Spoke too soon. It was such a beautiful winter day (a "Sprinter" day - combined Spring and Winter) that my partner and I decided to go out for lunch at the end of the new Metro Extension at Sydenham. Catching a metro from our nearest Metro station, Epping, it was a good fast (upto 100km/h) trip to Sydenham. Can't say much about the scenery because apart from 2 stations it is all underground.
The Metro is driverless which gives passengers an unequalled "drivers eye" view at each end of the train.
The new extension to Sydenham is 19km in length to add to the existing 36km from Tallawong to Chatswood.
The train was already heavily loaded, but not full, when it arrived at Epping but we still managed to find seats. It was packed by the time we crossed under Sydney Harbour. Most passengers left at the 3 Sydney CBD stops and it ran almost empty the remaining stops to Sydenham. This was a midday service with a train every 7 minutes so I can well believe the reports of 1 million riders during its first week of operation . It was the reverse on the way back. Sydenham is a light industrial area with little residential.
Off peak services are run at an interval of 7 minutes. Peak hour services are run at 4 minute intervals but the system can run trains at 2 minute intervals if required.
The line will be extended a further 15km from Sydenham to the southwestern suburb of Bankstown by converting the existing heavy rail commuter line to a Metro line. The conversion will start in the next few months and will be completed at the end of 2025. I will look forward to taking the entire 70km Metro trip from Tallawong to Bankstown.
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