Sydney’s Metro Just Swallowed a 130-Year-Old Suburban Line

Sydney Metro’s Southwest extension opened to passengers at 04:31 on October 30, 2026, taking the metro to Bankstown over the route of the former T3 suburban line. Railway Gazette International reports that it adds 13 km to line M1, which now runs 66 km from Tallawong to Bankstown with 31 stations, and public celebrations were planned for November 1.

The conversion followed a closure of the old suburban line in 2024 so its 130-year-old infrastructure could be rebuilt. Ten stations were upgraded with 360 platform screen doors, 790 CCTV cameras, 145 information screens, more than 2,000 wayfinding signs and new lifts. Bankstown also gained a new plaza and bus interchange. Sydney Metro says the line offers about 50 percent more capacity than the suburban service it replaced.

Trains run every four minutes in weekday peaks, moving up to 17,000 people per direction per hour, every five minutes by day and every ten minutes in evenings and weekends. A trip from Bankstown to Central takes 28 minutes, six minutes faster than before. The operator is Metro Trains Sydney, a consortium of MTR, John Holland and UGL Rail, under a contract running to 2034.

The opening date was only confirmed on October 22, after an emergency exercise simulated a fire on a moving train near Bankstown with about 300 volunteers. New South Wales also dropped proposed November timetable changes for the T4, T8 and South Coast lines, according to Transport Minister John Graham. Visitors heading to the southwest suburbs should note that the old suburban trains no longer run on this corridor.

Sources: Railway Gazette International, Time Out Sydney