“The closure of the Bankstown line – the T3 – is one of the most technical and complex operations we will undertake,” he said. “We expect big delays for our customers. We’re asking for their patience.”
The replacement buses will have to carry up to 60,000 passengers each weekday during the12-month shutdown of the line between Bankstown and Sydenham from as early as July to allow it to be converted to handle driverless trains. It will become the final section of the $21.6 billionMetro City and Southwest line.
Transport for NSW is due to shortly award contracts for the additional 1400 services needed every weekday to replace trains,and Murray said the agency was considering “creative measures” to shift commuters during the shutdown.
He signalled that those measures could entail express services to the CBD or other train hubs,or all-stops services for shorter journeys.
A new train timetable will also be introduced in the middle of the year to support the Bankstown line closure and incorporate the main section of the new Metro City and Southwest line between Chatswood and Sydenham into the broader rail network. The metro line is due to open around the middle of this year.
Memories are still fresh of the widespread cancellations and delays to Sydney’s train services in the months after anew timetable was rolled out in late 2017 under the previous Coalition government.