It's the end of an era on the T3 Bankstown line, as the final heavy rail journeys make their way along the tracks and Metro transformation work ramps up, ahead of the closure on Monday 30 September.
Final preparations are underway for stations and tracks to shut between Bankstown and Sydenham, before major construction begins first thing on Monday morning.
Initial work will focus on Bankstown, with the highly complex separation of rail tracks, and installation of platform screen doors, mechanical gap filler and fencing.
The conversion of the line to metro is scheduled for a 12-month delivery program, but involves difficult upgrades to a 130-year-old rail line, meaning it could take longer.
The final T3 Sydney Trains service will roll out of Circular Quay Station at 12:06am on Monday morning, bound for Bankstown. The carriages are expected to be packed with hundreds of train enthusiasts to honour the occasion.
The Bankstown line opened in stages from 1896, while steam trains ruled the rails. 30-class steam locomotives were among those that rolled along the line, with a similar 32-class locomotive returning two weeks ago to make a final heritage run.
The 1920s brought electrification and the start of decades of passenger services on Sydney's iconic red single deck electric trains.
Famous visitors on the service included Queen Elizabeth II in 1980 for the incorporation of Bankstown as a city. Queen Elizabeth's journey started at Bankstown and crossed into the newly opened Eastern Suburbs Railway to Martin Place. While these two stations have operated on separate lines for the last four decades, passengers will be able to catch a direct service between them when Metro opens.
With the T3 Bankstown line closing from tomorrow, passengers are reminded to plan their trip and allow extra travel time.
During the conversion period, free pink Southwest Link buses will provide frequent services running from early in the morning until late at night. Travel will take longer, especially in peak hour -doubling journey times in some cases, according to indicative modelling.
Work is underway to bring the new T6 Lidcombe & Bankstown train line into operation in the coming weeks. T6 will connect Bankstown to Lidcombe Station via Yagoona, Birrong, Regents Park and Berala. In the meantime, additional fare-free buses will replace trains between Lidcombe and Bankstown.
Transport is also preparing to make permanent adjustments on the train and bus networks from 20 October 2024. The changes will support the final conversion of the T3 Bankstown line to Metro operations and respond to the introduction of Metro services from Chatswood to Sydenham.
In the past 15 months, 450 services a week have been added to the Inner West light rail between Dulwich Hill and the city to accommodate more passengers, and work is wrapping up on new cycling links.
The Southwest Metro project will include a new 17km walking and cycling path along the alignment, set to be completed within around a year of Metro opening to Bankstown. The section between Marrickville and Sydenham is being fast-tracked to open on Monday to give the community another way to travel.
The 1.4km link will mean there is a safe, separated cycleway so people can safely travel from the Marrickville area to the new bicycle lockers (with 156 parking spaces) at Sydenham Metro Station. A map of this interim link is attached.
When the conversion is complete in approximately late 2025, passengers will have access to a high-tech metro line with a train every 4 minutes during the peak, along with fully accessible stations and services. Currently there are stations on the T3 that only receive four trains an hour in the peak.
This final section of the metro line will eventually be known as the M1 Northwest & Bankstown Line, completing the transformative 30km alignment between Bankstown and Tallawong.
For more information on T3 replacement services: Southwest Link | transportnsw.info. For more information on Southwest Metro: City & Southwest project overview | Sydney Metro.
Minister for Transport Jo Haylen said:
"The Bankstown line has been a stalwart of NSW railways - faithfully serving communities for over a century. Today we want to honour the past, as we look to our city's bright public transport future.
"We've seen this line move from steam trains, to electrification - now it's time for its latest upgrade to allow for modern metro trains.
"T3 deserves a fitting farewell and we know many Sydneysiders will be taking one last heavy rail ride today.
"The line's closure marks the end of an era, but the beginning of a new one. This T3 transformation will see the line continue to serve our city throughout the century to come.
"There's no sugar-coating it - this closure will be an incredibly tough time for these communities, and we've been upfront that it could take longer than a year. Please allow plenty of extra travel time, check your trip planner apps, or transportnsw.info."
