Sydenham to Bankstown

The Sydney Metro City & Southwest Project will upgrade and convert all 11 stations between Sydenham and Bankstown to metro standards.

Stand-alone rail line

Sydney Metro City & Southwest is fully segregated from the existing Sydney Trains railway tracks between Sydenham and Bankstown, improving the reliability of services. The T3 Line west beyond Bankstown would continue to be operated by Sydney Trains, serving stations between Cabramatta, Lidcombe and Bankstown.

Converting the T3 Bankstown Line will require a temporary suspension of rail services. The timing and duration of closedowns will be further developed during design of the project and will be detailed in the environmental impact statement.

More details will become available after industry input and during public consultation which is set to begin shortly.

Bankstown Line upgrade

This upgrade will address one of Sydney’s biggest rail bottlenecks, providing more frequent services and increasing accessibility and amenity at all 11 stations. The update includes:

  • 13.5km upgrade and conversion of the T3 Bankstown Line to metro standards
  • Almost twice as many trains per hour in the peak
  • No need for a timetable – you’ll just turn up and go
  • New and direct access to major CBD stations, including Martin Place, Pitt St, Barangaroo and North Sydney
  • More job opportunities with faster, more frequent and direct access to key employment centres, including North Sydney, Chatswood, Macquarie Park and the north west
  • Better access to education, with fast, more frequent and direct connections
  • Increased train frequency in AM and PM peak services – a train at least every four minutes at each station  
  • All stations fully accessible, with lifts and level access between trains and platforms
  • Improved interchange with bus, light rail, pedestrian and cycling networks, and provision of taxi, kiss and ride and bike parking facilities at key stations
  • Fast, safe and reliable – a new generation of 21st century metro trains.

These works are subject to a second Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in the future, following more planning and technical investigations.

The Bankstown bottleneck

The Bankstown Line causes one of the biggest bottlenecks on the current Sydney suburban railway because of how it merges with other lines close to the city. By removing the Bankstown Line from the suburban system, the trains currently operating on the T3 Bankstown Line could be allocated to other railway lines in the west and south west.

Clearing the bottleneck

Built over 160 years, our railway network is one of the most complex in the world. Trains from 15 lines from all across Sydney compete for just six tracks, creating a bottleneck. Sydney Metro, a new standalone railway network, is the solution to clearing our public transport bottleneck

Chatswood to Sydenham

Stakeholder and community engagement