Actually I know why it will take 12 months which is because it just not about completing the construction, it is also about how many hours testing it will required between sydneham and Bankstown before it opens to public.
Great video, as a person who uses Punchbowl station nearly every day, I got a bus to Bankstown on the first day and everyone’s hopes were up and staff were excited. Got another bus the day after and everyone looked miserable. Aside from that, they really need to improve the AC on the busses, people were suffocating on my bus to Sydenham 😭
Testing a new line takes time... Here in Paris, they began testing the trains and then automation months ago for a section of line (M15 South if the Grand Paris Express) which is expected to open in December 2025. Fine tuning the system is an important job, on top of the platform screen doors installation, and other structures.
Exactly, thanks for your contribution - people really struggle to see the long-term benefits because they are worried about some minor inconvenience in the short-term. We had this with the Epping-Chatswood line, we had this with the George Street trams. Paris has had this many, many times over the years. What is important is the ultimate result.
Wish Toronto can follow suit with such transparency and modern amenities. Alas building metro level infrastructure for light rail vehicles is pretty much a waste and a nightmare when it is delayed by years and no opening in sight
@@BigBlueMan118 Sure, though I also understand those bothered by the disruption of service. In Paris, we had the conversion of M1 & M4, opened respectively in 1900 and 1908, to full driverless automation, but they didn't close the lines and did all works almost exclusively by night and some weekends. These lines are so important (750k to 1M daily ridership each) that they couldn't close them without causing massive transportation issues in the city. In Sydney, it's a little different because with the change of trains, they're probably unable to do a progressive job by night without closing the line. M15 is a fully new infrastructure, so it doesn't cause disruption if it takes longer to fine tune.
@@KyrilPG yeah but If i recall correctly the Paris Metro Line 1 conversion took almost 5 years and cost quite a lot more than a shutdown would have. But as you say you can't close Paris Line 1 for a year like you can Sydney Bankstown Line but equally I think I would prefer one year of major disruption to 4-5 years of minor disruption depending on how it was.
Shenzhen built a metro of over 150K with 52 stations in a shade over five years. They had the advantage of it being completely new and having to worry about existing lines.
Thanks for the builds. Good points. China does have some 'economies of scale' to able to build things faster - but I am sure things we can learn from their approach on building infrastructure. Likewise with Singapore's MRT rapid expansion.
@@BackTracks.SideTracked Yeah the big advantage is the approval process is quicker. I think they now have 16 active metro lines covering 555kilometres and 373 stations and it does have a population of 17million.
As others say - testing will take up most of the time.. the City & Sydenham extension was under test for over 12 months, albeit was completely new track geometry... But still need to test systems, PSDs, Gap fillers, power supplies etc.
12 months is extremely fast. In that time, they'll have to complete remaining construction, install GOA4 signalling systems, test integration between the GOA4 and the trains, the PSDs, the passenger information systems. They'll need to test evacuation and emergency scenarios. It's a huge task getting from completion of infrastructure assets to a stage where you're ready to operate. Crossrail in London took half a decade just to get through it.
Also, the Sydney Metro trains are designed to travel at a higher speed than the trains that used to run on the Bankstown line. This means that any curves on the Bankstown rail lines will need to be adjusted so that the new driverless trains will not derail at higher speeds.
Good point. Although from what I have seen in the visits - I have not seen track alignments being altered as yet. But its hard to tell eh as it really only easy to view at the stations as they have overhead structures. The Bankstown line is relatively straight in many parts. So hopefully what track alignment they need to do is isolated. But agree that will take a lot of effort - including all the overhead adjustments. Thanks!
@@BackTracks.SideTrackedmaybe when the metro test on the Bankstown line for first time, if something goes wrong, they going to fix the track before metro test again, that’s why it will take 12 months to complete or more than that.
Thanks for the update. Good to know. Yes I was just down at Sydenham and there was quite a bit of work going on disconnecting the main Illawarra line from the Bankstown line.
You are welcome to mis-post on this channel any time :) I remember catching one of the first Tangaras when going to school and i thought 'these are stupidly designed to look too futuristic'.. but actually their look has survived pretty well.. yes a bit dated but this was back in 1988 I think..
Its going to be really interesting to watch the development. Especially as this stage of the metro it is 'all above ground'. I don't live on the same side of the city as this line.. so not easy for me to get there during working hours.. but as much as I can.. I want to get there... thanks for watching!
A VERY well made video, many thanks for posting it! I will visit Sydney in about four weeks time and will travel on the METRO from Chatswood to Sydenham, for the first time! Plus a short bus trip to Dulwich Hill, to ride the Tram to Sydney.
Thanks for watching and I’m glad you enjoyed it. I’m actually going for a ride on the Metro right now. I’m going to check out the transport heritage expo at Central Station.
Was a really good event at Central today. I know most people enjoyed the steam engines, but I was as interested in the former Sydney electric sets - as I used to catch them to school every day. Can't believe they had open doors in those days.. I was only 11 when I first was on these trains hanging out the door of a moving train..
4 Car sets can’t fit 70 people but on Platform 2 In Bankstown they Drive an XPT, XPL or other regional trains. Regional Trains In Bankstown used Platform 2. The Train carriages are 2 Cars, 3 Cars and 4 Cars. and the Regional Trains is Running towards North Sydney and Newtown. Also the City?
Good to see they start the work straightaway. Although sadly they didn’t start working on ALL stations at the same time. That would be a huge time saver in construction phase. The way I see it, the M1 line is set for a while, and the extension to Liverpool won’t take place in a couple of years at least. Now, where is the southern extension of airport metro? And where will it go? Leppington? Or Macarthur?
I have no proof of this, but I suspect there’s really only one team installing the platform screen doors and gap fillers and I’ll move from station to station over the coming months. Interesting see progress but looks like Dulwich Hill will be the first one they focus on.
I’m glad I got to travel on the T3 Bankstown line while I was visiting Maitland and spent the day in Sydney before it got shutdown to be converted to Metro
Glad you got to make the trip. I hadn't been on the line on a train since I was a teenager going to play sport at other local high schools in the area. Was good to get back there.
its all very interesting & expensive to do a part conversion of the T3 line, I just hope that when its turned on as the Metro it does what everyone expects it to do, in that it move more people in less time, I see it being a failure if it has to stop at every station between BANKSTOWN & SYDENHAM, which is the opposite to the existing Metro stopping pattern between Sydenham & Central that has very few stations to stop at over a longer distance, how this will effect the expected travel time between Bankstown & Central & the knock on effect to the rest of its running time to end of the line will be interesting, of course they may introduce a skip station pattern to keep the running time down to less than ten minutes between Bankstown & Sydenham.
I live in Yagoona, and about 8 minutes drive away from Bankstown, my only concern is the parking at bankstown, I dont mind driving to banktown, but theres no parking for me to easily go on metro. Also I hate the fact that it does not extend to Parramatta or at least Lidcombe....
There is no way those plans they have for Bankstown station area are a major hold-up for reopening the Bankstown-Sydenham section, that stuff could mostly be done in a few months. The bit that is really going to take significant time is the systems testing: getting the line ready for full operations meeting DDA requirements and getting sign-off. They have to test all the platfom gap fillers, and the safety/egress/response, and then integrate everything into a seamless run from Tallawong-Bankstown in real-world conditions. It might be that everything runs really smoothly and things are ready to open early, that is what happened when the NW Metro opened - but equally things could take longer and be subject to complications, like the Chatswood-Sydenham portion was. Don't forget the testing for the Chatswood-Sydenham section was nearly 18 months, and that was a brand new underground line with dead straight platforms.
Just curious but does anyone know what the chalk markings are that appear to be included on each of the Bankstown line station platforms? I first thought it to be graffiti, but the markings seem to be included on every station platform all the way from Marrickville to Bankstown.
So originally Bankstown was going to be extended westwards to accommodate 8 car trains. But there was a public backlash with people preferring trains from Liverpool go via Regents Park instead of to Bankstown. So listening to community feedback it was determined that Bankstown wouldn't need 8 car sets as it would just be a shuttle Also I think the construction would take around 4 months from what I heard but the other 8 months would be for testing and commissioning
4-car trains have a bunch of advantages for passengers anyway: you are closer to help from staff if there is an issue, they can stop closer to the stairs/lifts, you don't get caught in one half because you can walk all the way through, they can traverse slow points faster. And from a network point of view it means we can deploy more trains to lines that really need them, like the T5 finally moving to 4 trains per hour in peak. Agree with you on the construction/testing part, people forget that testing for the Chatswood-Sydenham section was nearly 18 months, and that was a brand new underground line with dead straight platforms. Testing takes ages for an automated Metro (as it should), getting the line ready for full operations meeting DDA requirements and getting sign-off and meeting your performance standards is hard but the results are worth it. They have to test all the platfom gap fillers this time, and the safety/egress/response, and then integrate everything into a seamless run from Tallawong-Bankstown in real-world conditions. It might be that everything runs really smoothly and things are ready to open early, that is what happened when the NW Metro opened - but equally things could take longer and be subject to complications, like the Chatswood-Sydenham portion was.
And good point. Yes I have no idea how long the testing will take. At least with this part of the line there are less concerns about fire safety and ease of evacuating passengers in the event of a breakdown. This testing too a long time for phase 2 of the M1 line.
A the completion of the conversion, the 8 car trains will return to being used on the Bankstown to Lidcombe section. The truncation of the line is mainly to ensure the safety of workers doing the conversion work plus build the new station infrastructure at the eastern end of the platform.
@theaussiebackflipboy I dont think thats right and havent seen and evidence they still intendd to extend the platforms at Bankstown for 8 cars, have you got any evidence?
Hi Marty, Interesting video. I have just found this channel and subscribed. The Bankstown line is the line on which I used to live. Until mid 1981, I used to live at Marrickville, prior to moving here in Melbourne. Personally, I think the Metro conversion could have gone far better using the Airport line rather than Bankstown, as the Airport line is far newer than the Bankstown line, which is over 100 years old. I can't imagine no trains running there, though I have seen small samples of the chaos there, especially when train strikes occurred. Anyway, take care. Rob in Melbourne Australia.
Thanks for watching and subscribing. Appreciate it. BTW hopefully one day we'll be able to make a video of the opening of the Melbourne Airport Line ... finger's crossed.
From what I understand, most of the hold up with the Melbourne Airport line was because they couldn't decide whether to have an underground station of an above ground station. I think they have now agreed to have an above ground station. I still think they could also easily extend the Airport West tram line, which could serve as an extra Airport connection to the trains.
100% agree on the extension of the airport tram line. Although Melbourne seems to have a number tram lines that just stop short of a natural end - such as a nearby railway station. I recall that the GREENS took a policy of closing all those little gaps to a VIC State Election. Sure the Greens were not going to get into a position of power to effect the change, but I thought at the time a major party may see the sense in that.
As far as I know the Bankstown line was chosen since it took up the most out of the capacity on the city circle, and they can then shift more trains to the other lines to increase capacity. Hopefully the T4 will get a power upgrade too so we can have sets like the Waratahs and not just the Tangaras.
@@BackTracks.SideTracked hmm heard the 2 majors (transit system and ugo) saying that they will only have trained drivers doing that route only and not diverting to other routes, man if I were a driver I would get bloody bored. Also seem ugo recycled some of their older buses to be pink while transit system got new fleet. For ECRL, was all new fleet from both transdev and cdc.
I went on the T4 Line for the first time since the Bankstown line closed, and fuck me, them adding 2 additional stops made the journey even longer then it needs to be, even TripView was like switch at Sydenham for Metro to get to city quicker, mind you this was during off peak but at 10.30, but normally before this change it would take me 40min. Also seems like there was no limited stops like there used to be but all stops all day long. like the new timetable is 1hr to get to the city from Cronulla. Havent been on peak yet so idk if that timetable has changed much.
Thanks for the share. What were the two additional stops out of interest? I first thought St peters and Erskineville but just looked at the new map and they aren't put as stations on the T4. As an aside I was at Oatley station on the weekend - first time for many years since I lived there - and was surprised that Cronulla trains stop there now.. when I was growing up all the Waterfall trains stopped there.. it has now swapped... pity as I used to travel always from Oatley to Cronulla in those days.
@BackTracks.SideTracked Yea St peters and Erskineville, they were never part of the T4 line, I think on weekends, it stops at Oatley. I know growing up my friends had to change at Sutherland to get home from Oatley because it never stopped there. I just looked into it "Erskineville and St Peters stations will continue to receive direct services to the Sydney CBD via the T8 Airport & South Line until these stations are moved to the T4 Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line permanently" - Article " More Trains, More Services " on the transport website.
hey thanks for the reply. Only had a chance to respond now. yes I was there on the weekend - so that was great.. as a kid I only went to Cronulla on the weekend, while had to go to Hurstville / Allawah to High School on weekdays.. the current timetable would have suited me perfectly back then ;)
I think it will take 12 months because that's how long the training of drivers on the driverless train will take. Maybe even more. So I'd expect a delay, as you can't have too much training, especially for drivers of driverless trains.
I have driven driverless trains many times. I didn't need any training or experience and remarkably the driverless trains got to their destinations even after I exited:) The wonders of automation!
Thanks for the video interesting I used to live between there is lines when I was a youngster going to school it's a shame they didn't continue it to Lidcombe, one good question the new part of the UK like the Elizabeth Metro and the another extension Elizabeth Metro recently, why they not driverless in the UK, thanks keep it up😊 you forgot Campsie my station where I was when the years ago to film it you started from Canterbury🤔
Yes sorry to miss Campsie. Good catch. On the day I visited I just couldn't find a parking spot close enough to the station without a long walk - and needed to leave by peak hour. And good point about UK trains. I believe most of the central london underground lines are in effect 'driverless' now - even though they still have drivers in the cabin. But I could be wrong.
The the whole Metro is not driverless trains, the whole Metro is cabln drivers, even the new Elizabeth Metro line,I think they say because it's politicians I reckon that's what they say, thanks for responding me😊
How the T3 Bankstown line Open? And they remove the Train Tracks for the Buffer Stop to stop the Metro M1 line and they remove the Railway Station, Destroy the Existing Railway Station and the Other side of the Metro is better than the Railway Station.
Yes I find the overall design of the two stations quite unusual. The new road linking north and south sides of Bankstown will be great to the town centre. But it makes for a disjointed station set up - as there will be in effect two completely separated stations.
@@BackTracks.SideTracked and by designing the station that way, they leave no room for extending the metro to anywhere else anytime soon, such as Liverpool. The metro will be terminated in Bankstown for decades unless they are fine demolishing that bridge again for an extension, or divert it to somewhere else, neither of which are easy tasks.
@@BackTracks.SideTracked and I find the comments about “waiting for demand before building” from certain politicians rather insulting. You build stuff there to let demand come by itself, not the other way around. Better build the damn metro now than waiting around, unless they want to use the excuse of “not enough demand”, exactly what a shortsighted view is.
And how about a decent service for the the South Coast ? Not just a train every hour & a half. Thats a friggen disgrace. But won't hold out for any change.
Yeah I have real concerns the gap fillers will be a source of woes too. Probably should have just knocked the fucking platforms down and started again, most of them wouldn't have been that difficult, but people in Sydney get wayyyy too hung about "heritage". Like at Epping for example we ended up with a shit design because people wanted to save the old platform building, or Lidcombe should have been rebuilt for the Olympics and should be able to have 6 tracks through from Homebush to Lidcombe but people are so caught on the "heritage" vibe they can't see the costs. Heritage is important, real heritage that is, but it isn't the only game in town.
I do support the metro conversion on the Bankstown Line, but I must agree the gap fillers do appear to be problematic. Altering the platforms would have made more sense; I suppose it would have been at greater expense and time.
They are a pretty proven product overseas these days. And if you look at some of the stations it would have been near impossible without demolishing platform buildings, road bridges and likely compulsory acquiring a number of houses to widen the corridor particularly with the majority of the existing infrastructure being island platforms.
Actually I know why it will take 12 months which is because it just not about completing the construction, it is also about how many hours testing it will required between sydneham and Bankstown before it opens to public.
Thanks. Agree. I think you may be right.
The test requirements for National Transport Regulator are massive.
@@ForTheBirbsseem to be worth it in the long run
6:44 it really depends on how well the workers do to convert the line before knowing whether it will take less then 12 months or more than that.
Great video, as a person who uses Punchbowl station nearly every day, I got a bus to Bankstown on the first day and everyone’s hopes were up and staff were excited. Got another bus the day after and everyone looked miserable. Aside from that, they really need to improve the AC on the busses, people were suffocating on my bus to Sydenham 😭
Thanks for sharing. Gosh how will everyone be in 12 months? And good call on AC.. it's only just starting to get hot ahead of summer.
They pulled the old buses for train replacements i sweated the murray river in there
@@ethanfang7927 lol, I noticed they were the exact same as the busses we had for regular trackwork
@@traingeekfromNSW Absolute cheapskates
@@ethanfang7927 Yeah.
Testing a new line takes time...
Here in Paris, they began testing the trains and then automation months ago for a section of line (M15 South if the Grand Paris Express) which is expected to open in December 2025.
Fine tuning the system is an important job, on top of the platform screen doors installation, and other structures.
Exactly, thanks for your contribution - people really struggle to see the long-term benefits because they are worried about some minor inconvenience in the short-term. We had this with the Epping-Chatswood line, we had this with the George Street trams. Paris has had this many, many times over the years. What is important is the ultimate result.
@@BigBlueMan118people are stupid here
Wish Toronto can follow suit with such transparency and modern amenities. Alas building metro level infrastructure for light rail vehicles is pretty much a waste and a nightmare when it is delayed by years and no opening in sight
@@BigBlueMan118 Sure, though I also understand those bothered by the disruption of service.
In Paris, we had the conversion of M1 & M4, opened respectively in 1900 and 1908, to full driverless automation, but they didn't close the lines and did all works almost exclusively by night and some weekends.
These lines are so important (750k to 1M daily ridership each) that they couldn't close them without causing massive transportation issues in the city.
In Sydney, it's a little different because with the change of trains, they're probably unable to do a progressive job by night without closing the line.
M15 is a fully new infrastructure, so it doesn't cause disruption if it takes longer to fine tune.
@@KyrilPG yeah but If i recall correctly the Paris Metro Line 1 conversion took almost 5 years and cost quite a lot more than a shutdown would have. But as you say you can't close Paris Line 1 for a year like you can Sydney Bankstown Line but equally I think I would prefer one year of major disruption to 4-5 years of minor disruption depending on how it was.
Shenzhen built a metro of over 150K with 52 stations in a shade over five years. They had the advantage of it being completely new and having to worry about existing lines.
Thanks for the builds. Good points. China does have some 'economies of scale' to able to build things faster - but I am sure things we can learn from their approach on building infrastructure. Likewise with Singapore's MRT rapid expansion.
@@BackTracks.SideTracked Yeah the big advantage is the approval process is quicker. I think they now have 16 active metro lines covering 555kilometres and 373 stations and it does have a population of 17million.
As others say - testing will take up most of the time.. the City & Sydenham extension was under test for over 12 months, albeit was completely new track geometry... But still need to test systems, PSDs, Gap fillers, power supplies etc.
12 months is extremely fast. In that time, they'll have to complete remaining construction, install GOA4 signalling systems, test integration between the GOA4 and the trains, the PSDs, the passenger information systems. They'll need to test evacuation and emergency scenarios. It's a huge task getting from completion of infrastructure assets to a stage where you're ready to operate. Crossrail in London took half a decade just to get through it.
Also, the Sydney Metro trains are designed to travel at a higher speed than the trains that used to run on the Bankstown line. This means that any curves on the Bankstown rail lines will need to be adjusted so that the new driverless trains will not derail at higher speeds.
Good point. Although from what I have seen in the visits - I have not seen track alignments being altered as yet. But its hard to tell eh as it really only easy to view at the stations as they have overhead structures. The Bankstown line is relatively straight in many parts. So hopefully what track alignment they need to do is isolated. But agree that will take a lot of effort - including all the overhead adjustments. Thanks!
@@BackTracks.SideTrackedmaybe when the metro test on the Bankstown line for first time, if something goes wrong, they going to fix the track before metro test again, that’s why it will take 12 months to complete or more than that.
On Saurday over long weekend the stations were a hive of activity, seeing them from the Railmotor run
Thanks for the update. Good to know. Yes I was just down at Sydenham and there was quite a bit of work going on disconnecting the main Illawarra line from the Bankstown line.
@BackTracks.SideTracked cheers. And some signals had been removed with various track vehicles along the line
Thanks for the update.
Nice! And on every weekend, I also saw another tangara heading express to Macarthur on the T8 Airport and South Line.
Wait sorry wrong video.
You are welcome to mis-post on this channel any time :) I remember catching one of the first Tangaras when going to school and i thought 'these are stupidly designed to look too futuristic'.. but actually their look has survived pretty well.. yes a bit dated but this was back in 1988 I think..
Thank you for this video really appreciated, please keep us updated for the construction for along sydneham and Bankstown.
Its going to be really interesting to watch the development. Especially as this stage of the metro it is 'all above ground'. I don't live on the same side of the city as this line.. so not easy for me to get there during working hours.. but as much as I can.. I want to get there... thanks for watching!
@@BackTracks.SideTracked oh I see, well that’s really upto you.
A VERY well made video, many thanks for posting it! I will visit Sydney in about four weeks time and will travel on the METRO from Chatswood to Sydenham, for the first time! Plus a short bus trip to Dulwich Hill, to ride the Tram to Sydney.
Thanks for watching and I’m glad you enjoyed it. I’m actually going for a ride on the Metro right now. I’m going to check out the transport heritage expo at Central Station.
@@BackTracks.SideTracked Great! My friend John Maccarone is at Central right now, watching steam locos etc.
Was a really good event at Central today. I know most people enjoyed the steam engines, but I was as interested in the former Sydney electric sets - as I used to catch them to school every day. Can't believe they had open doors in those days.. I was only 11 when I first was on these trains hanging out the door of a moving train..
I wonder if anyone did the sums on selling the rail corridor land and using the funds to put the metro in a tunnel.
4 Car sets can’t fit 70 people but on Platform 2 In Bankstown they Drive an XPT, XPL or other regional trains. Regional Trains In Bankstown used Platform 2. The Train carriages are 2 Cars, 3 Cars and 4 Cars. and the Regional Trains is Running towards North Sydney and Newtown. Also the City?
Good to see they start the work straightaway. Although sadly they didn’t start working on ALL stations at the same time. That would be a huge time saver in construction phase. The way I see it, the M1 line is set for a while, and the extension to Liverpool won’t take place in a couple of years at least.
Now, where is the southern extension of airport metro? And where will it go? Leppington? Or Macarthur?
I have no proof of this, but I suspect there’s really only one team installing the platform screen doors and gap fillers and I’ll move from station to station over the coming months. Interesting see progress but looks like Dulwich Hill will be the first one they focus on.
Southern extension is going to macarthur maybe via campbelltown, southwest rail link will be converted to metro
Leppington as well as a through link to Camden & finally either Campbelltown or Macarthur
I’m glad I got to travel on the T3 Bankstown line while I was visiting Maitland and spent the day in Sydney before it got shutdown to be converted to Metro
Glad you got to make the trip. I hadn't been on the line on a train since I was a teenager going to play sport at other local high schools in the area. Was good to get back there.
@@BackTracks.SideTracked Filmed it and posted it on TH-cam under the title “Sydney Metro construction between Sydenham and Bankstown”
You live along the bankstown line?
@@Therando-d9d I’m from Tamworth NSW and I was spending the day in Sydney with my dad while I was visiting him in Maitland
its all very interesting & expensive to do a part conversion of the T3 line, I just hope that when its turned on as the Metro it does what everyone expects it to do, in that it move more people in less time, I see it being a failure if it has to stop at every station between BANKSTOWN & SYDENHAM, which is the opposite to the existing Metro stopping pattern between Sydenham & Central that has very few stations to stop at over a longer distance, how this will effect the expected travel time between Bankstown & Central & the knock on effect to the rest of its running time to end of the line will be interesting, of course they may introduce a skip station pattern to keep the running time down to less than ten minutes between Bankstown & Sydenham.
Thanks for the share. Yes interesting point and running times. Hadn't thought about that. Cheers.
I live in Yagoona, and about 8 minutes drive away from Bankstown, my only concern is the parking at bankstown, I dont mind driving to banktown, but theres no parking for me to easily go on metro. Also I hate the fact that it does not extend to Parramatta or at least Lidcombe....
I think why it may take 12 months is they have to build the station buildings a Bankstown.And they have not even built the foundations at this point.
Good point.. but could they do a temporary access to the Metro station while the full building is built?
There is no way those plans they have for Bankstown station area are a major hold-up for reopening the Bankstown-Sydenham section, that stuff could mostly be done in a few months. The bit that is really going to take significant time is the systems testing: getting the line ready for full operations meeting DDA requirements and getting sign-off. They have to test all the platfom gap fillers, and the safety/egress/response, and then integrate everything into a seamless run from Tallawong-Bankstown in real-world conditions.
It might be that everything runs really smoothly and things are ready to open early, that is what happened when the NW Metro opened - but equally things could take longer and be subject to complications, like the Chatswood-Sydenham portion was. Don't forget the testing for the Chatswood-Sydenham section was nearly 18 months, and that was a brand new underground line with dead straight platforms.
@@BigBlueMan118they could have at least extended the metro to sefton.
@@MainTransportvlogs alot of extra work and cost though, and what do you do with that section once you build Liverpool - Bankstown?
Surprised it won’t take more than a year considering parramatta light rail is built but they want to test it for several months more.
Good point. The L4 testing is taking what seems like forever. I think the first tram test was in December 2023.
It take way longer than 12-months mate !
Wake me up when the Metro lines are here in Liverpool and surrounding.
Will do. Shall I set the alarm for 2040? And then we chat more then? :)
Just curious but does anyone know what the chalk markings are that appear to be included on each of the Bankstown line station platforms? I first thought it to be graffiti, but the markings seem to be included on every station platform all the way from Marrickville to Bankstown.
Good question - my guess - either measurement markings or noting underground utilities like power or water on the platforms?
Apparently I have my hsc exam on next week starting Tuesday and I have take southwest link buses instead trains which is more challenging
Best of luck! I have a son doing the same... all the best for your exams..
@@BackTracks.SideTracked thanks same to your son, wish him best of luck.
So originally Bankstown was going to be extended westwards to accommodate 8 car trains.
But there was a public backlash with people preferring trains from Liverpool go via Regents Park instead of to Bankstown.
So listening to community feedback it was determined that Bankstown wouldn't need 8 car sets as it would just be a shuttle
Also I think the construction would take around 4 months from what I heard but the other 8 months would be for testing and commissioning
4-car trains have a bunch of advantages for passengers anyway: you are closer to help from staff if there is an issue, they can stop closer to the stairs/lifts, you don't get caught in one half because you can walk all the way through, they can traverse slow points faster. And from a network point of view it means we can deploy more trains to lines that really need them, like the T5 finally moving to 4 trains per hour in peak.
Agree with you on the construction/testing part, people forget that testing for the Chatswood-Sydenham section was nearly 18 months, and that was a brand new underground line with dead straight platforms. Testing takes ages for an automated Metro (as it should), getting the line ready for full operations meeting DDA requirements and getting sign-off and meeting your performance standards is hard but the results are worth it. They have to test all the platfom gap fillers this time, and the safety/egress/response, and then integrate everything into a seamless run from Tallawong-Bankstown in real-world conditions.
It might be that everything runs really smoothly and things are ready to open early, that is what happened when the NW Metro opened - but equally things could take longer and be subject to complications, like the Chatswood-Sydenham portion was.
Thanks for the additional information. Good to know. Thanks for watching. Cheers.
And good point. Yes I have no idea how long the testing will take. At least with this part of the line there are less concerns about fire safety and ease of evacuating passengers in the event of a breakdown. This testing too a long time for phase 2 of the M1 line.
A the completion of the conversion, the 8 car trains will return to being used on the Bankstown to Lidcombe section. The truncation of the line is mainly to ensure the safety of workers doing the conversion work plus build the new station infrastructure at the eastern end of the platform.
@theaussiebackflipboy I dont think thats right and havent seen and evidence they still intendd to extend the platforms at Bankstown for 8 cars, have you got any evidence?
Reminds me of HK MTR East Rail Line, they're also installing platform barrier on these kinds of cirved stations to also be ready by next year😂😂😂😂😂😂
Thanks for the intel.. will look that up. cheers.
Hi Marty, Interesting video. I have just found this channel and subscribed. The Bankstown line is the line on which I used to live. Until mid 1981, I used to live at Marrickville, prior to moving here in Melbourne. Personally, I think the Metro conversion could have gone far better using the Airport line rather than Bankstown, as the Airport line is far newer than the Bankstown line, which is over 100 years old. I can't imagine no trains running there, though I have seen small samples of the chaos there, especially when train strikes occurred. Anyway, take care. Rob in Melbourne Australia.
Thanks for watching and subscribing. Appreciate it. BTW hopefully one day we'll be able to make a video of the opening of the Melbourne Airport Line ... finger's crossed.
From what I understand, most of the hold up with the Melbourne Airport line was because they couldn't decide whether to have an underground station of an above ground station. I think they have now agreed to have an above ground station. I still think they could also easily extend the Airport West tram line, which could serve as an extra Airport connection to the trains.
100% agree on the extension of the airport tram line. Although Melbourne seems to have a number tram lines that just stop short of a natural end - such as a nearby railway station. I recall that the GREENS took a policy of closing all those little gaps to a VIC State Election. Sure the Greens were not going to get into a position of power to effect the change, but I thought at the time a major party may see the sense in that.
As far as I know the Bankstown line was chosen since it took up the most out of the capacity on the city circle, and they can then shift more trains to the other lines to increase capacity. Hopefully the T4 will get a power upgrade too so we can have sets like the Waratahs and not just the Tangaras.
Wonder if they will use the pink southwest buses link in other normal routes or normal buses in the bus replacement thingy
Good question. I am sure they would be considering that. 100 buses would be very useful in other parts of the network.
@@BackTracks.SideTracked hmm heard the 2 majors (transit system and ugo) saying that they will only have trained drivers doing that route only and not diverting to other routes, man if I were a driver I would get bloody bored. Also seem ugo recycled some of their older buses to be pink while transit system got new fleet. For ECRL, was all new fleet from both transdev and cdc.
Southwest buses are normal buses painted, having trained drivers means that they can focue on getting their on time
@@GazzOak69u go mobility is not major their the most shit operator
Week one and already there are confused people who don't understand how to queue or feel they are too important to join the already existing line.
That's Sydney buses in general
I've been living in Australia for 20 years and I still have a hard time understanding only you but that's my problem. Good video 👍
I went on the T4 Line for the first time since the Bankstown line closed, and fuck me, them adding 2 additional stops made the journey even longer then it needs to be, even TripView was like switch at Sydenham for Metro to get to city quicker, mind you this was during off peak but at 10.30, but normally before this change it would take me 40min. Also seems like there was no limited stops like there used to be but all stops all day long. like the new timetable is 1hr to get to the city from Cronulla. Havent been on peak yet so idk if that timetable has changed much.
Thanks for the share. What were the two additional stops out of interest? I first thought St peters and Erskineville but just looked at the new map and they aren't put as stations on the T4.
As an aside I was at Oatley station on the weekend - first time for many years since I lived there - and was surprised that Cronulla trains stop there now.. when I was growing up all the Waterfall trains stopped there.. it has now swapped... pity as I used to travel always from Oatley to Cronulla in those days.
@BackTracks.SideTracked Yea St peters and Erskineville, they were never part of the T4 line,
I think on weekends, it stops at Oatley. I know growing up my friends had to change at Sutherland to get home from Oatley because it never stopped there.
I just looked into it "Erskineville and St Peters stations will continue to receive direct services to the Sydney CBD via the T8 Airport & South Line until these stations are moved to the T4 Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line permanently" - Article " More Trains, More Services " on the transport website.
hey thanks for the reply. Only had a chance to respond now. yes I was there on the weekend - so that was great.. as a kid I only went to Cronulla on the weekend, while had to go to Hurstville / Allawah to High School on weekdays.. the current timetable would have suited me perfectly back then ;)
I think it will take 12 months because that's how long the training of drivers on the driverless train will take. Maybe even more. So I'd expect a delay, as you can't have too much training, especially for drivers of driverless trains.
training of drivers?????????????????? there is not a driver on this liberal project,
Yes good point! :)
I have driven driverless trains many times. I didn't need any training or experience and remarkably the driverless trains got to their destinations even after I exited:) The wonders of automation!
Does anyone know what train they will use for the T6 shuttle line?
Good question! No don’t know. Will do a bit of research as well.
4 car Millenium (M) sets.
Thanks for the video interesting I used to live between there is lines when I was a youngster going to school it's a shame they didn't continue it to Lidcombe, one good question the new part of the UK like the Elizabeth Metro and the another extension Elizabeth Metro recently, why they not driverless in the UK, thanks keep it up😊 you forgot Campsie my station where I was when the years ago to film it you started from Canterbury🤔
Yes sorry to miss Campsie. Good catch. On the day I visited I just couldn't find a parking spot close enough to the station without a long walk - and needed to leave by peak hour. And good point about UK trains. I believe most of the central london underground lines are in effect 'driverless' now - even though they still have drivers in the cabin. But I could be wrong.
The the whole Metro is not driverless trains, the whole Metro is cabln drivers, even the new Elizabeth Metro line,I think they say because it's politicians I reckon that's what they say, thanks for responding me😊
Wish I could of met you whilst I'm in nsw
Honestly, great video but trust me, put some colour and the metro logo on the thumbnail and more people will immediately recognise, and click it.
Thanks for the tip
A great tip.. thanks. I republished all my thumbnails on the channel on this advice... They look way better... Cheers!
Gouverment is stupid converting the bankstown line up to bankstown leave it at sydenham, and why the t8 not t4
How the T3 Bankstown line Open? And they remove the Train Tracks for the Buffer Stop to stop the Metro M1 line and they remove the Railway Station, Destroy the Existing Railway Station and the Other side of the Metro is better than the Railway Station.
while they just ignore out vote and input about yagoona and birrong , waste money upgrading them just to try to convert it a shuttle bus
short sighted developing the bankstown to shorter platform. im sure in the next 130 years, the extra length would be necessary. ....
Yes I find the overall design of the two stations quite unusual. The new road linking north and south sides of Bankstown will be great to the town centre. But it makes for a disjointed station set up - as there will be in effect two completely separated stations.
@@BackTracks.SideTrackedI think it’s was cheaply designed because in time could go underground to livo
@@BackTracks.SideTracked and by designing the station that way, they leave no room for extending the metro to anywhere else anytime soon, such as Liverpool. The metro will be terminated in Bankstown for decades unless they are fine demolishing that bridge again for an extension, or divert it to somewhere else, neither of which are easy tasks.
Exactly.. it's designed like they have no intention of extending the line.. unless the may extend it but have separately operating lines..
@@BackTracks.SideTracked and I find the comments about “waiting for demand before building” from certain politicians rather insulting. You build stuff there to let demand come by itself, not the other way around. Better build the damn metro now than waiting around, unless they want to use the excuse of “not enough demand”, exactly what a shortsighted view is.
I'm not impressed how many billions for what bout 9 stations
💯 and 12 months to convert! If it was all the way to Liverpool and Western Sydney Airport then that makes more sense
Don't forget the union involvement as well
I am sure plenty of stakeholders with lots of their own interests at stake.
The T3 conversion is a totally unnecessary project.. $1 bn lost. Could have been spent for light rail into areas which do not have rail yet.
And how about a decent service for the the South Coast ? Not just a train every hour & a half. Thats a friggen disgrace. But won't hold out for any change.
2 hrs in some instances!
So much effort just for the gap fillers. put $10 on a bet there are going to be issues with these that stop the line...
Yeah I have real concerns the gap fillers will be a source of woes too. Probably should have just knocked the fucking platforms down and started again, most of them wouldn't have been that difficult, but people in Sydney get wayyyy too hung about "heritage". Like at Epping for example we ended up with a shit design because people wanted to save the old platform building, or Lidcombe should have been rebuilt for the Olympics and should be able to have 6 tracks through from Homebush to Lidcombe but people are so caught on the "heritage" vibe they can't see the costs. Heritage is important, real heritage that is, but it isn't the only game in town.
I do support the metro conversion on the Bankstown Line, but I must agree the gap fillers do appear to be problematic. Altering the platforms would have made more sense; I suppose it would have been at greater expense and time.
There's been a test setup doing hundreds of thousands of cycles, and the supplier has them on Hong Kong Metro
They are a pretty proven product overseas these days.
And if you look at some of the stations it would have been near impossible without demolishing platform buildings, road bridges and likely compulsory acquiring a number of houses to widen the corridor particularly with the majority of the existing infrastructure being island platforms.
Yeah there a proven product so i'll take my $10
I will not be going to Bankstown the metro I don’t travel on transport that doesn’t have a driver