The next stretch of the Sydney Metro, set to open imminently, has been billed as a game-changer for city commuters.
Not only will the Chatswood to Sydenham section of the $21.6bn line drastically cut travel times and introduce a new crossing under Sydney harbour, it’s also set to dictate settlement patterns, with the New South Wales government basing much of its flagship housing policy along the corridor.
Sydneysiders are set to enjoy architecturally vibrant new stations that will feel like a foreign experience. And the speed of the new driverless metro will feel positively futuristic to passengers accustomed to a network largely built on more-than-a-century-old tracks and significantly larger, more sluggish trains.
What is Sydney Metro and how is it different to the city’s other trains?
For those who haven’t yet travelled on a Sydney Metro train, the first-time experience could feel like a leap through time, like boarding a historic Red Rattler carriage.
Unlike the famed multi-carriage double decks of the Waratah and Tangara fleets – the city’s workhorses, capable of carrying more than 2,000 people when fully loaded – Sydney Metro trains have just a single deck. It has no carriage breaks, allowing for an end-to-end view from front to back.
While metro trains carry fewer passengers, each line’s overall capacity will exceed existing train lines due to the high frequency of services.
The NSW government has billed the line as a “turn up and go” service: a train will arrive at least every four minutes in morning and evening peak periods, with a capacity of every two minutes if pushed.
Services will run every five minutes in the middle of the day, and every 10 minutes during the late night and weekend frequencies.
Metro train sets are also driverless, meaning passengers can stand right at the front window and view the track ahead cleanly.
Platforms at every metro station will have screen door technology, a measure that allows faster boarding and boosts safety, with the tracks inaccessible to the passengers at all times.
Travel speeds are also faster than the broader Sydney trains network. Metro trains travelling between Victoria Cross in North Sydney, through the purpose-built tunnel under the harbour to Barangaroo, will reach speeds nearing 100km/h.
Once the project is complete, passengers will get from Martin Place to Waterloo in six minutes, from Sydenham to Macquarie University in 33 minutes, and from Chatswood to Central in 15 minutes, the government says.
The 16km section of track, from Chatswood to Sydenham, is the city’s second taste of metro technology. Since 2019, the Metro Northwest has run from Tallawong to Chatswood on a line that included above-ground sections and a Chatswood to Epping underground stretch that was converted to metro.
Given the geographic isolation of the metro in the city’s north-west, much of the city has not experienced the new technology; nor has the city been treated to an opening of so many new underground train stations in many years. But now those services will be able to connect through to the city and Sydenham, providing faster travel times.
The line also means there is an alternative rail corridor between the north shore and the city, meaning that when tracks are closed for maintenance or other failures, passengers can transfer lines instead of relying solely on replacement buses.
After the section to Sydenham opens, the existing train network from Sydenham to Bankstown will be shut down for up to 18 months as the track is converted to become an extension of the metro line to Sydney’s south-west.
How long has it taken to build and when will it open?
Works on the Chatswood to Sydenham section began in 2017, with a tunnel boring megaproject under Sydney harbour one of several engineering feats achieved during construction.
The state government had initially hoped to open the line to the public from 4 August. But this was postponed when it became apparent the metro would not be given the final regulatory approvals needed to open. (An electrical shock experienced by a firefighter during a final evacuation drill on the line was understood to have contributed to delays.)
Testing of the full timetable began in late June, with the line’s private operator, Metro Trains Sydney – a consortium led by Hong Kong’s MTR corporation – running drills of everyday scenarios with fake passengers, including medical emergencies and coffee spills.
The government has yet to identify a new opening date, but it is understood to be within a matter of weeks.
What are the new stations?
Crows Nest
The first station beyond the existing Chatswood interchange is Crows Nest on Sydney’s lower north shore. It will significantly boost transport capacity for the suburb, which has been rezoned for significant density increases. To date, residents have relied on St Leonards train station – which is closer to Royal North Shore hospital than it is to the bustling shops and offices of Crows Nest proper.
Subtle brickwork flourishes make the station stand out when viewed from the Pacific Highway and internally. The 25-metre deep station includes sections with colourful geometric mosaics, and its construction included the largest lift of an object of the entire metro line, when a 144-tonne mega steel truss (25 metres long and seven metres high) was placed in position by a tower crane.
Travellers can expect a seven-minute journey to Martin Place and journeys to take four minutes to Chatswood, 11 minutes to Central and 18 minutes to Sydenham.
Victoria Cross
Descending 50 metres deep at its northern end, Victoria Cross will act as a second station to the North Sydney central business district. It is built inside Australia’s largest railway cavern, at 300 metres long, 25 metres wide and 16 metres high.
The station precinct will include 20 food and retail shops and a pedestrian laneway to Denison and Miller streets. A trip from Victoria Cross to Barangaroo will take just three minutes, with a 16-minute trip to Sydenham and a 39-minute trip to Kellyville on the north-west line.
Barangaroo
One of the most modestly sized underground station boxes on the line, the construction of Barangaroo was a complex engineering task. One of the exits is just metres from Sydney harbour, with the proximity to the ocean providing a unique challenge.
While the station box isn’t quite floating, changing tides mean water flows in and out, requiring a constant pumping of water to balance the levels.
The station includes 7,700 sandstone panels and colourful tiling that lead out to Barangaroo, Walsh Bay, Millers Points and ferries, and the newly carved-out beach at Marrinawi Cove – perhaps the closest harbour swimming spot to any train station in Sydney.
During excavation, archaeologists discovered a well-preserved colonial boat believed to be built in Australia between 1810-1820. An inlay of the boat has been installed where it was found. The actual boat will be exhibited at the National Maritime Museum.
Martin Place
Perhaps the most visually impressive stop on the line, Martin Place’s metro adjoins the existing station and connects with the eastern suburbs train line. A blended design transitions the surrounding walls from stone to the red tiling of the heavy rail station, built in the 1970s.
Passengers will need to traverse two sets of escalators to go from street level to platforms. The first lower level forms part of a 40-metre high atrium area that will be open to the public without tapping on to the train system, allowing access to the various shops and businesses connected to the station.
Martin Place station also features “Muru Giligu” or the “path of light” in the local Indigenous language – a pedestrian tunnel with seating banks, illuminated by a constantly changing array of colours and matching soundscape that cycles through classical music and a soundtrack of owls and birds chirping.
The extravagance of Martin Place station was part-funded by Macquarie Group, who were paid hundreds of millions of dollars by the government to build the new metro precinct. The banking giant paid hundreds of millions more from its own pockets to acquire the air rights above the station.
Gadigal
The space-age feel of Gadigal station – known as Pitt St during planning when it was proposed to alleviate pressure on the nearby Town Hall station – is clear the moment passengers step onto its platforms. The platforms appear as fluorescent-lit white tubes, lined by 11,000 individual aluminium pole-like panels on the walls, which are also designed to absorb noise.
When standing at certain areas of the platforms at Gadigal, commuters may be about two metres off the top of the Cross City road tunnel.
The two street entrances to Gadigal station contrast the atmosphere below. Giant, tiled murals burst with colour, as passengers ride escalators through areas punctuated by mammoth concrete columns with a distinct industrial feel.
Central
The Metro platforms at Central station are among the most modern elements of the historic station. Commuters will ride the longest escalators in the southern hemisphere, according to Sydney Metro.
Sydneysiders were forced to grin and bear 150 weekend possessions –where buses replaced trains – so Central station could be renovated. Its new refurbishments include improved pedestrian tunnels, elevators, bathrooms and new lighting.
The chief of the Metro project for much of the city section’s construction, Tim Parker, told the Guardian that part of the vast stone walling was deliberately manufactured with soft spots. He hopes passengers will one day be able to seamlessly transfer at Central from a metro train to a high-speed rail platform.
Waterloo
Waterloo station, which appears as a rusted box from the steet, includes large-scale art on its interior walls including a striking mural of the Indigenous dancer Roscoe.
Passengers on escalators move past an installation piece of 1,000 Indigenous footprints, moulded from the actual feet of 75 local Indigenous people. The metallic footprints were installed by abseiling workers during construction.
Digging for Waterloo station provided a steady stream of discoveries similar to that in Barangaroo. Old badges, spoons and coins – including one from the Byzantine era – were found. Those items have been installed in museum-like displays near the station’s secure bike parking.
Teams were careful to protect the 141-year-old heritage-listed Waterloo congregational church, which is adjacent to the station. They used more than 20km of ground anchors to pin back walls and about 6,500 square metres of shotcrete – concrete pneumatically sprayed at high velocity onto an overhead surface.
