Premier Chris Minns announced via Instagram that the metro extension to Bankstown will open on 30 October, The Guardian reported. The 10 stations served are Marrickville, Dulwich Hill, Hurlstone Park, Canterbury, Campsie, Belmore, Lakemba, Wiley Park, Punchbowl and Bankstown.
Conversion of the former T3 heavy rail line to a driverless metro system began after it stopped running in September 2024. Pink replacement buses have connected commuters between the affected stations and the metro at Sydenham since the heavy rail line closed. At the time the T3 line closed, conversion was expected to be completed within 12 months; the deadline slipped due to industrial action and difficulties working on a 130-year-old corridor, including the need to install mechanical gap-fillers at curved platforms.
Bankstown to Central will take 28 minutes on the metro, six minutes faster than the old heavy rail trip took. The Lakemba to Victoria Cross journey is expected to take 37 minutes, 24 minutes less than previous travel times on that route.
Peak-hour capacity is expected to grow by 17,000 people with the extension open. On a typical weekday, roughly 48,000 trips are forecast across the metro during the 8am and 9am peak window.
Trains will run every four minutes at weekday peaks, every five minutes through the day, and every 10 minutes during evenings and on weekends. Transport Minister John Graham said commuters would not need to check timetables but could simply turn up at a station and board within minutes.
Pink rail replacement buses are set to keep running on 30 October and across the first weekend of metro operation, according to the government. Services will be increased on the first weekend, covering 31 October and 1 November, to handle the expected higher patronage.
At opening, six of the line's 360 doors will remain closed while gap-filler reliability data is collected: three at Dulwich Hill and single doors at Marrickville, Canterbury and Campsie. Together, the city and south-west metro sections carry a price tag of more than $20bn.
Residents in Sydney's south-west who have relied on pink replacement buses since September 2024 will regain a direct rail connection to the CBD and beyond from 30 October. Accessibility improvements, including new lifts at several stations, will be available for the first time to people with prams or disabilities at Wiley Park, Dulwich Hill, Hurlstone Park, Punchbowl and Canterbury.
Reporting: The Guardian, ABC News
Written by Pick & Scroll News from the reporting and documents linked above.
