Andrew Knispel, one of the longest-serving engineers on Sydney’s metro projects for contractor John Holland, said the opening of a second harbour rail crossing was a historic moment.
“It’s an amazing feat of engineering. This is on steroids,” said Knispel, comparing construction of the second stage of the metro line to the first. “It just ratchets up to another level of complexity.”
The metro extension from Chatswood to Sydenham via the city centre finally received clearance from the national rail safety regulator on Thursday after an earlier targeted opening date of August 4 was missed.
Transport for NSW secretary Josh Murray said authorities were adopting a “New Year’s Eve level preparation” for the opening of the line, and would map movements of commuters to identify services with the highest demand.
“We’ll be using real passenger movements to track how the highest-patronage, highest-traffic stations and services are working with the rest of the network,” he said.
Murray said the line’s opening heralded Sydney’s most significant change to commuter behaviour, as more people switch between double-decker trains, buses and metro to get to their destinations.
“People who are now on buses will get off those buses earlier, and get on a metro because of the time savings. People who are on the Sydney Trains heavy rail network will get off at a different station so they can interchange with the metro,” he said.
The agency expects passenger numbers on the extended metro line to quickly build to about 37,000 in the morning peaks and up to a quarter of a million trips on a typical weekday.
Transport officials will closely monitor the stations with highest demand, including Sydenham, Chatswood, Gadigal and Martin Place, where passengers are likely to switch between different services.
Sydney transport expert Mathew Hounsell expects commuters on double-decker trains along the Illawarra line to be among those most likely to switch to metro services at Sydenham for a faster journey into the central city.
However, he said the big question was whether people from Sydney’s north-west would opt to catch metro trains to the north shore, and then the CBD, instead of driving.
“The other thing to keep an eye on is what happens on the weekends as people in the north-west realise that they can catch the metro into the city without having to worry about driving in,” he said.
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Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays are the busiest days on the transport network as more people travel to workplaces. Mondays tend to be quieter as people work from home.
The new metro line comprises six underground stations, including at North Sydney, Barangaroo and Martin Place. There are new platforms at Central and Sydenham.
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