 October, giving commuters in the city’s south-west a date for the return of trains between Sydenham and Bankstown after more than two years of replacement buses. The first service is due to depart at 4:31am, according to the state government.
Minns called the opening a ‘huge moment for south-west Sydney’ and thanked commuters, families and local businesses for their patience during the conversion. The government says the pink replacement buses will continue to run on opening day and through the first weekend of metro service.
What changes for Bankstown line commuters
The former T3 heavy rail service between Sydenham and Bankstown stopped in September 2024 so the line could be converted for driverless metro trains. The closed section served 10 stations: Marrickville, Dulwich Hill, Hurlstone Park, Canterbury, Campsie, Belmore, Lakemba, Wiley Park, Punchbowl and Bankstown. During the closure, passengers used replacement buses to reach metro services at Sydenham, where the existing line terminates.
The extension is the final stage of the M1 Metro North West and Bankstown line. Once it opens, passengers will be able to travel on a continuous 66-kilometre route from Tallawong, through Sydney’s central business district, to Bankstown. The government expects the Bankstown-to-Central trip to take 28 minutes, six minutes less than on the former heavy rail service. It projects a 37-minute trip from Lakemba to Victoria Cross, a 24-minute saving against previous travel times.
Why the metro conversion took longer
The conversion had initially been expected to take 12 months. ABC News reported that industrial action and the complexity of adapting the 130-year-old railway contributed to delays. The Guardian reported difficulties at historic stations, including the need for mechanical gap-fillers between trains and curved platforms. Six of the line’s 360 doors will be out of use at opening while reliability data is collected: three at Dulwich Hill and one each at Marrickville, Canterbury and Campsie.
The project was announced in 2014 by the former Coalition government. Labor campaigned against it at the 2019 election but committed to finishing it after Minns became premier in 2023. The city and south-west metro sections are now expected to cost more than A$20 billion combined, The Guardian reported. The announced opening date follows the long wait described in earlier coverage of the replacement bus service.
Read in depth: World
Burnham defends Palestine Action ban process after Rooney book supply stops
The prime minister cited a live legal case when pressed to review the proscription, as Sally Rooney’s publisher stopped supplying her books to UK retailers.
Australian MPs report paying for security upgrades as agencies assess safety concerns
Politicians told Guardian Australia they had spent thousands of dollars on safety measures after police advice. Security officials have committed to assessing MPs who raised...
Sources and context
- ‘Huge moment’: long-awaited extension to Sydney’s metro line to open next weekThe Guardian
- NSW reveals opening date of long-awaited Southwest Metro lineABC News
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.