Sydney Metro

[ozbob]

Sydeny Morning Herald --> Extent of Sydney's Bankstown Line closure revealed in government report

Commuters face the closure of Sydney's Bankstown Line for up to two months each year for five years from 2019 and more than the usual number of shut downs at weekends to allow for construction of a new multibillion-dollar metro train line.

Those closures are in addition to the shut down of the rail line for three to six months towards the end of the construction phase of the project in late 2023.

The extent of the disruptions to tens of thousands of commuters who travel on the 13.5-kilometre stretch of track is detailed in an infrastructure report on the Sydenham-to-Bankstown component of the $20 billion Sydney metro rail line.

The report said track possessions – when trains would not be running – would occur during each of the December-January school holidays between 2019 and 2024, as well as the two-week holidays in July of each year during the period.

As well as more weekend possessions than the typical four a year, multiple tracks through Sydenham Station – a major junction on the rail network – would be impacted during night times and "in some instances continuously for some days at a time".

The report said the track possessions at Sydenham Station would affect trains on the East Hills, Bankstown and Illawarra lines.

Buses are the most likely option for transporting commuters when the line is closed for construction.

The report said track possessions would need to extend beyond Sydenham and Bankstown stations to "facilitate alternative train and bus operational requirements".

The Sydenham to Bankstown Corridor Alliance, which is opposed to the conversion of the line, said the lives of commuters would be severely disrupted.

"We have a perfectly good rail line already," spokesman Peter Olive said.

"All the potential benefits of the metro can be delivered by retaining and improving the existing service and Sydney Trains' network."

But Transport Minister Andrew Constance said the government had chosen track possessions during the school holidays to limit disruption to commuters.

"At the end of the day there is going to be pain associated with putting that metro train in. We have been honest and upfront with that," he said on Monday.

He urged people concerned about the line's conversion to "look at the bigger picture in terms of the delivery of a metro train".

"They're in a corridor of Sydney where there's going to be 30,000 new apartment dwellings. People won't be able to get onto trains unless we invest like we are with a new metro service," he said.

Mr Constance said he had a "clear-cut expectation" that the management team overseeing the project reduce the final possession period from six months to three.

More information on the timing and duration of rail track possessions will be outlined in an environmental impact statement to be released in the middle of this year.

A Transport for NSW spokesman said major works on stations and bridges, as well as earthworks, would be undertaken during the track possession periods.

"We are looking to use quieter travel times, such as nights, weekends and school holidays to impact the least amount of customers," he said.

The first single-deck trains are due to begin running on the converted Bankstown line in 2024, which will form part of stage two of the metro railway that continues on from Sydenham to the central business district and Chatswood.

An existing 13km line between Epping and Chatswood in Sydney's north will also be closed for seven months from late next year to allow for completion of the first stage of the metro rail project.

The first section of the new line from Rouse Hill in the northwest to Chatswood is scheduled to be opened in 2019, the same year as the next state election.

[ozbob]

Rail Express --> Macquarie moves closer to Sydney Metro hub project

[ozbob]

Sydney Morning Herald --> Sydney CBD demolitions begin for new metro rail line after $1.8 billion property purchases

About $1.8 billion of property acquisitions have almost been completed for the second stage of Sydney's new metro rail line as work begins on demolishing the first towers in the central city to allow for construction of new train stations.

About 60 per cent of the money spent on acquisitions has been in the CBD where demolition of the first major high rise – the 17-storey building at 55 Hunter Street – will begin within the next few months.

It is one of five towers to face the wrecking ball at Martin Place for the new train station for the second stage of the $20 billion metro line from Chatswood in the city's north to Sydenham in the south, and onto Bankstown in the west.

One of the others is the 22-storey tower at 39 Martin Place, home to high-end jeweller Tiffany & Co and a law firm, which will be knocked down next year. A childcare centre in the tower will close its doors next week.

The government paid $332 million to commercial property company Dexus for the building in November, a significant premium to its book value of $223 million.

On the north side of the financial strip, the last office workers moved out of the high-rise tower at 12 Castlereagh Street last week to allow for it to be decommissioned.

It housed staff from Transport for NSW, many of whom have moved to a tower at World Square on George Street.

And while a heritage-listed building at 7 Elizabeth Street will be demolished, the property next door owned by Macquarie Group – 9 Elizabeth Street – will be spared the wrecking ball.

The last residents of the art deco apartment building at 7 Elizabeth Street moved out in December after the government gazetted their apartments for compulsory acquisition.

In an unsolicited proposal lodged with the government in February last year, Macquarie outlined plans for two commercial towers – one of more than 40 storeys and the other at least 28 floors – above the new metro station at Martin Place.

Last month the investment bank's proposal moved to the third stage of the government's assessment process. It includes an "all-weather walkway" from Martin Place to Hunter Street.

The construction of the metro line will overlap that for the $2.1 billion light rail line from Circular Quay to the city's south-east, which has been a major disruption because it has forced the closure of busy thoroughfares such as George Street in the CBD.

Transport for NSW said about $1.8 billion worth of property across 70 buildings was needed for the stretch of new train line between Chatswood in the north and Sydenham in the city's south.

A spokesman said structural demolition of 12 Castlereagh Street, 5 Elizabeth Street and 7 Elizabeth Street near Martin Place would begin shortly after work begins on tearing down 55 Hunter Street in the middle of this year.

Contractors have also begun disconnecting utilities and removing internal fixtures and fittings – known as a "soft strip out" – from the first building to be torn down for the new Pitt Street station.

Structural demolition of 175 Castlereagh Street will begin by August to allow for the new station, which transport officials are relying on to help reduce the commuter crush at the nearby Town Hall station during peak hours.

A further 11 buildings nearby, such 302 Pitt Street and the home of the Windsor Hotel at 48 Park Street, will be demolished to allow for the construction of the new metro.

The City of Sydney said design and construction of the new train stations should protect the heritage values of our city and ensure sun shone on public spaces.

"It is essential that towers are setback above podiums in Hunter Street, Pitt Street and Martin Place and respect sun-access planes," a spokeswoman said. "The reference schemes developed by Transport for NSW appear to respect these requirements."

Elsewhere along the route, the first major demolitions of four buildings will ramp up in North Sydney next month for the new Victoria Cross station. Work has already begun on disconnecting utilities and removing awnings and internal fittings and fixtures.

Ten buildings are also due to be demolished for a new station at Crows Nest.

Another five buildings are still to be acquired along a 13-kilometre stretch of the Bankstown Line, which will be converted to carry metro trains as part of the project's $12 billion second stage.

[ozbob]

Sydney Morning Herald --> 'Mini-Anzac Bridge' unveiled as next link in the track for the metro rail line

The metro rail line to Sydney's north-west is one step closer to completion with the unveiling of a "mini-Anzac Bridge" over Windsor Road at Rouse Hill.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian inspected the 270-metre long bridge on Monday, describing it as a "critical milestone" in the delivery of the $8.3 billion railway, Australia's biggest public transport project.

NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance said trains would run every four minutes in each direction during peak times, "bringing reliable metro rail to this region ... for the first time".

The deck of the bridge is made from 88 concrete precast segments, each weighing between 70 and 140 tonnes. ...

[ozbob]

Sydney Morning Herald --> Blues Point set to become a building site under Sydney Metro construction

Residents of a prime Sydney waterfront location fear their quiet suburb will be turned into a building site as the next stage of a major rail project gets under way at Lavender Bay.

The $9.6 billion line under Sydney Harbour is the next part of construction of the Sydney Metro from Chatswood to Sydenham.
Sydney Harbour rail crossing gets green light

Australia's biggest public transport project is given the go ahead with construction to start this year on the Sydney Metro. Vision: Nine News.

Tunnel boring is scheduled for next year, with Blues Point nominated as the northern acess point to the harbour.

About 8000 tonnes of soil will be excavated at the site, adjacent to Harry Seidler's Blues Point Tower, to create a shaft for the tunnel boring machines.

The tender for removal of the soil has yet to be awarded but a Transport for NSW spokeswoman said the waste would be put on barges or trucked away.

Local residents are concerned about the construction creating traffic chaos, disruptive noise and damaging the environment.

"We might have to sell," Blues Point Tower resident Frances Mullally said.

Ms Mullally, who has lived in the tower for six years with her son Finn, raised concerns the construction work would hinder views.

Residents have also complained that the narrow Blues Point Road would become a logjam of heavy vehicles and the newly upgraded McMahons Point Wharf will be used as a dock for barges.

There are also concerns about the "temporary" 2100-square-metre building site proposed for Blues Point Reserve, directly in front of the tower and popular with tourists and locals.

"That's our favourite spot and it would be dreadful if it was to go," Claudia Tyson said.

A local real estate agent told Fairfax Media that the construction will significantly impact on local traffic but it would be too early to say whether the tunnelling would affect property values in the area.

A number of submissions about the project sent to Transport for NSW were extremely critical of the planned use of Blues Point as a dive site for the project with McMahons Point residents saying the construction "will impact the right to live in peace and enjoyment, the pedestrian safety for the elderly and children and animals in the area",

Concerns about how a proposed tunnel "ventilation and service facility" would affect the acoustics of a music and theatre centre owned by private girls' school Monte Sant' Angelo have also been raised.

The North Sydney school's director of finance and resources Glenn Ollerton said they were engaged in "ongoing discussion and in negotiation" with Transport for NSW.

Major construction sites for the Sydney Metro will be set up at either end of the tunnel in Chatswood and Marrickville and at Barangaroo.

A spokeswoman for North Sydney Council has allayed fears that the landscaped garden created by artist Wendy Whiteley in Lavender Bay would be destroyed, saying: "Wendy's Secret Garden and Wyatt Park are expected to be unaffected."

She said North Sydney Council supports the Sydney Metro project as it will "improve access to North Sydney CBD and Crows Nest village".

[ozbob]

Sydney Morning Herald --> Barges to shift thousands of tonnes of rock from Sydney's new rail tunnels

Thousands of tonnes of crushed rock from twin tunnels dug for a new metro line under Sydney Harbour and the central city will be moved by barge instead of truck in an attempt to allay residents' concerns about construction.

Councils and planners had warned that transporting massive amounts of spoil on trucks through city streets from Blues Point, at the tip of McMahons Point north of the harbour, and from Barangaroo in the south, would worsen road congestion.
Metro tunnel works set to cause traffic pain

Motorists and commuters face 16 days of pain during the school holidays as work ramps up on the Metro Rail Tunnel.

In awarding a $2.8 billion contract for the 15.5-kilometre rail tunnels from Chatswood to Sydenham, Transport Minister Andrew Constance said the barging of spoil would reduce the number of truck movements in the city.

"Very pleasingly this is part of the arrangement that's been reached as part of this contract signing," he said.

Residents and businesses at Blues Point will still have to bear a 2100-square-metre construction site near the waterfront, which will be used as an entry point for the tunnelling. The site is near Harry Seidler's well-known Blues Point Tower.

About 8000 tonnes of soil will be brought to the surface at Blues Point.

North Sydney mayor Jilly Gibson welcomed the removal of rock by barge, saying it would significantly lessen disruption for residents, local businesses and motorists.

While the use of barges might allay some fears, the NSW Port Authority has raised concerns about them impacting shipping channels on the harbour during construction.

The contract signed on Thursday is also for the excavation of six new underground stations, the demolition of buildings up to 22 storeys high and a crossover cavern at Barangaroo to allow trains to switch from one track to another.

Two of the companies in the winning consortium – CPB Contractors and John Holland – built 15-kilometre-long twin tunnels from Bella Vista in Sydney's north west to Epping as part of the first stage of the metro line.

Sydney Metro director Rodd Staples said the final destinations for the spoil was yet to be decided and was a "matter of detail the contractor would work out" over the coming year before the first boring machines started tunnelling at the end of 2018.

The spoil from the tunnels for the first stage of the new rail line, along which driverless trains will run, ended up at a range of locations, including development sites at Blacktown in Sydney's west.

Mr Staples said the second stage of the project was more challenging than the first because of the soft ground under Sydney Harbour and the need to navigate around building basements and other tunnels under the CBD.

"This is the most exciting but also the most challenging tunnelling project that this country has ever seen through the busiest CBD," he said.

The project team had spent the past few years mapping the area under the CBD, and surveying buildings. "We are very confident we know most of what's there," he said.

Five tunnel-boring machines - one of which is specialised to dig under the harbour - will churn through earth up to 58 metres below the surface. The tunnel contract is scheduled to be completed by 2021.

Demolition of buildings for the project has already begun at Victoria Cross in North Sydney and in the CBD at Castlereagh and Pitt streets, which has involved "soft strip outs" before so-called munching machines tear them down.

The government has put the cost of the second stage at between $11.5 billion and $12.5 billion. The first stage cost $8.3 billion.

An environmental impact statement for the final component of the second stage – conversion of the existing rail line between Sydenham and Bankstown to metro – is due in the second half of this year.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/879758409112797184

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/RailExpressNews/status/879765115679031296

[ozbob]

Sydney Morning Herald --> Lift-only station entrance planned for Sydney's new $20 billion Metro train line

Until now they've mostly been limited to large overseas cities such as Hong Kong and Barcelona. But Sydney is about to join the ranks of cities sporting a lift-only entrance to a train station.

Among a raft of modifications to the second stage of the city's $20 billion-plus metro rail line, Transport for NSW has proposed building four lifts each capable of carrying up to 27 people at the northern entrance to Victoria Cross Station at North Sydney.

Patronage for the new underground station is forecast to reach 42,100 people a day by 2026, and 45,500 by 2036, which the government's transport agency says supports the case for a second entrance on McLaren Street for Victoria Cross.

Based on the forecast patronage, a Transport for NSW report on the proposed changes predicts a maximum queue for the lifts of 20 people and wait time of 21 seconds when all four are in operation.

In the event a lift is out of service, it forecasts a maximum wait of 48 seconds.

Almost one-fifth of the people passing through Victoria Cross are expected to use the lifts at the northern entrance to get to the station's platforms about 31 metres below the surface. The main entrance via a pedestrian plaza to Miller, Denison and Berry streets will have escalators to the station below.
Advertisement

Transport for NSW cited lift-only entrances on Hong Kong's MTR Line, and at metro train stations in Barcelona and Washington DC, as examples of them being "highly functional and ... intuitive for customers".

It will be the first lift-only entrance to a passenger train station in Australia.

The agency's report said the additional entrance at Victoria Cross would provide better access for people from nearby schools and Mater Hospital.

As part of the modifications, the entrance will be incorporated into a three-storey services building, which will be relocated to McLaren Street from Miller Street. The building will house an electrical substation.

The Victoria Cross Station is due to be completed by late 2022, and is one of six new stations on the second section of the line from Chatswood to Sydenham via Sydney's CBD, and onto Bankstown.

The first stage of the metro line from Rouse Hill in Sydney's north-west to Chatswood is scheduled to be operational by the first half of 2019, the year of the next state election.

Other proposed changes for the metro line include building a large stabling and maintenance yard at Sydenham. The main stabling yard for the driverless single-deck trains is under construction at Rouse Hill.

The new nine-hectare yard at Sydenham is planned for a site less than a kilometre from the station, bound by Sydney Steel and Edinburgh roads. It will eventually be able to accommodate 20 eight-car trains.

A report on the modifications also reveals that the Chatswood to Sydenham section of the new line could be opened months before the final part of the line onto Bankstown is completed. The entire metro line is due to to be finished by 2024.

An environmental impact statement for converting a 13-kilometre stretch of the Bankstown Line for the metro railway is due to be released within the coming months.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/RailExpressNews/status/889521567339692032

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/889525296931627009

[ozbob]

NSW Government --> Sydney Metro headquarters on track

The completed railway tracks at the facility sit on 11,500 sleepers and 26,000 tonnes of ballast.Nine kilometres of both track and overhead wiring is also now in place.

The facility will be used for:

    train washing
    inspections and repairs
    major train maintenance
    wheel maintenance.

It will eventually provide stabling for 46 trains and maintenance services for a fleet of 76 trains as part of the new metro network.

"This milestone means we're one step closer to metro services running in Sydney's booming North West, delivering a world class commuter service for generations to come," Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Andrew Constance said.

Across Sydney, more than 22km of railway tracks have now been installed, including inside Australia's longest railway tunnels between Bella Vista and Epping.

Sydney Metro will open in the first half of 2019 with a metro train every four minutes in the peak.

>> Find out more about the Sydney Metro project

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/RailExpressNews/status/896857767746478080

[ozbob]

Apparently 6 Sydney Metro carriages have arrived ..

https://twitter.com/kypros1992/status/912479029189517313

[ozbob]

https://www.sydneymetro.info/article/first-sydney-metro-train-arrives

First Sydney Metro train arrives

Sydney's first metro train has arrived and is getting ready to hit the tracks and revolutionise public transport in Australia.

The six carriages of the first metro train have arrived at the Sydney Metro Trains Facility at Rouse Hill and will be prepared for testing over the coming months.

In two years, people living in the North West will get a train every four minutes in the peak in each direction, a level of service never before see in Australia.

Services will extend into the CBD by 2024. Sydney Metro will have an ultimate capacity of a metro train every two minutes in each direction under the city.

The $8.3 billion Sydney Metro Northwest project is Stage 1 of Sydney Metro, which will be the first fully-automated metro rail system in Australia.

Sydney Metro Northwest includes eight new metro stations, five existing stations upgraded to metro standards and 4,000 new commuter car parking spaces.

[red dragin]

After seeing how QLD stuffed up the NGR, they've ordered their trains to be ready two years in advance just to safe 

[#Metro]

Just out of curiosity: What are the purposes of the two "elephant trunks" that come off the front sides and sweep down?

They look a bit weird. are they there to pick up power supply?

[Gazza]

Wouldn't they be tusks, not the trunk?

They won't be for power supply since the line is using overhead and the same voltage as the rest of the Sydney system.

Sorta look like a modern version of train bumpers.

[red dragin]

Bumpers as the front is an emergency exit?

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/912724994773282816

[#Metro]

https://www.facebook.com/7newssydney/videos/1828150230542435/

^^ Video says they were shipped from India and assembled with both local and foreign parts.

Sydney metro trains to be made near Chennai
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Sydney-metro-trains-to-be-made-near-Chennai/articleshow/44367224.cms

CHENNAI: In two years, Chennai port will be exporting trains to Australia. The Alstom manufacturing facility at Sri City, near Tada on Tamil Nadu-Andhra Pradesh border, will be constructing 22 trains consisting six coaches each for the upcoming metro train project in Sydney. Chennai port will ship out the trains by end of 2016.

Recently a team of Australian officials visited the unit and were satisfied with the facilities at the unit. Following this the company received go-ahead to manufacture the trains. Incidentally, coaches for Chennai metro will also come from the same facility.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/931566115351707648

[ozbob]

Sydney Morning Herald --> Sydney transport planners off the rails with metro plans

The threatened train driver's strike next Monday is in large part an unfortunate reaction to the pressures that are arising as Sydney prepares to accommodate its new metro, which may prove more the triumph of technocratic evangelism and private sector opportunism than a carefully grafted enhancement to a complex system.

The rail system is vital to the functioning of the city and will become even more so as the population grows and condenses. Moving towards a metro-style rail operation allows Sydney to respond to these demands through more services, but the pressures of putting such a system in place have been exacerbated by a high-risk division between Transport for NSW, as it oversees the development of the line and timetable changes, and the hands-on experience of frontline operators who must make the revised system and timetables work.

After two failed attempts to develop a new metro line in Sydney, the North-West Metro represents the right network addition, but with an arguably inappropriate technology for this location and time. I have failed to discover anywhere else where a heavy metro system has been built through what is still a relatively low-density urban area to a location where passengers are forced to change to a suburban rail system to complete their journey.

Adapting the existing North Shore Line for this task has incurred an exorbitant cost in new trains, improved junctions, such as Hornsby, and upgraded signalling that was never costed against the metro. Further costs and extensive disruption stem from converting the Epping to Chatswood route to the metro when it is less than 10 years old and quite fit for purpose.

A metro system allows for more trains through improvements to the signalling system, simplifying the network and adopting single-deck trains, which provide more doors per carriage and reduce the length of time trains have to wait on busy platforms. But making the metro work in Sydney requires  many more trains on the North Shore Line and diversion of other services. It is preparation for this style of operation that is manifesting itself in the new timetable, with  much more to come.

The much-hyped substantial increase in service levels is more a media smokescreen. These extra services are concentrated at off-peak times, for the simple reason that peak capacity is largely exhausted. However, the extra services do require a lot more train crew and increase stress on the operating and maintenance staff.

The fact that the timetable was imposed by Transport for NSW on the operating railway provides a well-proved recipe for dissatisfaction and lack of commitment. Unfortunately, the hard-won lesson – that one should never sever timetable preparation from the responsible operators – is lost on most current bureaucrats.

Significant as these issues are, they are not my biggest concern. Unless the NSW government faces financial meltdown, the new metro will be extended south to the city, thereby relieving rail congestion north of the harbour. The real problem, from a strategic perspective, is that this will not solve the serious capacity problems that occur when approaching the city from the Redfern direction.

Metro claims of 30 trains per hour in each direction and a capacity of up to 40,000 people per hour each way are quite correct. Unfortunately, converting the Bankstown Line to metro operation is unlikely to provide more than about 15,000 passengers per hour even after massive high-rise development along the corridor.

The proposed station at Waterloo is more a sop to development interests than a significant boost to patronage that would have been provided by a station at the University of Sydney.

The Bankstown Line metro conversion represents a poorly thought out initiative that will incur considerable expenditure and disruption yet is incapable of being used to its full potential to relieve congestion on the rest of the network. For good measure it incurs further cost and operational complexity by relocating country trains from the Meeks Road Depot near Sydenham.

Fortunately, it is not too late to reprioritise. Metro advocates have already identified the need for an additional line to Parramatta and beyond. That would indeed be a congestion buster and should be constructed instead of the Bankstown Line metro conversion.

Flemington Maintenance Centre is a potential depot site for the extra trains that would be required. Maximum utilisation of this line would be achieved by converting the slow tracks from Parramatta to Blacktown, and indeed the Richmond line, to metro operation; although this creates costs and inflexibilities that would have been avoided without the unseemly rush to a completely divergent metro technology.

A Parramatta metro line would do infinitely more to relieve Sydney's growing rail congestion than a conversion of the Bankstown line.

Might it happen? The reprioritisation can readily be explained as an initiative that would avoid a lengthy closure of the Bankstown line and reinforce the status of Parramatta as Sydney's other CBD.

It would be attractive to metro development and property interests, as well as bankers, as it would cost more in the short term, while significantly enhancing public benefit. However, serious consideration of rerouting the metro line to Parramatta would require a level of thoughtful and discursive consideration that has generally eluded transport planning in Sydney.

Dr Dick Day is a retired urban planner and senior manager of Sydney's rail system with experience in timetable preparation and the development and introduction of new railways and rolling stock.

[ozbob]

Sydney Morning Herald --> Trains every two minutes: Sydney Metro will get rid of troublesome bottleneck on rail network

In a little over a year, new world-class metro rail services will start in Sydney – the biggest addition to our city's rail network in a century.

There are as many opinions on whether Sydney Metro will improve the rail system as there are public transport customers, but the facts show it is a transformative project that Sydney cannot do without.

At full capacity, Sydney Metro will run a train every two minutes in each direction under the Sydney CBD – a level of frequency common around the world but never before seen in Australia. No need for a timetable, just turn up and go.

A standalone, fully automated railway system, Sydney Metro has been designed to work together with the existing Sydney public transport system – from interchanging with buses at new metro stations and ferries at Barangaroo, to the new underground Central Walk concourse, which will easily connect all public transport customers with Sydney Metro, suburban and intercity trains, buses and the new light rail at Central Station.

Sydney Metro's job is to integrate with the existing system – taking pressure off the network but not replacing it. The new metro railway has the capacity to carry more than 40,000 customers an hour, similar to other metro systems around the world. Sydney's current suburban system can reliably carry 23,000 people an hour per line.

That's why the state government decided in 2012 to add metro rail as a third tier to Sydney's rail network. The decision followed extensive national and international investigations, including advice from an expert panel and international peer reviews from Europe, Asia and the US. In 2011 and 2012, we looked at 15 options in the process of developing a future for Sydney's rail network, refined through rigorous engineering analysis, testing a range of customer benefits, cost analysis and sustainability testing.

Sydney Metro will be able to move more people across the harbour in the busiest hour of the peak than the Harbour Bridge and Harbour Tunnel combined. Right now, about 84,000 people use the Harbour Bridge and Harbour Tunnel in the 8am to 9am peak, whether it's via car, bus, train, cycle or foot.

The T3 Bankstown line creates a significant bottleneck for the existing rail network – it effectively slows down the network because of the way it merges with other railway lines close to the Sydney CBD, including the T8 Airport and South line and the Inner West and Leppington line.

By moving Bankstown line services to the new standalone metro system, we can remove this bottleneck and provide more reliable journeys for customers across Sydney. This allows us to create more capacity on the existing network for customers outside metropolitan Sydney, including the Central Coast.

Sydney Metro, together with signalling and infrastructure upgrades across the existing rail network, will increase the capacity of train services entering the Sydney CBD – from about 120 an hour today to up to 200 services beyond 2024. That's an increase of up to 60 per cent.

Then there's the Sydney Metro West project. The T1 Western line needs relief and will be severely overcrowded by the early 2030s.

Sydney Metro West, expected to be finished by the late 2020s, would be a new railway in addition to what's there, effectively doubling rail capacity from the west into the CBD.

It's time to end the tired debate about whether Sydney's established double-deck train system needs a single-deck addition and focus on the transport revolution coming to this city.

Rodd Staples is the secretary of Transport for NSW.

[SurfRail]

There are some very frustrated but very sensible people who clearly work in the industry posting comments to those articles, amongst a sea of people who have not clue one.  Unfortunately all the local groups down there like Ecotransit seem to agree with the latter and can't divorce rational transport planning from their politics.

[ozbob]

ABC News --> NSW Government unveils new driverless metro trains as testing begins in Sydney

Key points:

    Sydney's new Metro trains are being tested at Rouse Hill
    They have less seats, but much more standing room than their double-decker counterparts
    The driverless trains will run every four minutes during peak periods


People sitting inside a carriage.
Photo: The driverless trains have less seats than their double-decker counterparts. (Supplied: NSW Government)

From the outside they look a lot like any other train, but if you peer in the window there is a big difference — less seats and no driver.

By next year, Sydney's new driverless trains will be ferrying tens of thousands of passengers on the Northwest Metro line between Rouse Hill and Chatswood.

The first three trains are being tested on tracks at Rouse Hill, and were today unveiled by the New South Wales Government.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian inspected the new trains this morning and said it was a thrill to see how the project was progressing.

"To actually have the opportunity to walk on this future train, to see what customers will be experiencing on the new rail line is actually really uplifting, because we've never had a service like this before in Australia," Ms Berejiklian said.

The new metro trains will run every four minutes in peak periods, before the line is eventually extended under the Harbour to the CBD and, eventually, to Bankstown by 2024.

Less seats but more room

The carbon steel and stainless steel trains are 132 metres long and weigh 240 tonnes.

Inside the single-deck trains there are fewer seats and much more standing room than a traditional Sydney double-deck train.

It means some passengers may need to stand for up to 40 minutes for the journey from Rouse Hill to Chatswood.

The Premier defended the decision to have fewer seats, arguing it increased capacity and would cut travel times by making it faster for people to get on and off at each station.

"There are sufficient seats for everyone who needs one," Ms Berejiklian said.

"Some people will be going all the way to the final destination but others will be hopping on and off during the journey."

Meanwhile, thousands of commuters who catch the existing double-decker trains from Macquarie Park to Chatswood are preparing for the line to be shut down for up to seven months later this year to allow conversion of the tracks to handle the new metro.

Ms Berejiklian said the inconvenience would be worth it.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/7NewsSydney/status/975646383410528256

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Alstom/status/975682793798848512

[ozbob]

http://www.mysydney.nsw.gov.au/stationlink

What is Station Link?

Station Link is a $49 million investment in more than 120 new, fully accessible, air-conditioned buses providing thousands of extra services from 30 September 2018. High frequency Station Link services will keep customers moving while the rail line between Epping and Chatswood is upgraded for around seven months, ahead of Sydney Metro opening in 2019.

Key features of Station Link include:

    High frequency, turn-up-and-go services to stations between Epping and Chatswood at least every six minutes during the peak.
    More than 110 services per hour in the busiest parts of the day.
    A dedicated high frequency service to Macquarie University Campus from Epping Station.
    A loop service running at least every 10 minutes 7 days a week to all stations between Epping to Chatswood.

Station Link bus services will be available on the trip planner at transportnsw.info, and on real time apps. A package of road and intersection upgrades, including bus priority measures, will be completed by the introduction of Station Link to improve public transport reliability.



More > http://www.mysydney.nsw.gov.au/stationlink

[ozbob]

Sydney Morning Herald --> Date set for closure of Epping to Chatswood rail line

Very good video of the new metro trains embedded on the SMH article page ...

More than 20,000 train commuters between Epping and Chatswood have been handed the date they were dreading.

September 30 has officially been earmarked as the first day peak hour trains will cease to operate between the two stations for seven months.

The shutdown will affect an estimated 14,000 people each day.

Buses will replace trains during the shutdown period, the final stage of construction before the the Sydney Metro Northwest rail link gets underway.

More than 110 bus services will run every hour, during peak periods, in lieu of trains.

It is understood the transition will add at least an extra 10 minutes to the journey of commuters.

Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Andrew Constance revealed the date on Saturday, announcing the new metro would provide "almost four times as many services that currently run in the peak direction."

He said the new bus service would cover seven additional routes, while extended turning lanes and 580 metres of bus lanes would also support the change.

The train line upgrade is part of Sydney's $20 billion-plus metro railway from Rouse Hill in the north-west to Chatswood.

The upgrade, which will include construction of glass screens on platforms, additional signalling and electrical work, is due to be completed by the middle of 2019.

It will convert the existing 13-kilometre heavy rail line, which only opened in 2009, to carry single-deck metro trains.

Mr Constance has previously described the transition to buses as a "challenge" and urged commuters to "plan their trips".

Member for Ryde Victor Dominello said a dedicated "Station Link service" would be established for students and staff of Macquarie University.

The service will run direct to the university "from Epping Station during semesters, on top of the many other services that will stop at Macquarie University Station".

The three main stations affected by the rail closure are Macquarie Park, Macquarie University and North Ryde.

Large businesses in Sydney's north have previously expressed concern about the train shutdown.

Optus, one of the largest businesses at Macquarie Park, previously named the end of November 2018 as its preferred date for the shutdown because of a drop in traffic to and from Macquarie University at that time.

[BrizCommuter]

Can anyone find specs on the Sydney Metro Trains re: car length and width? I can't find this info. Thanks.

[ozbob]

Can anyone find specs on the Sydney Metro Trains re: car length and width? I can't find this info. Thanks.

>> http://www.alstom.com/Global/Transport/Resources/Documents/brochure2014/METROPOLIS%20-%20Product%20sheet%20-%20EN%20-%20LD.pdf?epslanguage=en-GB PDF

>> http://www.alstom.com/Global/Transport/Resources/Documents/brochure2014/Sydney%20Metro%20Northwest%20-%20Case%20study%20-%20English.pdf?epslanguage=en-GB

> https://www.sydneymetro.info/metro-trains

[BrizCommuter]

Can anyone find specs on the Sydney Metro Trains re: car length and width? I can't find this info. Thanks.

>> http://www.alstom.com/Global/Transport/Resources/Documents/brochure2014/METROPOLIS%20-%20Product%20sheet%20-%20EN%20-%20LD.pdf?epslanguage=en-GB PDF

>> http://www.alstom.com/Global/Transport/Resources/Documents/brochure2014/Sydney%20Metro%20Northwest%20-%20Case%20study%20-%20English.pdf?epslanguage=en-GB

> https://www.sydneymetro.info/metro-trains

Thanks. Unfortunately none of those documents have the dimension for the Sydney metro trains (just size ranges of generic Alstom metro trains). I've ascertained from various articles that the cars are approx. 22m long.

[ozbob]

Sydney Morning Herald --> Sydney's Metro Northwest rail line to be completed $500m under budget

For a state government under siege over public transport - headed by the troubled light rail - it was a piece of good news.

On a dusty rail line at Bella Vista in the north-western suburbs, Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced the final section of the $8.3 billion Sydney Metro Northwest rail line had been completed and the project was on target to be delivered "at least $500 million" under budget.

Ms Berejiklian said reining in costs had allowed savings that would be used for the rest of the $20 billion-plus Sydney Metro project.

It was a turnaround for a project that faced delays and potential cost over-runs early on due to cracks and buckling in the large concrete spans on the elevated Skytrain section of the line.

The Metro Northwest from Rouse Hill to Chatswood is the first stage of a line that will extend into the CBD, Sydenham and Bankstown.

"This was project was promised for decades and decades and now today the final bit of track has been laid," Ms Berejiklian said after watching site manager Ben Miller lock down the last sleepers on the section between Bella Vista and Epping.

"Every major project including this one goes through challenges," she said. "We know the Skytrain part of the project was particularly challenging.

"Some things during the course of the project took a bit longer but then we've been able to rein it back in."

The Premier talked up the benefits of the Metro, which she called "the first turn up and go service" in the country, with a driverless train arriving every four minutes during peak periods.

'This is the best form of public transport you'll ever get," she said. "Everbody is going to be blown away come day one when you can actually jump on the train and see what it's like. I think everyone will say 'what about me, I want one too'."

Mr Constance said the next stage of the project, Metro City, was underway with twin tunnels being built between Chatswood and Sydenham via the Sydney CBD.

"We've got stations yet to be fitted out and completed and then, of course, the testing and the commissioning of the driverless train," he said. "All this is going to happen in the next 12 months or so. We'll have passengers on the trains come the first half of 2019."

Asked how voters could trust her government to deliver infrastructure projects given the light rail will not be finished until a year later than promised, a defiant Ms Berejiklian urged voters to "watch this space".

"We're going to keep delivering, keep working hard, and judge us by our actions," she said.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/AndrewConstance/status/1019081813644455936

[ozbob]

Sydney Morning Herald --> Sydney's first driverless metro train passes major test

The future of autonomous public transport has arrived in Sydney's north west.

Days after an autonomous train carrying iron ore snaked its way from mine to port in Western Australia, the country's first driverless passenger train – albeit without commuters – passed a major test when it travelled over a cable-stayed bridge and an elevated viaduct at Rouse Hill.

By early next year, a fleet of 22 driverless single-deck trains are due to carry their first passengers on the North West Metro line from Rouse Hill to Chatswood via Macquarie Park.

The testing on the bridge – dubbed a mini-Anzac Bridge – over Windsor Road and on the "Skytrain" viaduct signals an expansion of the inspection schedule for the trains beyond the headquarters for the $8.3 billion project at Rouse Hill.

"This is akin to the first car being on the Harbour Bridge," Transport Minister Andrew Constance declared on Tuesday.

"As part of the testing, we have to make sure the train is safe for passengers when it comes into operations in the first half of next year."

So far, 60 km/h is the fastest the new trains have been tested at but that will be raised to 100km/h in the coming months. After that, the trains will be tested in new 15km-long rail tunnels between Bella Vista and Epping.

Once operational, passengers will be able to peer onto the rail track through a window at the front of the single-deck train. Each carriage features three double doors, which will allow the train to be boarded and unloaded faster.

But before the new trains become operational, major disruptions await thousands of commuters on September 30 when the Epping to Chatswood rail line is closed for seven months to allow it to be converted to carry the single-deck metro trains. The closure will force commuters to take replacement buses to get to their destinations.

The 36-km North West Metro is the first stage of a $20 billion-plus rail line. The second stage from Chatswood to the CBD, Sydenham and Bankstown is due to open in 2024.

And the government has also earmarked $3 billion for early work on the Sydney Metro West line from the CBD to Westmead near Parramatta, which is slated to open late next decade.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/MySydney/status/1019818715251118080

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/9NewsSyd/status/1027447444982751232

[Cazza]

"...So, the new driverless trains which are about 8 carriages..."

They're 6 carriages. Not 8. Not about 8. Not even about 6. They are 6 carriages long.

Great research and journalism from the 9 News Team

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/GladysB/status/1033928564943405056

[Cazza]

https://transportnsw.info/station-link-service-adjustments-30-sep/station-link



Station Link

The Epping to Chatswood train line needs to be converted to metro standards ahead of Sydney Metro Northwest, which opens to customers in the second quarter of 2019.

The five existing stations along the line – at Epping, Macquarie University, Macquarie Park, North Ryde and Chatswood – will have screen doors along the full length of the metro platforms to keep people and objects like prams away from the tracks, improving customer safety and allowing trains to get in and out of stations much faster.

The upgrades will allow for a greater frequency of trains when the Sydney Metro Northwest services open, with trains expected to run every 4 minutes during peak times.

From 30 September, a new high frequency Station Link bus service will operate between Epping and Chatswood to replace train services while the line is upgraded.

Key features of Station Link include:

High frequency, turn-up-and-go services to stations between Epping and Chatswood at least every six minutes during the peak.
More than 110 services per hour in the busiest parts of the day.
A dedicated high frequency service to Macquarie University Campus from Epping Station during university semesters.
A loop service running at least every 10 minutes 7 days a week to all stations between Epping to Chatswood.
Station Link bus services are available on the Trip Planner, and on real time apps.

Bus Routes and Frequencies

S1: Epping to Chatswood (All Stations)
Mon-Fri
4.30am to 6am: every 10 minutes
6am to 9pm: every 6 minutes
9pm to 12.30am: every 10 minutes

Weekends
5am to 10am: every 10 minutes
10am to 7pm: every 5 minutes
7pm to 12.30am: every 10 minutes


S2: Epping to Chatswood (Stopping only at North Ryde)
Mon-Fri
To Chatswood
6am to 10am: at least every 6 minutes

To Epping
3pm to 7pm: at least every 6 minutes


S3: Beecroft to St Leonards (Stopping only at Macquarie Uni and Macquarie Park)
To St Leonards
6am to 10am: every 6 minutes

To Beecroft
3pm to 7pm: at least every 6 minutes


S4: Macquarie Uni to St Leonards (Stopping only at Macquarie Park)
To St Leonards
6am to 10am: at least every 20 minutes
3pm to 7pm: at least every 4 minutes

To Macquarie University
6am to 10am: at least every 4 minutes
3pm to 7pm: at least every 15 minutes


S5: Eastwood to Macquarie Park (Stopping only at Macquarie Uni)
To Macquarie Park
6am to 10am: every 6 minutes

To Eastwood
3pm to 7pm: every 6 minutes


S6: Epping to Macquarie Park (All Stations)
To Macquarie Park
6am to 10am: every 12 minutes

To Epping
3pm to 7pm: every 10 minutes


S7: Epping to Macquarie Uni (Campus)
To Macquarie University Campus
7am to 3pm: every 10 minutes

To Epping
10am to 7pm: every 10 minutes