‘We are very close’: Opening date narrows for final stage of Sydney’s metro train line

The NSW government has ruled out the final stage of Sydney’s M1 metro line opening this weekend but will not reveal a date despite internal documents showing it will occur before November 15, when a new rail timetable is introduced for the double-decker train network.

Transport Minister John Graham declined to be drawn on specific dates for the opening of the final stretch between Bankstown and Sydenham but said it was a “matter of weeks, not months” before the metro line opened. “We are very close,” he said on Thursday.

A confidential government report states that metro services will start running between Bankstown and Sydenham before the new rail timetable is introduced. It will put an end to pink-coloured replacement buses, which have significantly lengthened commuters’ trips along the south-west corridor for the past two years and cost taxpayers about $200 million.

Asked whether the line would open before November 15, Graham said he would “not be speculating about dates”.

“As soon as I’ve got a date we’ll be updating the public. It’s really important that they know, once they’ve got a firm date, that it will actually [be opened],” he said.

However, he did rule out this weekend for a ribbon-cutting, which means the final stage will miss Sydney Metro’s internal target date of “mid-October”.

An opening on a Sunday is considered the most likely scenario, which makes November 1 or 8 potential dates. The opening of Western Sydney International Airport to passenger flights on October 25 all but rules out that as a date for the metro line’s opening.

The ribbon was cut on the first stage of the M1 line between Tallawong and Chatswood on a Sunday in May 2019. The city section was also due to be opened on a Sunday in early August 2024 until a delay resulted in the government opting for a Monday several weeks later.

The opening of the final 13-kilometre stretch hinges on the national rail safety regulator approving passenger services, which will then clear the way for the government to pick a date.

The M1 line’s private operator, Metro Trains Sydney, has submitted the final safety case and supporting evidence to the rail regulator for assessment. It is the last of a long list of documents that need to be handed to the regulator.

Coalition transport spokesperson Natalie Ward said the only reliable aspect about the NSW Labor government when it involved metro rail projects was a late opening.

“Every single metro has been delayed under this government. It was planned, funded and started under the Coalition government. All they have to do is open it,” she said.

Metro services were halted between Sydenham and Central Station on the existing M1 line for about an hour on Thursday after a passenger pulled an emergency door handle on a driverless train at Waterloo station about 10am. There was no emergency.

Another metro train with passengers on board was stopped between Sydenham and Waterloo, and took about 25 minutes to be moved to a platform.

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