Sydney Southwest Metro Opens: First Train Leaves Bankstown at 4:31 a.m., 18,000 Trips by 10 a.m.

Sydney's Southwest Metro opened on 30 October. The first train left Bankstown station at 4:31 a.m., with more than 1,000 passengers and rail enthusiasts waiting early, as the 13-kilometre Sydenham to Bankstown section entered service and completed the 66-kilometre M1 line from the south-west to the north-west via the city.

First-day patronage

ABC News reported that the Southwest section carried 18,000 trips before 10 a.m., with Bankstown recording the most boardings, while total morning patronage across the M1 reached 92,000 journeys. Premier Chris Minns paid tribute to the project team and engineers for turning a 130-year-old heavy rail line into a 21st-century metro. Pink replacement buses, which served the corridor for more than two years, will keep running over the first weekend as a backup.

Frequencies and journey times

Transport for NSW said trains run every four minutes in weekday peaks, every five minutes during the day, and every 10 minutes in the evenings and on weekends, rising to every seven minutes over the first weekend of 31 October to 1 November. Bankstown to Central takes about 28 minutes, six minutes faster than before; Lakemba to Victoria Cross takes about 37 minutes, 24 minutes faster; and Canterbury to Chatswood takes about 31 minutes, 23 minutes faster. Capacity is about 50% higher than on the former T3 Bankstown Line.

Upgraded stations and cautions

Ten stations — Bankstown, Punchbowl, Wiley Park, Lakemba, Belmore, Campsie, Canterbury, Hurlstone Park, Dulwich Hill and Marrickville — have been upgraded with platform screen doors, new lifts and improved security, with five stations gaining lift access for the first time. Transport for NSW cautioned that some platforms on the Southwest section are 130-plus-year-old curved platforms, so passengers should take extra care boarding; six of 360 platform screen doors remain temporarily closed at four stations. Opening celebrations will be held at Bankstown and Dulwich Hill stations on 1 November from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.