The Sydney Metro North West + a journey on the Alstom Metropolis Stock

Note: This video was recorded in 2023 - a software update rolled out to all Metropolis Stock trains means the interior destination displays and announcements are now very different (but they don't work on services bound to Chatswood!)

I don't often have the time to go as far north as Rouse Hill, but I took the opportunity to film a journey from Rouse Hill to Chatswood on a fine winter day in 2023. On this journey I rode on Alstom Metropolis sets 16 and 03, both of which were part of the 22 train order placed upon the opening of the Metro North West Line in 2019.

After years of debate and controversy, the North West Sydney Metro opened its gates to the public on the 26th May 2019, exactly 5 years ago today. The Sydney Metro was Australia's first driverless train system, and with a peak hour frequency of one train every four minutes (or 15 trains per hour), it took a lot of pressure off of the North West T-Way, which at the time was struggling with exponential population growth. The current line stretches from Tallawong Metro Station near Schofields to Chatswood Interchange, however an extension of the Metro to Sydenham is expected to open later this year, and the conversion of the T3 between Sydenham and Bankstown to Metro standards is projected to open next year.

The Metro North West Line is serviced by a dedicated fleet of 45 Alstom Metropolis 6-car trains, with 23 of those trains delivered last year in preparation for the opening of the City and Southwest extension. Each trainset is fitted with the Alstom Optonix IGBT-VVVF traction control system, with sixteen motors per set. Four are located in each intermediate carriage (Cars 3, 5, 6 and 4) while the driving cars (Cars 1, 2) are trailers. Each train has 378 longitudinal seats, which creates additional space in the centre of the car, allowing for a total of 1,100 passengers to be transported in each set.

The Sydney Metro is designed to cater for very high passenger loads; there are plans to increase the headway to 2 minutes (30 trains per hour) and to lengthen each train to 8 cars by adding two intermediate trailers in the future. However, considering that I was able to film this review during peak hour... it doesn't seem that this will be happening any time soon.

While the Sydney Metro is quite an innovative system, the bus network changes that followed its opening have been criticised for 'forcing' people to use the Metro by cutting local bus services. For example, the axing of Route 740 from Plumpton to Macquarie Park means commuters must get Route 745 to Bella Vista Station then change for the Metro, which results in an additional 20 minutes in travel time. Something more close to home for me was the discontinuation of routes 627 and 628, which significantly increased travel time for those who do not live near a Metro Station. However, the Metro has provided some much-needed extra transport capacity for the North West, and resulted in dramatic reductions in travel time for most commuters. Additionally (I didn't mention this in the video), there has been, or will be, a boom in Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) around Metro stations, for example there are high-rise buildings under development at Hills Showground and Cherrybrook, which can play a major part in relieving Sydney's crippling housing shortage.

The Metro North West Line is undoubtedly a key part of Sydney's transport infrastructure, and it will be interesting to see what happens when the City-Southwest extension opens. At the moment, I'm predicting drastically reduced services on the 602X, 607X, 610X and 612X (remember when the 619 was one of Hillsbus's most frequent routes?). No doubt the City-Southwest extension will be game-changing, but I don't know if I'll be able to access it by public transport...

0:00 Introduction
0:37 Rouse Hill Station
2:32 Ride Onboard Set 16
14:41 Castle Hill Station
17:36 Ride Onboard Set 03
20:47 The ECRL
25:19 Chatswood Station
25:47 Outro

References:
Aerial image of the ECRL: https://earth.google.com/web/search/E...

Music:
Earl Keen - In the Sky (Stock Audio)
VDGL - Rising Star (Stock Audio)

Made with Microsoft Clipchamp