Cost of new metro lines blows out by more than half a billion dollars

Greg Sutherland

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Mar 23, 2025, 6:36:34 PM3/23/25

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https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/cost-of-new-metro-lines-blows-out-by-more-than-half-a-billion-dollars-20250318-p5lkgg.html

The cost of major contracts for two of Sydney’s signature metro rail projects has blown out by $566 million, underscoring the budgetary pressures on the NSW government from the construction of new lines for driverless passenger trains.

Tender documents reveal the predicted cost of tunnelling works at the western end of the Metro West rail line between Parramatta and the Sydney CBD has surged by $353 million from its original estimate to $2.7 billion.

The Metro West rail project is due to be completed in 2032.Credit: Janie Barrett

Another contract for about 2.5 kilometres of tunnels under Pyrmont and the CBD, as well as station excavations and other works, has risen by $90 million to $1.88 billion.

Forming the fourth stage of Sydney’s metro network, the 24-kilometre line is the largest rail project in the city and due to be completed by 2032, which is two years later than earlier forecasts.

Tender documents also show a $123 million jump to $2.14 billion in the estimated cost of tunnelling and station excavation contract for the 23-kilometre metro line to Western Sydney International Airport.

Coalition transport spokeswoman Natalie Ward said the financial strain on Metro West cast serious doubt over how the government plans to fund an extra station at Rosehill, near Parramatta, without making deeper cuts to critical transport and road infrastructure.

“With transport investment already slashed by 34 per cent, the opportunities for new projects are rapidly shrinking,” she said.

Sydney Metro said in a statement that extra costs on the Metro West project included the delivery of extra cross passages in tunnels and bulk earthworks, as well as contamination management.

“The current budget envelope for Sydney Metro West includes contingency to manage unforeseen and forecast risks to the project including future contracts,” it said.

The agency said the increase to the airport line contract was primarily due to extra cross passages in tunnels and was within the project contingency.

Tunnels for the new metro rail line to Western Sydney Airport.Credit: Janie Barrett

It decided in early 2023 to build cross passages about 240 metres apart in tunnels for the airport line and Metro West after NSW’s fire and rescue agency warned of safety risks to emergency workers if they were half a kilometre apart.

Transport Minister John Graham said adjustments to contracts included important works that address feedback from emergency services.

“Metro West blew out by $12 billion when the Liberals were in government. We are working to keep a tight lid on costs and delivery, but certainly won’t be taking lectures on project management from the former government responsible for that blow out,” he said.

The Transport Minister, who should know better, repeats here Labor's election lie that Metro West cost previously increased by $12 billion when it hasn't hitherto increased at all. This lie is based on comparing an earlier estimate, made before the number of stations was finalised, with the final business case estimate based on the final number of stations as it is today. As quoted from Sydney Metro in the article, the cost still remains on budget at $25.3 billion.

Tony P

Geoffrey Hansen

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Mar 23, 2025, 11:45:00 PM3/23/25

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Having a station a Rosehill would be good for interchanging with the Carlingford Light Rail line.

Regards Geoffrey

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bblun...@yahoo.com

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Mar 24, 2025, 12:09:02 AM3/24/25

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I think the line runs under the middle of the racecourse, and providing a station elsewhere close to the LR could be problematical.

Brian

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Matthew Geier

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Mar 24, 2025, 12:33:34 AM3/24/25

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Not surprised, Governments of all stripes, make 'business plans', call
tenders , sign contracts then change the scope of the project after it's
started. Of course they will get cost over runs if they keep changing
the specifications. The builders of course love this - the real money is
made on the variations, not the original tender response.

And these metro's involve extensive tunnelling which carries significant
geo-technical risks. They nearly always find something underground the
original surveys didn't spot. No contractor is going to sign a contract
where they bear this risk instead of the 'customer'.

Richard Youl

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Mar 24, 2025, 2:03:33 AM3/24/25

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How many people in that interior metro photo would be standing if double deck trains were running?

By the way next time you ride it between Chatswood and Sydenham, just try reading text on your hand-held phone. The violent hand shaking makes it almost impossible except when stopped or slowing. It seems either the tracks were poorly laid, suspension too firm for the light bodies, or both. No problem with other trains.

Richard

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Stuart Keenan

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Mar 24, 2025, 2:44:09 AM3/24/25

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Absolutely concur with your sentiments, Mr Youl.

With an aging population (myself included) more and more of us will be quite content with a seat on a slightly slower train, never mind this “high performance/high capacity” rubbish.

As this forum is about trams, here is A 263 doing its best to swerve around the traffic as it heads north in Chapel St, South Yarra recently.

Stuart

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TP

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Mar 24, 2025, 2:49:27 AM3/24/25

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The definition of voting with one's feet is evident between Chatswood and Central where the suburban and metro lines parallel each other. People pile off suburban trains and onto metro at Chatswood, shortening their trip to the CBD by 10 minutes or so. A lot of people don't mind standing on the metro, an observation some of us have made during the last five years on the north-west line where a lot of people stand even when there are seats available. It's quite a different culture and Sydney commuters have really gone for the metro, so the single advantage of double deck trains - more seats - apparently doesn't resonate at all with commuters. The faster journey times, frequency and reliability would be the leading factors attracting people to the metro, along with other issues such as accessibility and greater safety. On the Bankstown line, even the more seats argument will evaporate as the much greater service frequency with metro will result in matching the former double deck service's seats per hour.

It's a good example of the disconnect between many transport enthusiasts and the travelling public. All the things that we are told by enthusiasts are great turn out to be scorned by the commuters who use them every day. Another current example in Sydney is the enthusiast-based save the Manly ferries (i.e. the traditional big, slower boats) push, defied by passenger statistics that show a user preference for the faster, more frequent cat ferries. Only natural I would have thought that people want to get from A to B faster and more reliably.

Tony P

TP

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Mar 24, 2025, 2:58:34 AM3/24/25

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Mr Keenan, as part of the aging population cohort, I still want to get somewhere quickly and reliably and the seat argument often doesn't apply as the metro runs more frequently (hence more seats per hour) and us retired folks tend to travel more off-peak when there are plenty of seats available. Another issue for those of us whose bodies aren't keeping up with our minds is accessibility and double deck trains are very poor on level access, whereas the metro is perfect on that count.

I thought this forum was about electric traction, primarily trams, but the metro is hardly irrelevant, being a closer cousin of trams/light rail than double deck trains.

Tony P

Richard Youl

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Mar 24, 2025, 3:54:46 AM3/24/25

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I never said I did not use the Metro. If I’m in a hurry to get to the city, I use it. My Pacific Hwy buses take me to St Leonards rail, or 2 stops further to Crows Nest Metro. It is about 11 minutes to Central.

The biggest enemy of the trains is the timetable writers. Years ago with underpowered single deck trains, North Sydney to Central was 10 minutes, 11 minutes for some in the peak hour. Now it is 14 minutes for the same ride with much more powerful trains. Speed limit from Milsons Point to Wynyard is a leisurely 40 km/h followed by long dwell times at stations. Such dumbing down of the railway seems to be throughout the network. No wonder the metro is faster.

You did not mention the ride quality which is sub standard for something new. Today I chatted briefly with a ticket checker (the first I have encountered anywhere in 10 days of riding around) in a near empty carriage but his voice was rather difficult to hear above the train noise. The line also seems to be prone to rail corrugations, especially on some of the curves (don’t forget the line is still quite new) which was also a headache for Chatwood and west from there. At least they have been removing these from time to time as they redevelop.

Not the fault of the technology, but rather the planners is hopeless lack of signage in some places. Today I came out of Gadigal in Park Street which was touted as a connection to Town hall. But I had no idea what side of the road I was on, nor where The town Hall was. I walked the wrong way and eventually worked out I was heading towards Hyde Park so I turned around and outside the station facing up and down the street was a sign explaining this, but coming out of the station I only saw it side on. It meant nothing to look at. There was a metro man on the footpath so I told him that there needs to be an obvious sign. He agreed, saying many people have that question of him every day.

I will have to go back to Martin place Metro Station to look for any signs missed by me as on Saturday morning metro services did not directly extend to Central where I wanted to connect with a T4 train to Loftus. But I remembered that Trains also have a station at Martin Place but it appears that sign posting to get from Metro to train is pathetically bad. With my train due in a few minutes I was rushing up and down several escalators, along corridors and all over the place before I could actually find the railway station. That’s something that could easily be fixed, but it’s been several months now. I suppose complaints are thrown in the bin.

Incidentally it is a walk of about 5 minutes from Victoria Cross (in Miller St and on the north side of the MLC building) through a pedestrian tunnel nearby to North Sydney railway station.

Richard

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Geoff Olsen

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Mar 24, 2025, 4:06:37 AM3/24/25

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Was the swerving successful?

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image001.jpg

Stuart Keenan

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Mar 24, 2025, 5:25:48 AM3/24/25

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Mr Prescott, thank you for the personalised reply!

The popularity of the metro can’t be disputed, it’s fast, frequent and serves parts of Sydney that have never seen a train before. What’s not to like?

But as an enthusiast, I don’t give a shit what the Great Unwashed think!

Passengers have always chosen to stand on public transport even when seats are available, just because. 🤷‍♂️

The metro is excellent for access because engineers have matched platform height with train floors, something that the suburban system has improved on but could do better. The double deck trains themselves have platform level areas at each end of each car, no need to tackle the stairs so no access issues there and no issues with train carriage design.

Well it is Trams Down Under, not Traction, but I for one am very happy to have other non-tram forms of transport mentioned here 👍

And yes Geoff, said tram did most successfully swerve! 😄

Stu

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TP

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Mar 24, 2025, 8:15:44 AM3/24/25

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That connection from Martin Place to Central (presumably under changed service patterns during metro works) Richard, all you had to do was cross to the other side of the same metro platform and a metro train was running on to Central. No need to go hunting for the Eastern Suburbs Railway.

Tony P

Richard Youl

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Mar 24, 2025, 4:12:37 PM3/24/25

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I well knew that shuttle was running but one was not coming soon enough to make my connection. Additionally it is not a short walk from Metro to T4 at Central.

The transfer at Martin Place should be clearly signposted and it appears not to be.

After all of that, the Waterfall train terminated at Hurstville making a 1 hour gap in that service 😡

Richard

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Matthew Geier

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Mar 24, 2025, 5:55:35 PM3/24/25

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The connecting tunnel between the Metro platforms at Martin Place and the ESR platforms is probably shorter than the walk between the two lines at Central.

But the trick is the connection is platform to platform not concourse to concourse.

Hidden down the southern end of the Martin Place Metro platforms is a tunnel that heads directly to the platforms of the ESR, where there is new 'hole' in the western end of the platform level.

However the last time I tried to use that connection (1st Jan coming home after the fireworks - got on at Crows Nest), the connection was closed and there was a Metro person there telling us we had to go up to the surface and walk down the street. We got back on the next southbound train and changed at Sydenham. I assume the connection was closed for 'crowd control' reasons.

That night was 'funny', 'Transport' had decided that EVERY metro service needed a 'security' person on board. So they had a place to 'retreat' to, they blocked off the end of the train, with a tape that had 'do not disturb the driver' printed on it. The train we were on, the security person spent the whole time leaning against the bulkhead fiddling with his phone.

But the fact that they had all taped off an area at one end of the train lead to people posting online that 'look they needed drivers for the NYE crowds'.

At no time were the driving controls unlocked - and the renta-guards wouldn't be qualified to operate the train anyway.

Presumably 'WH&S' considerations meant the guards needed 'space' on the crowded trains, hence using the 'driver barrier' tape to close of a space. (As that tape would be permanently on the train behind a little door)

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TP

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Mar 24, 2025, 10:25:09 PM3/24/25

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As part of their negotiations with the RTBU on pay issues, our hopeless Labor government has agreed to allow the union to place a "driver" on every metro train. You couldn't make it up.

Tony P

Brian Blunt

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Mar 24, 2025, 10:52:04 PM3/24/25

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Does this mean they will have to provide a “cab” to protect the “driver” and provide an exclusive entry point pyherbthan through the saloon?

Brian

Bblun...@yahoo.com

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TP

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Mar 25, 2025, 12:10:39 AM3/25/25

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We'll see what develops. Hopefully they should be like the existing passenger service people who board occasional trains and roam through the trains, except that the agreement is that they would be on every Bankstown line train. At the worst, they'll be pushing the kiddies away from the front window and standing there diligently looking to spot hazards quicker than the AI does. Let's hope they don't give them a stop button to play with. Pathetic.

Tony P

Richard Youl

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Mar 25, 2025, 8:18:58 AM3/25/25

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I went back to Martin Place to see just where I went wrong. The photos below show it all, and I bet plenty of others are deceived by the poor placement of the T4 signs.

The first photo is clear enough. Straight ahead for the Trains.

The second sign also shows straight ahead for the T, and what is exactly straight ahead? The escalator. While the T is not on the sign at the escalator (which I did notice on Saturday and which seemed a bit odd), that sign is largely obscuring the T signs which are meant to direct you AROUND the escalator! So with just a few minutes to change trains, who else would miss those obscured signs?

What mark out of 10 would you give the layout designer for this wonderful effort? 1 out of 10 is probably being too kind. Those 2 T signs should be Before the big sign, not largely hidden behind it.

But of course if the Metro was not truncated yet again for trackwork (and the next weekend) there would have been no problem.

Richard

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Matthew Geier

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Mar 25, 2025, 5:01:02 PM3/25/25

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Those are not the only confusing wayfinding signs - when my wife and I went to a pre-opening 'community day'. Several wayfinding signs around the Hunter Street entrance (the only one open for the 'community day') had issues like this. My wife pointed this out to several metro project people at the time,

The problem is they don't have a way of indicating to take the escalator (up or down) vs going around the escalator and staying on the same level. Straight ahead and 'up or down' are the SAME upward pointing arrow. I don't know if this is a poor implementation of the wayfinding at this station or a fault with the wayfinding style guide from TFNSW.

Martin Place is set to get even more complex and maze-like, with Metro-West terminating next door to the Hunter Street entrance of Metro North West and the Hunter Street 'West Metro' station connecting to both Martin Place AND Wynyard!,

When complete, you will be able to walk from T1 platforms at Wynard to the T4 platform at Martin Place entirely by underground passages. You may have to tap out of Wynyard then in to enter Hunter St Metro and walk the length of the platform and tap out again at Hunter Street before tap in again at Martin Place M1 - and walk the length of the Martin Place Metro platform to the T4 passage, but it would be a totally under cover interchange.

I assume they won't even try to wayfind that connection (it's not a particularly sensible interchange, it's just that it's 'possible')