AUSTRALIA: The City & Southwest extension of the Sydney Metro running beneath the harbour to the Central Business District and Sydenham opened on August 19.
According to operator Metro Trains Sydney, the metro can move more people across the harbour than the famous bridge and the road tunnel combined.
Route
The 15·5 km City & Southwest project has extended the initial Sydney Metro Northwest route from Chatswood thorough twin tunnels to the Central Business District and Sydenham.
There are new stations at Crows Nest, Victoria Cross, Barangaroo, Martin Place, Gadigal and Waterloo, and metro platforms have been built at the existing Central and Sydenham railway stations.
The full 51·5 km route from Tallawong to Chatswood and Sydenham has now been named the M1 Metro Northwest & Bankstown Line.
The project has been developed by metro PPP concessionaire Northwest Rapid Transit. This is a consortium of MTR Corp, Plenary Group, Marubeni, CPDQ and Pacific Partnerships.
MTR acted as Integrator, or design and construction contractor. Key subcontractors included Alstom (Metropolis driverless trains and Urbalis 400 signalling); Hitachi Rail GTS (communications); UGL (radio); and Gilgen (platform screen doors). Plenary refinanced the PPP and raised new debt and equity for the extension.
The line is operated by the Metro Trains Sydney consortium of MTR Corp (60%), John Holland (20%) and UGL Rail (20%) under a contract running to 2034.
‘This state-of-the-art fully automated railway service delivers significant time savings for passengers on their daily journeys and will play an important part in the growth and development of the city’, said MTR Corp CEO Dr Jacob Kam.
’MTR is proud to have contributed its Hong Kong and global expertise to this railway line including project works, such as the integration of the new extension with the existing Northwest Metro Line, through to testing, commissioning and the commencement of passenger service.’
Sydney Metro Central Station is integrated into the existing early 20th century railway terminus. It was designed by Woods Bagot in collaboration with John McAslan + Partners and built by Laing O’Rourke.
Woods Bagot Principal & Transport Lead John Prentice said ‘the implementation of open spaces such as the new Northern Concourse and Central Walk significantly improves circulation and station legibility, resulting in a station design that is easy and intuitive for all customers, irrespective of the mode of travel used. The new metro and concourse insertions are designed to be purposeful, functional, and sculpturally rich to complement the historic qualities of the original station.’
John McAslan + Partners designed Waterloo station. It said the Central and Waterloo metro stations ’are representative of an approach to transport architecture that seeks to emphasise clarity and calm with a unifying vision focused on elevating the day-to-day passenger experience’.
Services
The line improves connectivity to employment, financial and retail districts and Barangaroo harbourside. More than 264 000 trips are expected on a typical day.
The initial timetable has a train every 4 min during the peak and every 7 min between the peaks, and every 10 min off peak and at weekends. After a few weeks, the daytime service will increase to every 5 min.
Accessibility features of the line include level boarding, hearing loops, Braille signage, tactile flooring and accessible toilets and two wheelchair spaces per coach as well as dedicated priority seating. There is uninterrupted mobile coverage.
Further extension
Now that the metro to the city centre has opened, the 13 km section of the T3 suburban railway between Sydenham and Bankstown will close for conversion to metro standards and integration into M1. Upon completion, the line will be 66 km long and serve 31 stations.
