The New South Wales Government has green-lit a billion-dollar metro project, but thousands of Sydneysiders will be stuck without trains for a year. So if you’re impacted, this is the perfect time to invest in some sturdy walking shoes.
According to a media release from the NSW Government, it will commit up to a further $1.1 billion from the existing transport budget in order to convert the existing century-old T3 Bankstown line into a “21st high-tech metro line”.
With these ‘yuge plans, the T3 Bankstown line is expected to be closed for one year. 9News reported that the conversion will begin between July and October 2024, and services are expected to re-open in late 2025.
“It will be a big undertaking and require 12 months for the line to be shut down, causing inconvenience for this community,” NSW Premier Chris Minns said, per ABC News.
“But [it is] a much-needed and important improvement to transport service to this part of metropolitan Sydney.”
The NSW Government said that it’s “developing a comprehensive temporary transport plan to service passengers along the line for the duration of the shutdown.”
This will include dedicated, frequent bus routes with express services.
As for the Sydenham to Chatswood section of the City and Southwest Metro, it’s on track to open in mid-2024.
NSW Transport Minister Jo Haylen mentioned that some stations on the Bankstown line only receive four trains an hour during peak times.
“When this section of the metro is completed, they will receive a train every four minutes. That’s a massive increase in services,” she said.
“And while the conversion won’t be easy, we’ve come up with a solution that will get it done in up to 12 months instead of the original timeline of 15 to 18 months.”
Per 9News, the Australasian Railway Association has welcomed the conversion, with CEO Caroline Wilkie saying that it will “vastly improve passenger experience”.
However, ABC News reported that the Rail, Tram and Bus Union described the move as “illogical”, as it would see workers without jobs and lead to safety issues.
“The changes to the Bankstown line are a totally unnecessary disruption to commuters who will be forced onto buses, during a time when there’s a crippling driver shortage in Sydney,” NSW locomotive division secretary Farren Campbell told the publication.
“The only people set to benefit from the conversion of the Bankstown line are greedy developers, there’s no benefit whatsoever for commuters.”
Honestly, the planned closure of the T3 Bankstown line sounds like fucking hell. I have so many mates who utilise the T3, and there have been a few instances where the T1 Western line has used the T3 during track work. I wonder what would happen if Sydney trains had a huge fuck up and the T1 really needed the T3 line to get to the city, but it’s closed.
IDK, my brain simply hurts thinking about it, and I already get stressed looking at the Sydney train maps. Surely there would be another way.
It’ll be a while until the closures happen, but when it does come around to that time, I could imagine all the commotion it would cause.
Image source: Getty Images / Roni Bintang
