Metro services run between Tallawong and Martin Place, and between Martin Place and Central only. You will need to change services at Martin Place

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Greg Sutherland

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Feb 27, 2025, 4:46:40 PM2/27/25
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https://transportnsw.info/alerts/details#/ems-47521

Friday 28 February to Sunday 2 March
  • From 10pm Friday, metro services run between Tallawong and Martin Place, and between Martin Place and Central only, to a changed frequency.
  • Change at Martin Place for metro services towards Tallawong or Central, or T4 trains to Sydenham.

  • Sunday from 2am to 4pm, train trackwork may affect how you travel. Trains do not run between Central and Wynyard, or on the City Circle.
  • From 2am to 8am, buses replace all trains between Central, Sydenham and Hurstville.
  • Change at Central for buses towards Sydenham and Hurstville.

  • Monday 3 March, metro services run between Tallawong, Martin Place and Central only, to a reduced frequency, every 8 minutes between 7am and 7pm.

  • Replacement buses for trackwork may be affected by driver shortages. We are doing all we can to minimise the impact to your journey and provide a safe service, however cancellations or delays may occur.
  • Plan your trip before you travel for up-to-date real time information. You can also subscribe to planned trackwork alerts.
Bus route
Sunday morning
1T3 Sydenham, all stations to Central and return



Matthew Geier

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Feb 27, 2025, 5:29:29 PM2/27/25
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People keep posting on FB that Metro train testing is about to start on the Bankstown line, but there is still an air-gap in the overhead at Sydenham on the and the overhead is absent entirely on the down alongside Meeks Rd XPT depot.

I did notice yesterday that there is a 'track machine' (I think it's a tamper, but couldn't really get a good look) parked on the maintenance siding at Sydenham Metro depot. Maybe on the weekend they will remove the buffer stops and run the rail plant into the worksite. I think they have physically removed the connection at Bankstown so now the only way the rail plant can get in is via truck. The Sydenham Depot has a suitable unloading/loading area, although getting a long truck into Sydenham/Marrickville area would be a challenge - it's an old suburb with narrow streets.

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Geoff Olsen

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Feb 27, 2025, 10:32:50 PM2/27/25
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I was out at Chullora yesterday on business for another group and noticed a large selection of prefabricated track panels and/or special work piled up where they normally assemble such items. They all had “Meeks Rd” painted on the sleepers so make of that what you will. I believe that the Bankstown line was in fact disconnected from the main system in a manner that was reminiscent of the removal of the George St overhead in 1958.

Geoff O.

bblun...@yahoo.com

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Feb 27, 2025, 10:39:47 PM2/27/25
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At Bankstown, work seems well advanced on building the plaza which will separate the two stations. 


TP

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Feb 28, 2025, 6:00:50 AM2/28/25
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I don't know why all the interest in rail trackwork disruptions, which I would put on a par with rivet-counting, but, to save multiple posts, here's what we look forward to in March for Sydney commuter train services:


It looks like PTV has similar information for Melbourne:


And Queensland:


And Adelaide:


Perth's is pretty neat:


Tony P
(who suspects that the M1 metro line has been disconnected from the suburban lines at Sydenham because the two systems cannot technologically run together, not because it's like a tram destruction conspiracy)

TP

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Feb 28, 2025, 7:19:40 PM2/28/25
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Mal Rowe

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Feb 28, 2025, 8:05:03 PM2/28/25
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I would be interested in comparative data on the percentage of the time various across Australia are closed won.

It seems to me that the CSELR would be likely to top the list.

Mal Rowe in a city that treats trams as core services, not a sideline.

Swanston_VictoriaSt_4Sep2024.JPG

TP

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Feb 28, 2025, 9:26:01 PM2/28/25
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Which is why I posted the Parramatta notice. Down for trackwork while so new? The reason for the recent CSELR closure also included trackwork on curves. It would be interesting to know how the other modern systems compare for downtime, as well as Melbourne. I still think a significant issue is that NSW chose fixed-truck trams for lines that have quite a few twists and turns. Adelaide, Canberra and Gold Coast are as close as you can get to a straight line, so there shouldn't be such issues. Melbourne has lots of twists and turns, but trams with proper bogies. Connect the dots.

Tony P

TP

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Mar 2, 2025, 8:35:12 PM3/2/25
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TfNSW has announced the reasons for the metro service alterations last weekend - integration works with the Bankstown extension.


I read on other forums that the overhead is now complete on both tracks and the fence separating Sydenham from the Bankstown line is gone. Train testing through to Bankstown should start soon.

Tony P

bblun...@yahoo.com

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Mar 2, 2025, 9:07:57 PM3/2/25
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Inline image

Currently a shuttle between Martin Place and Central on single track. 

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Matthew Geier

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Mar 2, 2025, 9:32:30 PM3/2/25
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On 3/3/25 12:35, 'TP' via TramsDownUnder wrote:
> TfNSW has announced the reasons for the metro service alterations last
> weekend - integration works with the Bankstown extension.
>
> https://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/newsroom-and-events/media-releases/media-date-updates-test/metro-trains-not-running-between
>
> I read on other forums that the overhead is now complete on both
> tracks and the fence separating Sydenham from the Bankstown line is
> gone. Train testing through to Bankstown should start soon.
>
It was not complete this morning when I passed. There were 'EWP's every
where. It appears they have replaced the final segment of overhead at
the south end of the former Sydenham platforms and a new section
isolator has gone in just past were the fence was.

I'm not sure why this required a 3 day shutdown to do this.


The entire line is running on reduced frequency, presumably due to
running Barangaroo to Martin Place single line - the frequency of
service on the entire line is dictated on how long it takes a train to
get from the Barangaroo cross over cavern to Martin Place and back again.

And presumably on the other track they have a train shuttling between
Martin Place and Central so that Gadigal gets service. (7am to 7pm
only). Presumably not enough people are using Waterloo Metro to extend
the shuttle that far and lose service frequency to the longer running
time just to service that station as well. (And it's not THAT far a walk
to Redfern).


Now if only they had provided a crossover at Central.

Barangaroo is the only cross-over / turn back point on the tunnel from
Chatswood to Sydenham.

They knew the Bankstown line thing was happening before they finished
Sydenham - if they had provided a section insulator on the south 'shunt'
tracks at Sydenham, they wouldn't have needed to suspend such a long
section and mess up the service frequency of the entire line.


TP

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Mar 2, 2025, 9:57:18 PM3/2/25
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The fact that they can and do reverse trains in less than 30 seconds optimises this sort of operation.

Tony P

Matthew Geier

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Mar 2, 2025, 10:05:01 PM3/2/25
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On 3/3/25 13:57, 'TP' via TramsDownUnder wrote:
> The fact that they can and do reverse trains in less than 30 seconds
> optimises this sort of operation.
>
>
This is not an exclusive feature to GoA4 automation.

GoA1 (manual driving) can do the same with 'stepping back'.

Sydney Suburban trains have them selves used the 'stepping back'
technique to speed turn around in times past.



TP

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Mar 2, 2025, 10:21:37 PM3/2/25
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I believe the best stub turn around on the suburban system, with the help of relay drivers (stepping back), was 4 minutes. If you've been to a major event at Sydney Olympic Park, you can see there's a reason they built that line with a balloon loop! Such loops are of course a necessity on very busy tram systems, but I suspect, just as with trains, automation may eventually reduce the need for balloon loops. In Pilsen CZ, they're going to trial automation at depots and termini, though with their loop termini all that the automation has to do is position the tram on the loop..Even with other grades of automation, as long as there's a driver on board, the train has to wait for the driver to get to the other end. Only with GoA4 are you going to get a 30 second reverse. Even stepping back couldn't achieve this without observing all the human safety protocols.

Tony P

bblun...@yahoo.com

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Mar 2, 2025, 11:09:01 PM3/2/25
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I don’t understand why crossovers weren’t provided at Central to allow for such curtailments. 

Brian, currently being inconvenienced by a power failure on L2/3 at Town Hall. 

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TP

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Mar 2, 2025, 11:59:24 PM3/2/25
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Probably because this is only a temporary situation until the Bankstown line opens. Then, after opening, the southern crossover for the city is at Sydenham I presume.

Tony P

Matthew Geier

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Mar 3, 2025, 12:07:54 AM3/3/25
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On 3/3/25 15:59, 'TP' via TramsDownUnder wrote:
> Probably because this is only a temporary situation until the
> Bankstown line opens. Then, after opening, the southern crossover for
> the city is at Sydenham I presume.
>
That's still an awfully long way between crossovers. Chatswood,
Barangaroo, Sydenham. The Epping Chatswood line had 3 'emergency
crossovers' between Chatswood and Epping. (I assume they are still
available for the Metro to use). The next section has only 1.

But underground crossovers (and stations) are expensive to build - so
they just didn't build many.



bblun...@yahoo.com

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Mar 3, 2025, 12:13:51 AM3/3/25
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They will still need to have their "mandatory" regular maintenance shutdowns, and occasional in-service failures, which would benefit from regular turn back facilities.

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