One of NSW’s newest rail lines will close just a few years after it opened
One part of Sydney’s newest rail network will close for at least seven months, just a few years after it was opened with much fanfare.
On Wednesday, the NSW Government announced that the Epping to Chatswood line, which is only eight years old, will be temporarily closed during the latter half of 2018 and early 2019.
There is nothing wrong with the line but it’s no longer fit for purpose. Built at a cost of more than $2 billion, the rail line accommodates regular Sydney suburban double deck trains. However, the government wants the line to be a key part of the Sydney Metro, which only uses single decker trains.
The Epping to Chatswood line opened in 2008 connecting Macquarie University and the renovated Macquarie Park shopping centre and business parks to the city. But several years later it will need to be shut to convert it to Metro standards so new trains from Sydney’s North West can run through it.
Replacement bus services could double passengers’ daily commute time, and there are concerns that bus services will not have the capacity to carry all current train passengers.
There are a number of new rail infrastructure projects in Australia, which includes this $12 billion Sydney Metro and the $11 billion Melbourne Metro tunnel construction which just started.
The NSW Government promises the wait will be worth it.
“We’re on track for Sydney Metro Northwest, which will deliver reliable turn-up-and-go train services to North West customers when it opens in the first half of 2019,” Transport Minister Andrew Constance said on Wednesday.
“We’re boosting bus services in and around the train stations from Epping to Chatswood to ensure customers can easily travel to the shops, work, study, and back home reliably and safely,” he added.