When the Bankstown to Sydenham train line closed (to be converted into an extension of the existing Sydney Metro line) back in October 2024, residents of Sydney’s Inner West braced themselves for more than 12 months of replacement buses. Initially, it was estimated that the speedy new line would take a year to complete, with the opening date slated for late 2025. Now, after what Transport for NSW has described as a “complex and difficult project”, it’s been confirmed that the Sydenham to Bankstown metro extension won’t be open until 2026 – with no exact date confirmed. Yep, that means we're stuck on those train replacement buses for longer.
Want more Metro intel? We’ve put together all of our Sydney Metro insights – from details on the station artwork to facts about accessibility and where the network will go next – over here.
In a statement released yesterday (Wednesday, March 5), Transport for NSW cited the “complexities” of transforming a 100-year-old railway into a state-of-the-art metro system, as well as the “130 days” of industrial action, as the factors that have impacted the project. According to the statement, industrial action has limited access to work sites, and prevented contractors from being able to obtain crucial work permits. These disruptions halted the schedule, requiring what Transport for NSW described as “significant reprogramming of vital construction activities”.
“Works like upgrades to overhead wiring and station platforms, as well as electrical work to disconnect the line from the wider train network, haven’t been able to proceed on schedule. Testing will start soon but industrial action has been very disruptive,” says NSW Minister for Transport John Graham.
Although the line won’t be open as soon as we might have hoped, progress is being made. So far, these aspects of the project have been completed:
- 28.3 kilometres of high-tech railway fencing have been installed;
- All stations between Marrickville and Bankstown have been kitted out with platform screen doors and mechanical gap fillers (a job that took an estimated 500 hours per station);
- New lifts have been installed at Wiley Park, Dulwich Hill, Hurlstone Park, Punchbowl and Canterbury;
- New 'kiss and ride' zones have been installed;
- And station buildings along the line have been refurbished.
Once the work is complete, commuters in this stretch of Sydney’s Inner West and West will have a super-speedy direct link into the city, with metro trains set to run every four minutes during peak times, and the journey time from Bankstown to Central set to take just 28 minutes.
The conversion of the line will also see all 11 stations along the line receive major upgrades, making them fully accessible (to meet the accessibility standards of all existing Sydney Metro stations).
In the meantime, things will remain a little more clunky, with the free Southwest Link bus service continuing to run in place of trains (though at a considerably slower pace).
You can keep track (pardon) of progress over here, and check the Southwest Link bus schedule over here.
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