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Stepping inside, the first thing you notice about the metro trains built for a $12 billion-plus rail line to Sydney’s new international airport is the greater amount of space and different seating types.
Compared to the city’s other driverless metro trains, the carriages for the new airport line are 30 centimetres wider, allowing passengers to walk along the aisle without bumping into each other.
For fliers carting bags, the extra space on the 12 airport trains, along with designated spots to store luggage, will be a welcome relief after hopping off planes at Western Sydney Airport.
Built in Vienna by German multinational Siemens, the first driverless train – named Cairns by workers – is housed at a large new stabling and maintenance facility at Orchard Hills, near Penrith. Another nine trains are due to be shipped from Europe by the end of the year, and the final two by April 2027.
Siemens engineer Rhys Ruifrok, who has been involved with the airport trains since the start of their design, said their width was illustrated by wheelchair users passing each other in the aisle during testing, which he described as “very unusual” for trains.
“Moving through is fast and easy because of the extra width,” he said.
The trains feature high-resolution displays that will show real-time flight information via a direct feed from the airport when the 23-kilometre line is operational.
The opening of the metro line, which is a combination of tunnel, viaduct and surface-level track, was to coincide with passenger planes taking off in October but is now running about 18 months late.
The trains have a mix of longitudinal seating along each side of the carriages – familiar to commuters who travel on Sydney’s existing metro trains – and front and rear-facing fixed seats which are a point of difference. A so-called flexi bay allows passengers to sit, stand or store baggage.
The train has designated wheelchair spaces and accessible areas, as well as storage for up to eight bicycles. In a nod to communities along the rail line, the design of seating upholstery reflects connection to ngurra (country) and badu (water) by Dharug artists Leanne Watson Redpath, Tina Barahanos and Alexandra Byrne.
Platforms and gates at the new airport terminal station will also be wider for passengers lugging bags. It is one of six stations under construction on the line between St Marys, in the north, and the new city of Bradfield via the new $6 billion airport.
Federal Transport Minister Catherine King said the trains had plenty of room for bags and featured detailed way-finding and flight information, describing them as western Sydney’s “driverless chauffeurs to their new airport”.
NSW Deputy Premier Prue Car said the arrival of the first airport metro train was a major milestone for western Sydney, especially growing communities along the new rail line. “This vital project will see an uplift of more frequent, quality services in our area,” she said.
The first train is due to start dynamic testing next month on a section of the metro line, which is jointly funded by the state and federal governments.
The NSW government has been embroiled in a protracted dispute with the consortium building the rail line, amid claims for delays, scope creep and disruptions that risk blowing out the project’s cost by up to $2.2 billion.
When the ribbon is eventually cut, there will be 12 trains an hour, with combined capacity of 7800 people in each direction. However, the line will be capable of running 20 trains an hour, which could transport nearly 26,000 passengers should demand occur. The stations are designed for up to four-carriage trains.
Sydney Metro acting chief executive Hugh Lawson said the arrival of the first train was a “massive milestone” because it meant the project was progressing to testing of the trains and railway.
“They really have been very thoughtfully designed to suit the type of people who’ll be using this line to and from the airport,” he said. “So you can have people travelling with luggage, people travelling with bikes [and] families can sit together.”
Asked whether the line could be opened by the end of 2027, Lawson said the agency was working with the contractors to “finalise the program and resolve some of the challenges”.
“We’re getting into that testing and commissioning phase. So we’re not quite there yet, but we’re moving into a pretty exciting phase now of the project,” he said
The project’s 2020 business case estimates that only about 880 passengers an hour will use the line when it opens, equating to just 11 per cent of train capacity in one direction. Patronage is forecast to grow to 3200 passengers an hour by 2036, and 6200 an hour by 2056.
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Matt O’Sullivan is transport and infrastructure editor at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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