The new Labor Government’s decision to review Sydney Metro West has led to speculation that additional stations could be added to the line. The previous government resisted calls to do this as it would have added travel time, opting to keep a 20 minute journey between Parramatta and the CBD as a core goal of the new line. However, with tunnelling already underway, the alignment and depths of the tunnels pose a challenge for adding new stations, with the currently planned stations being 18m-30m below ground but potential stations being as deep as 91m. In addition, new stations will likely add t ..read more

The first segment of Central Walk opened yesterday on Sunday. Here are a few observations. The pedestrian tunnel feels more spacious. The ceiling is higher, the walls are further apart, and even the colour is more inviting. This is a stark contrast when compared to the existing underground pedestrian tunnels. When complete, it’ll add 4 escalators and 1 elevator to most above ground suburban platforms. However, platforms 22/23 only have enough space for 3 escalators. These suburban platforms currently have 1 elevator and 3 sets of stairs, but no escalators. Initially just 1 pair of escalator ..read more

In May 2014, the NSW Government announced the purchase of what would end up being 61 new 10-carriage trains, then called the NIF (New Intercity Fleet), to replace the 52 ageing 8-carriage V-Set and OSCAR trains. They would eventually be named D-Set or Mariyung trains and remain set to operate in the intercity rail network, to Newcastle, the Blue Mountains, and South Coast. The first were expected on the network in 2019, with the rollout to be completed by 2024. In October 2016, a decision was made for the D-Sets to be the same proportions as the existing suburban double deck trains. The V-Set ..read more

Sydney traditionally had a radial public transport network. Trains and buses did and still do a pretty good job of carrying passengers from most parts of Sydney into and out of the CBD. The CBD also acts as an interchange point, allowing these passengers to transfer to another mode or vehicle before going on to a non-CBD location. What it hasn’t done well in the past is catering to circumferential journeys, one that may be a short distance but still requires passengers to make the much longer trip into the city and back. For these sorts of journeys, a grid system works better. Given that Sydne ..read more

A roughly 80km new metro line could eventually run from Epping to Schofields via Parramatta, Liverpool, the new Western Sydney Airport, and St Marys based on government plans announced as part of last month’s Commonwealth budget. Such a line, if built as suggested, would involve the conversion of the existing T5 Cumberland Line between Leppington and Merrylands to metro, plus extensions at either end from Leppington to the future Sydney Metro Greater Western Sydney at Bradfield in the South and from Merrylands to Epping via Parramatta in the North. These plans are based on part of the budget w ..read more

VIDEO: Bankstown Station Upgrade (Transport Vlog) Sydney’s public transport network was traditionally a point to point network focussed on the Sydney CBD and a few other major activity centres. The past decade and a half has seen that network begin to evolve into one based on frequency and transfers where a user can potentially get from anywhere to anywhere. This has been driven by an improvement in service frequencies, initially to 15 minutes but more recently every 10 minutes, and by reforming the fare system to remove or at least reduce the financial penalty for making a transfer. Towards ..read more

VIDEO: Things I Love About… | Transit in Sydney (RM Transit) Foreign made trains, trams, and ferries have been in the spotlight lately. Trains have been unable to enter service until modification are made to some lines, trams have been taken out of service due to cracking, and ferries have been unable to operate at night. These failures have been blamed on them being foreign made. The reality is more complicated, and while there is a case for domestic manufacturing, the arguments for this are different to the ones just outlined. Some historical context Trains and trams in NSW used to be made ..read more

VIDEO: Driver’s view fasters run L2 Randwick to Circular Quay, Sydney (tressteleg1) Earlier this week, the timetabled end to end journey on Sydney Light Rail’s L2 and L3 lines fell to 31 minutes. Timetable data, released by real time transport app NextThere, shows how journey times have progressively sped up on L2, from 46 minutes in the first quarter of 2020, 40 minutes in the second quarter of 2020, 38 minutes in the second half of 2020, and 34 minutes in the first half of 2021; before its most recent final drop to 31 minutes. Similar journey times exist for L3, which opened in April 2020 ..read more

VIDEO: Sydney Metro (Luddenham Station) | Transport for NSW 3 separate rail lines would connect passengers to St Marys, Schofields, Macarthur, Parramatta, Glenfield, and Liverpool as part of a planned rail interchange station at the Western Sydney Aerotropolis Core according to government plans released earlier this week. A map (seen below) shows a completed Metro Western Sydney Airport extending to Schofields in the North and Macarthur in the South. Meanwhile, the soon to be under construction Metro West would be extended from Westmead out to the Nancy-Bird Walton Airport and then on to ..read more

Sydney Metro could expand to 6 independent lines by the year 2056 and a rail link from Parramatta to Epping may have been quietly dropped, according to an August 2020 report released last week by Transport for NSW. These 6 lines would include a line from Parramatta to La Perouse; a line between Randwick and Miranda; two North/South lines connecting Norwest to Kogarah and Macquarie Park to Hurstville/Kogarah; Sydney Metro Western Sydney Airport; plus a line from Rouse Hill to Bankstown. The report, titled “South East Sydney Transport Strategy”, focuses on the South Eastern suburbs of Sydney an ..read more