The last train on the T3 Bankstown line in Sydney made its final run this morning, as the 130-year-old rail line officially closes for Metro upgrades.
Thousands of commuters are set to have their daily journey times doubled as a result, with the conversion expected to take at least 12 months to complete, with the NSW government warning it may take longer due to the upgrade’s complexity.
- Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter to receive the latest news and classifieds from Australasia’s bus and coach industry
- Don’t miss a second and subscribe to our monthly ABC magazine
Transport minister Jo Haylen says the next year will be “an incredibly tough time” for those who use the T3 line.
“The line’s closure marks the end of an era, but the beginning of a new one,” she says.
“I want to thank the tens of thousands of impacted commuters in Canterbury-Bankstown and the inner west for their understanding.
“It will be worth the wait, as the 6.3 million passengers who’ve used City Metro since it opened can attest.
“This T3 transformation will see the line continue to serve our city throughout the century to come.”
A fleet of pink buses, known as the South West Link, is now replacing trains across south-west Sydney and the Inner West. Fares for the bus services have been waived as a result of the closure.
The fleet will consist of 100 pink buses, scheduled to run every two-four minutes at peak times.
The bus services are:
- SW1: Sydenham, Marrickville, Dulwich Hill, Hurlstone Park, Canterbury, Campsie, Belmore, Lakemba, Wiley Park, Punchbowl, Bankstown stations.
- SW2: Sydenham, Belmore, Lakemba, Wiley Park, Punchbowl, Bankstown stations.
- SW3: Sydenham, Canterbury, and Campsie stations.
Transit Systems and U-Go Mobility will be responsible for running the services, recently recruiting 200 drivers for the project.
Transit Systems were awarded the contract to deliver two of the three rail replacement bus routes, while U-Go will deliver one.
A driving force behind the recruitment success being $6,000 sign-up bonuses, paid training and guaranteed job offers upon successful completion of the program.
Read more:
- BusTech enters voluntary administration
- Zero emission bus contracts handed out for Melbourne
- Video Review: Yutong C12 and C12E
- Video Review: Challenger Callibar
- BusTech finds buyer, acquisition approved