Sydney Metro accelerates through CBD: Stations confirmed and first borer to arrive in 2018

The first tunnel boring machine will be in the ground before the end of 2018 on Stage 2 of Sydney Metro – bringing world-class metro rail under Sydney Harbour and the CBD.

NSW Premier Mike Baird and Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Andrew Constance today revealed the locations of Sydney’s new world-class metro railway stations and announced investigations will begin into potentially extending metro rail from Bankstown to Liverpool.

“We’re wasting no time delivering Australia’s biggest public transport project,” Mr Baird said.

“Sydney Metro will change Sydney forever – it will help boost capacity of our rail network by 100,000 people every hour, servicing our growing global city for generations to come.”

Today the formal planning process for Sydney Metro City & Southwest project has begun, including:

• A State Significant Infrastructure Application to be lodged later this week confirming the metro route;
• New metro stations confirmed for Crows Nest, Victoria Cross (North Sydney), Barangaroo, Martin Place, Pitt St (near Park Street) and underground at Central;
• A potential extension of metro rail to Liverpool, which could cut travel times to the CBD by up to 15 minutes and reduce crowding on the existing T1 Western Line and T2 South Line.

“This new high capacity metro line will be able to move more people across the Harbour in the busiest hour of the peak than the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Harbour Tunnel combined,” Mr Constance said.

“Sydney Metro will deliver ‘turn up and go’ rail services with more than 65 kilometres of new metro rail on a standalone line.”

Stage 2 of Sydney Metro will involve twin tunnels stretching the entire 15 kilometres from Chatswood to Sydenham and proposed new stations at:

• Crows Nest located on the western fringe of Crows Nest village with access to the station via the corner of Clarke Street and Hume Street, and the corner of Pacific Highway and Oxley Street;
• Victoria Cross located in the northern section of North Sydney’s CBD. Access to the station would be via the eastern side of Miller Street between Berry Street and Mount Street;
• Barangaroo station will combine Sydney’s world-class metro rail system with the city’s new global business hub. It will be located at Barangaroo Central;
• Martin Place will be integrated with the existing suburban station underground between Castlereagh and Elizabeth streets. It will include a world-class subterranean rail interchange which means customers won’t need to go to the surface to change trains; and
• Pitt Street metro station will be located below Pitt and Castlereagh streets and north of Park St, servicing the southern CBD and the George St and Pitt St retail precincts.
• An underground station at Central linking to existing intercity and suburban rail services.

The NSW Government is conducting ongoing investigations into a proposed metro station at either Waterloo or Sydney University.

Construction of Stage 1 of Sydney Metro – the $8.3 billion Sydney Metro Northwest – is more than half-complete and due to start passenger services in 2019 with Sydney Metro City & Southwest expected to open in 2024.

Transport for NSW has begun contacting affected property owners, the majority of which are commercial tenants in the CBD, North Sydney, Chatswood, Sydenham and Crows Nest.

The community will have the opportunity to give further feedback as part of the environmental planning assessment process towards the middle of 2016.

A second industry briefing will be held next month to update the new project scope and proposed delivery method.