Sydney Metro - Tallawong to Bankstown

[Scott4570]

Sydney's Channel 10 NEWS at 5pm, Thursday February 7, exclusively announced that the North West Metro should open for service from Monday, May 6.

[andy_centralcoast]

May 5th was previously reported as the likely opening date:

A leaked document shows works could take longer than the forecast seven months, with transport officials expecting the Rouse Hill to Chatswood line to be open to passenger services on May 5 at the earliest.

I've also seen mentioned changes to the Sydney Trains timetable from Sunday 28th April. Possibly some trains starting at Chatswood in the morning peak so there's room for all the arriving metro customers.

The recently commissioned signalling changes on the North Shore Line will allow an extra 2 trains per hour, from 18 to 20. Still less than the 24 tph they are advertising for the T4 and T8 upgrades.

[stupid_girl]

May 5th was previously reported as the likely opening date:

A leaked document shows works could take longer than the forecast seven months, with transport officials expecting the Rouse Hill to Chatswood line to be open to passenger services on May 5 at the earliest.

I've also seen mentioned changes to the Sydney Trains timetable from Sunday 28th April. Possibly some trains starting at Chatswood in the morning peak so there's room for all the arriving metro customers.

The recently commissioned signalling changes on the North Shore Line will allow an extra 2 trains per hour, from 18 to 20. Still less than the 24 tph they are advertising for the T4 and T8 upgrades.

Would they have fare free day on 5th May and regular service on 6th May? (similar to Newcastle light rail)

[boronia]

I've also seen mentioned changes to the Sydney Trains timetable from Sunday 28th April. Possibly some trains starting at Chatswood in the morning peak so there's room for all the arriving metro customers.

The recently commissioned signalling changes on the North Shore Line will allow an extra 2 trains per hour, from 18 to 20. Still less than the 24 tph they are advertising for the T4 and T8 upgrades.

I don't think it is possible to terminate/reversed trains at Chatswood. That's why Gordon or Lindfield are terminating stations. The take up on starters from these stations would be relatively small.

[swtt]

Most likely Gordon. Gordon has a much larger bus interchange (Route 197 etc).

[moa999]

Would they have fare free day on 5th May and regular service on 6th May? (similar to Newcastle light rail)

A little harder with the shared gate lines at Chatswood and Epping, and in any event it's $2.50 Sunday fares.

At a minimum they'd still have to have gates active so you can tap on and off if wanting to transfer to the Sydney Trains network

[idontknow556]

I don't know if someone has asked this before but when will the Northwest Metro Open?

[swtt]

I don't know if someone has asked this before but when will the Northwest Metro Open?

Most likely 28/4 or the week after.

[boronia]

Most likely Gordon. Gordon has a much larger bus interchange (Route 197 etc).

That could mean too many people on the train by the time it gets to Chatswood.

You'd want to avoid the "already crowded" trains opposition.

[Transtopic]

Most likely Gordon. Gordon has a much larger bus interchange (Route 197 etc).

That could mean too many people on the train by the time it gets to Chatswood.

You'd want to avoid the "already crowded" trains opposition.

Most likely some will start at Lindfield which is only 2 stations up the line from Chatswood and like Gordon has a terminating platform. Still won't be enough though. It will be interesting to see what happens when delays inevitably happen on the North Shore Line while the metro continues to disgorge passengers onto the platform at Chatswood, or heaven forbid a computer malfunction happens, delaying metro trains in the opposite direction. It's one thing to have a normal interchange between different lines and quite another when whole trainloads of passengers interchange at the same time. This has been a flawed concept from the start. It will be a long 5 years before the metro is extended into the CBD. The whole project should have been built in one go or a least the CBD extension built first, but I understand the political imperative was to be seen to be doing something in the North West. Still not ideal planning wise. I am waiting with bated breath for the first day of operation and I'm sure the operators will have all fingers and toes crossed that there are no incidents which create havoc at Chatswood.

[stupid_girl]

That could mean too many people on the train by the time it gets to Chatswood.

You'd want to avoid the "already crowded" trains opposition.

Most likely some will start at Lindfield which is only 2 stations up the line from Chatswood and like Gordon has a terminating platform. Still won't be enough though. It will be interesting to see what happens when delays inevitably happen on the North Shore Line while the metro continues to disgorge passengers onto the platform at Chatswood, or heaven forbid a computer malfunction happens, delaying metro trains in the opposite direction. It's one thing to have a normal interchange between different lines and quite another when whole trainloads of passengers interchange at the same time. This has been a flawed concept from the start. It will be a long 5 years before the metro is extended into the CBD. The whole project should have been built in one go or a least the CBD extension built first, but I understand the political imperative was to be seen to be doing something in the North West. Still not ideal planning wise. I am waiting with bated breath for the first day of operation and I'm sure the operators will have all fingers and toes crossed that there are no incidents which create havoc at Chatswood.

The same thing (feeder train routes dumping passengers to a trunk train routes) has been happening in many train systems across the world.

[andy_centralcoast]

My guess is Lindfield starters running empty to Chatswood. This pattern was tested a few times on weekend ECRL closures.

In the current timetable, there are already late night services that terminate at Chatswood then run empty to Hornsby MC.

[mandonov]

En route to the Cherrybrook community day I had to go via Castle Hill:

[swtt]

Wow - that looks like it's months away from completion (as opposed to this mythical late April/early May date!)

[mandonov]

This time around trains were actually at the station during the community day. I arrived just as the last one left, but some others have posted videos to youtube:




Watch this one from 7 minutes in for the train.

[mandonov]

Wow - that looks like it's months away from completion (as opposed to this mythical late April/early May date!)

Yeah Castle Hill seems to be the farthest from completion.

[mandonov]

My own pics from Cherrybrook: https://imgur.com/a/YVOjS3k

Highlights:

[mandonov]

So when I went to the Norwest tour, an employee explained to me that the yet to be installed edge lights at the screen doors would light up in a gradient as a train arrives. Each station has a colour, as can be seen from all the accent glass at each station, so as a train comes in the lights will light up in the station's colour, with the next station's colour lighting up the end of the platform.

I recently read the Urban Design and Landscape plan, and it shows how it will work:




What the landscape plan also shows is that the plaza trees at each station will either bloom with, or the leaves will turn, into the station's colour.

[iamthouth]

Green for a light load, red/purple for full standing?....

[stupid_girl]

Wow - that looks like it's months away from completion (as opposed to this mythical late April/early May date!)

Railway can open while landscaping is in progress. It is not uncommon.

[ed24]

Most likely some will start at Lindfield which is only 2 stations up the line from Chatswood and like Gordon has a terminating platform. Still won't be enough though. It will be interesting to see what happens when delays inevitably happen on the North Shore Line while the metro continues to disgorge passengers onto the platform at Chatswood, or heaven forbid a computer malfunction happens, delaying metro trains in the opposite direction. It's one thing to have a normal interchange between different lines and quite another when whole trainloads of passengers interchange at the same time. This has been a flawed concept from the start. It will be a long 5 years before the metro is extended into the CBD. The whole project should have been built in one go or a least the CBD extension built first, but I understand the political imperative was to be seen to be doing something in the North West. Still not ideal planning wise. I am waiting with bated breath for the first day of operation and I'm sure the operators will have all fingers and toes crossed that there are no incidents which create havoc at Chatswood.

I wonder if they will actively encourage people to transfer at Epping instead to spread the load a bit.

[Transtopic]

I wonder if they will actively encourage people to transfer at Epping instead to spread the load a bit.

I suspect some will when they can interchange to an empty train starting from Epping in peak hours. Probably more likely in the morning peak rather than in the evening in the opposite direction, when they can get on an empty metro train at Chatswood.

[mandonov]

Green for a light load, red/purple for full standing?....

Red is Castle Hill station's colour. For Bella Vista the lights would be yellow, fading into the next station's colour towards the end of the platform.
It's aesthetic, and for indicating arrival more than anything.

[boronia]

From one of the photos above, it appears that the full length of the platform is not covered.

Is that correct, or just an illusion?

[mandonov]

By an awning? No, none of the stations have an awning for the entire length. It's only about the last door that isn't covered at Cherrybrook, Tallawong and the aerial stations, and the very middle at Bella Vista.