METRO Full speed ahead: trial running begins on city section of Sydney Metro June 2024

Metro Trial Running Media Handout June 2024

Full speed ahead: trial running begins on city section of Sydney Metro

Monday, 24 June 2024


The Minns Labor Government can today reveal that Sydney Metro City has begun trial running of the full-service timetable before an expected opening during August of this year.

Upon opening, this service will provide faster trips for commuters travelling across Sydney – allowing people to spend less time travelling and more time with their family and friends.

This builds on the government’s planning reforms that allow more homes to be built near transport infrastructure – building homes that are close to jobs and creating connected communities.

The trial running that is beginning will see services run between Chatswood, under the Sydney CBD and out to Sydenham.

It follows more than a year of intensive testing and commissioning of the new infrastructure, including the new tunnels, trains and stations– a crucial step in achieving accreditation before passenger services commence.

Since the rigorous testing program started in April 2023, approximately 9,800 hours of a total of 11,000 hours of required testing has been completed along the 51.5-kilometre line from Tallawong to Sydenham.

Network tests include running operational processes and procedures, as well as replicating emergency exercises to assess the response to unplanned situations.

These scenarios include incidents and service recovery, such as trains stopped in tunnels, customer evacuations and drills involving emergency services.



When metro services start through the city this year, passengers will benefit from fully accessible, safe and direct public transport services with record travel times in the peak, including from:

• Martin Place to Waterloo in 6 minutes

• Sydenham to Macquarie University in 33 minutes

• Central to Chatswood in 15 minutes

• North Sydney’s Victoria Cross under the harbour to Barangaroo in 3 minutes

The extension of metro services from Sydenham to Bankstown will be the next stage of Sydney Metro’s transformation.