The Australasian Railway Association (ARA) welcomes the official opening today of the $21.6 billion city section of the Sydney Metro, Australia's largest transport project.
The driverless M1 Line travels under the city from Chatswood, north of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, to Sydenham, with 45 state-of-the-art metro trains that can carry about 1,150 passengers through six new stations.
ARA CEO Caroline Wilkie said the Sydney Metro is a leading example of game-changing transport infrastructure.
"Rail plays an essential role in supporting sustainable communities and the new M1 Sydney Metro line will deliver greater social, economic and environmental benefits to communities along its corridor," Ms Wilkie said.
"Increasing public transport use is key to ensuring Australia meets its Net Zero target in 2050. Turn-up-and-go transport like the Sydney Metro has the power to transform communities by providing safer, faster access to jobs and services, taking cars off roads and reducing peak-hour congestion."
The city section of the M1 Line includes an additional 15.5-kilometres of metro and has six new underground stations, including at North Sydney, Barangaroo and Martin Place, as well as new platforms at Central and Sydenham.
Ms Wilkie congratulated Transport for NSW and Metro Trains Sydney on a smooth start, with up to 200,000 people expected to travel on the network today.
"This is a very exciting day for the travelling public in Sydney. It is wonderful to see Sydneysiders wholeheartedly embrace the Sydney Metro – it just goes to show if you create fast, reliable and accessible public transport that more people will use it and leave their cars at home," Ms Wilkie said.
"Transport for NSW staff have done a fantastic job helping people navigate the new line, and no doubt many got to work today in record time.
"The ARA is looking forward to seeing the progress of the Sydney Metro West, Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport and Sydney Metro South West."
Greater use of public transport will be key to reducing emissions in our communities and reaching the net zero target by 2050, while also supporting improved health outcomes – one commuter train takes 578 cars off the road.
The ARA's 2022 report, Return to Rail Insights, confirmed the sustainable benefits of public transport, with two thirds (66 per cent) of respondents viewing rail as the most environmentally sustainable transport mode.
Sydney Metro is Australia's most technologically advanced railway, and is Australia's only fully-accessible, driverless train service.
Sydney Metro, together with signalling and infrastructure upgrades across the existing Sydney rail network, will increase the capacity of train services entering the Sydney CBD from about 120 an hour today to up to 200 services beyond 2024.
From tomorrow, interpeak trains will run every seven minutes, increasing after the first month to a train every five minutes.
