The first tracks have been laid on the City & Southwest Metro, marking an important milestone in the delivery of Australia's biggest public transport infrastructure project.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said extending Sydney Metro from the north west into the city and Bankstown will forever change how we get around Sydney and will create vital jobs.
“Metro has already transformed the lives of people living in Sydney’s north west and now we are getting on with delivering it for the south west and the CBD,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“The construction of this mega project couldn’t come at a more important time for our State. Metro forms a key part of the Government’s record $107 billion infrastructure pipeline, which will be a major jobs creator during our COVID-19 recovery.
“More than 5000 people are currently working across the City & Southwest Metro project and, by the time the project opens, around 50,000 people will have worked on it.”
Minister for Transport and Roads Andrew Constance said Sydney will have 31 Metro railway stations and a 66 kilometre standalone Metro railway system in 2024.
“More than 4,000 tonnes of Australian rail steel has been used to create 31 kilometres of railway tracks for the twin 15.5 kilometre tunnels, which extend from Chatswood to Sydenham,” Mr Constance said.
“North West Metro has been a great success with more than 25 million customers already using the service, and this extension into the city and southwest will see a Metro train every two minutes in both directions under the CBD.
“The new Metro will be able to move more people across the Harbour in the busiest hour of the peak than the Harbour Bridge and Harbour Tunnel combined.”
Systems Connect, a joint venture between CPB Contractors and UGL, is designing and converting the excavated tunnels into a working railway, including distributing and laying the rail tracks along the tunnels.
The company is also expanding the Sydney Metro Trains Facility at Rouse Hill, building a new facility at Marrickville and installing the power systems for the Sydney Metro extension.
Metro trains will start running through the tunnels in 2024, extending from the North West Metro, into the city and beyond to Bankstown.
New stations will be delivered at Crows Nest, Victoria Cross, Barangaroo, Martin Place, Pitt Street and Waterloo, along with new underground platforms at Central Station.