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Commuters will have to wait at least another four weeks before the Minns government reveals the date for the opening of the final stretch of Sydney’s $30 billion M1 metro line as intrusions by wildlife along the rail corridor complicate the testing of driverless trains.
Transport Minister John Graham conceded on Monday there were “clearly some issues to resolve before we can open” the 13-kilometre section between Sydenham and Bankstown of the M1 line.
Graham, who met officials from the national rail safety regulator on Friday, said the latest advice from Sydney Metro was that it should have “much firmer information” about the progress of testing by the end of September and be in a position to give an indication about the opening date “all going well”.
The two main operational hurdles were ensuring that an intrusion detection system along the corridor worked effectively and “doesn’t alert the team too often”, and that screen doors and mechanical gap fillers between platforms and trains were successfully integrated. “Making sure that’s working effectively is one of the things we’re working through,” he said.
Graham told a budget estimates hearing that wildlife intrusions, including from ibis birds, were presenting challenges. “The system’s working well and providing alerts, erring on the side of too many rather than too few,” he said.
Confidential documents have previously shown that the government was targeting “mid-October” for the first passenger service along the final section between Sydenham and Bankstown.
Under questioning by Greens MP Cate Faehrmann about whether the mid-October target date was too ambitious, Graham said commuters had been “very patient” and he did not want to give them a “false start”.
The city-section between Chatswood and Sydenham of the M1 line was initially planned to be opened in early August 2024, but delays in gaining regulatory approval led to the first passenger services starting several weeks later.
Tens of thousands of commuters have been forced to catch replacement buses each day between Sydenham and Bankstown since September 2024, when the T3 heavy rail line was shut to complete the final section of the M1 line.
In mid-2018, the former Coalition government told commuters that the line would need to be closed for three to six months. Even before it closed in September 2024, the Minns government said the shutdown might last longer than its earlier estimates of 12 months.
With the corridor between Sydenham and Bankstown now closed for 23 months, Graham conceded that it “just wasn’t possible” to deliver the project in 15 to 18 months because of its complexity.
However, he said authorities had “broken the back” of weekend closures of the operating part of the M1 line between Tallawong and Sydenham to enable testing of trains along the entire corridor.
Despite an expected patronage boost when the final stage opens, Sydney Metro acting chief executive Hugh Lawson said the agency was not anticipating a need to purchase extra trains to boost the size of the 45-strong fleet and increase service frequency.
“At the moment, passenger numbers on the metro are arising in line to our forecasts, so we’re not anticipating a need to purchase additional trains,” he said.
Trains run every four minutes in both directions on the M1 line during weekday peaks. An increase in frequency to a service every three minutes will require the purchase of extra trains.
Lawson said it could take about three years for a new train to arrive in Sydney ready for passenger service after an order was placed.
The government also remains locked in a protracted dispute over costs, completion timeframes and probity arrangements with a consortium building a 23-kilometre metro line to Western Sydney International Airport.
Internal Sydney Metro documents have revealed the new airport line risks being delayed until 2028, which would be about 18 months later than originally planned.
Graham said it would become clear over the next two months whether the dispute would be resolved through negotiations, in which case the government would be able to confirm an opening date. If they failed, he said it would be left to the courts to arbitrate on the dispute.
The government confirmed last December that legal claims made by the consortium led by Italian engineering company Webuild might increase the airport rail line’s eventual cost by $1 billion-plus, to more than $12 billion.
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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