For almost two years, thousands of passengers in Sydney’s inner west and south-west have queued daily for replacement buses during the Sydenham to Bankstown metro conversion. In Marrickville, the queue snakes past artisan butchers and bánh mi shops, with commuters sometimes waiting for three or four bright-pink buses before securing a spot. However, with “through running” testing starting on Tuesday, those replacement buses will soon be a bad memory.
No Start Date for Passenger Services
Despite the progress, the state government refuses to provide a start date for passenger services. Premier Chris Minns, speaking on Tuesday, said: “We are still in the hands of the national safety regulator, and we don’t want to tempt fate with a date that we don’t meet.” The comment pre-empted questions from reporters during a media opportunity to ride from Sydenham to Bankstown.
As the doors beeped shut at Sydenham, the prospect of journeys to Bankstown in less than half an hour felt real, but the train did not move for five minutes. Minns joked: “I reckon it’s going to be hard to make 24 minutes,” before getting off at the first stop, Marrickville.
Speeds Up to 100km/h
Soon the train was zooming through the inner west at speeds up to 100km/h, passing over the Cooks River. At stations like Campsie, Canterbury, and Belmore, workers in orange hi-vis were removing plastic wrapping from benches, fixing signage, and working on lifts. These former T3 Bankstown line stations have been closed since September 2024, following the opening of the city metro extension the month before.
Since then, metro trains have run from Tallawong in the north-west via Central station, terminating at Sydenham. As of Tuesday, after passengers disembark at Sydenham, some trains will “through run” to Bankstown, with all services eventually running the full route before passenger services begin.
Delays and Heritage Issues
The closure, originally predicted by the former Coalition government in 2018 to take three to six months, and later estimated by the Minns government to take at least a year, has lasted longer than expected. Acting Transport Minister Jenny Aitchison attributed the delays to “heritage issues on the network.” Alia Karaman, project director for Sydney Metro Southwest, added: “We’re a brownfield railway, there are unexpected hiccups every day.”
During the media ride, an unexpected stop occurred outside Lakemba when the network alarm system triggered. Officials feared something might be blocking the track, but the train resumed moving at pace. The journey from Sydenham to Bankstown took just over 26 minutes, despite the interruption.
Travel Time Savings and Capacity
The extension will deliver significant travel time savings. A journey from Bankstown to Central is expected to take 28 minutes—a six-minute saving compared with the former rail line. From Lakemba to Victoria Cross, the trip is expected to take 37 minutes—a 24-minute saving. The government says the extension will increase capacity for an additional 17,000 people during peak hours.
However, Aitchison noted that Transport for NSW has modeled demand but said: “We know there’s obviously going to be demand, but it is hard to know that until it actually starts.” Meanwhile, Sydneysiders face further interruptions, including full line closures across the entire metro line on weekends in July. At times during the journey, the replacement bus could be seen running alongside the train—the status quo, for now.
