Yesterday, Sydney’s transport system saw the biggest upgrade since the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. That’s according to Transport Minister Jo Haylen – and, based on our experience on Sydney Metro so far (and that of our audience), we’re inclined to agree. So, how did day one actually go? Was it all smooth riding? Here’s everything we know about the first day of operations for Sydney’s shiny new metro system.
The first of 45 new metro trains began its maiden voyage from the (already operational) Tallawong Station at 4.38am yesterday morning, travelling the length of the 51.5-kilometre route all the way to Sydenham. The super-speedy driverless train zoomed along its normal route from Tallawong to Chatswood (that stretch of the Sydney Metro has been up and running since 2019), and then – for the first time ever – carried passengers all the way from Chatswood through North Sydney, underneath Sydney Harbour and out to Sydenham in Sydney’s Inner West. (See the Sydney Metro map here.)
Of the 190,000 passengers that rode the Sydney Metro on the opening day of the City line, a fair few were Time Out Sydney readers. Here’s what you had to say about our city’s new public transport set-up (it was overwhelmingly positive):
🚄 “Martin Place to Sydenham in 10 minutes, so amazingly fast! Can’t wait until the rest of the Bankstown line is finished.”
Ⓜ️ “The transition was very seamless. I had no problem with it and I find Gadigal Station much safer than Town Hall station.”
🥸 “Seriously impressive! Sydney is finally a grown-up city!”
🙌 “My route used to finish at Chatswood… now to Central… amazing.”
🍽 “VicX is a great food destination for an otherwise dull North Sydney. VicX stands above the Victoria Cross station. The digital artwork is great, too. And of course, the smooth, 3-minute ride to Crows Nest! Loved it.”
RECOMMENDED: You can learn more about the major dining precinct that’s opened up above the North Sydney Victoria Cross Metro Station here.
🏆 “Best rail project ever in Sydney. Much-needed and will be great to have it extended throughout.”
😉 “Martin Place to Sydenham, blink and you are home!”
⏱ “Waterloo to work in 8 minutes. Cooking with gas.”
🤩 “Jumped off a couple of times and Martin Place is spectacular.”
Another reader commented that it “should run 24/7”, and our friends at the Night Time Industries Association are campaigning to try to make that happen.
Although we’re happy to take our readers' word for it, we were also keen to learn what the team at Transport for NSW thought about day one of their biggest project to date. At a press conference this morning, reflecting on the day that was, Sydney Metro Chief Executive Peter Regan described the first day of services for Sydney's new metro as “a fantastic first day of passenger services”, with 37,500 people changing from trains to metro services, and 11,500 people replacing their bus-based commute with a metro journey.
"It's amazing to see thousands of Sydneysiders trying this new form of public transport, getting to work and home faster, and giving north-west residents their first direct rail service to the CBD,” Minister for Transport Jo Haylen said, after it was announced that by 10am today (the second day of services), an impressive 55,000 people had already tapped on to a metro service (15,000 more people than on opening day).
All in all, things are looking good underground. You can learn more and plan your journey on the new Sydney Metro over here.
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