Arabic version: افتتاح مترو الجنوب الغربي بعد عامين من الاضطراب

According to ABC News, Sydney’s Southwest Metro has opened to commuters, with hundreds waking early to ride the first 13-kilometre passenger service from Bankstown to Sydenham. Public transport enthusiasts, early commuters, politicians and officials were aboard the service, which arrived at 4:31am.

The opening follows more than two years in which passengers were directed onto replacement pink buses while the 130-year-old heavy rail T3 Bankstown line was converted to metro operations. The 10 stops between Marrickville and Bankstown have been transformed, including automatic glass platform doors and upgrades to tracks and corridors.

The city and south-west project has faced cost blowouts, with the final cost just under $23 billion. The Sydenham-to-Bankstown extension also took more than a year longer than initially forecast. The national safety regulator has required six platform and train doors at Dulwich Hill, Canterbury, Campsie and Marrickville to remain closed pending further checks over wide gaps at curved platforms and mechanical gap-fillers. Transport Minister John Graham said the closures were clearly signposted.

Services are scheduled every four minutes during weekday peak periods and every five minutes outside those hours, with 10-minute services on weekends and evenings. The government said the metro would increase capacity by 50 per cent compared with the former T3 line. Commuters could save up to 24 minutes travelling from Lakemba to Victoria Cross, while the Marrickville-to-Gadigal trip is expected to be cut to 12 minutes.