Sydney’s Southwest Metro will open on Friday 30 October, with services officially beginning at 4:31am, according to Sydney Metro, and the first passenger service departing Bankstown station, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The date follows final safety approval from the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator, Sydney Metro said. Premier Chris Minns said the $23 billion project would officially open on 30 October, ABC News reported.
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Ten Stations, One Line
The line runs through Bankstown, Punchbowl, Wiley Park, Lakemba, Belmore, Campsie, Canterbury, Hurlstone Park, Dulwich Hill and Marrickville, according to Sydney Metro. With it, the network becomes one continuous 66-kilometre line from Bankstown through the CBD to the northwest.
Trains will run every four minutes in weekday peaks, every five minutes during the day and every ten minutes in the evenings and on weekends, Sydney Metro said. On the first weekend, 31 October to 1 November, services are boosted to every seven minutes, the Herald reported.
Transport Minister John Graham spoke about what that frequency means for passengers.
“You won’t need to check the timetable, you’ll simply be able to turn up at the station and jump on a metro within minutes,” he said, ABC News reported.
Faster Trips
Sydney Metro has published travel times for three journeys. Bankstown to Central will take 28 minutes, a saving of six. Canterbury to Chatswood will take 31 minutes, saving 23, and Lakemba to Victoria Cross 37 minutes, saving 24.
The line will have 50 per cent more passenger capacity than the T3 Bankstown Line, and about 48,000 trips are expected across the metro line in the 8am to 9am weekday peak, according to Sydney Metro.
Cost and Delays
The T3 line between Sydenham and Bankstown closed in September 2024 for the conversion, which was initially meant to take 12 months, ABC News reported.
The replacement buses cost taxpayers about $200 million, according to the Herald. They will stay on for the first three days of metro services.
Minns spoke about the difficulty of the project.
“This was always going to be difficult,” Minns said, 7NEWS reported.
He also spoke about the part of the city the line serves.
“This is about giving people in south-west Sydney the same fast, reliable public transport connections that other parts of our city enjoy,” he said, according to ABC News.
Graham turned to the buses that have carried passengers since the line closed.
“The pink buses have really played a big role moving people around, but the time for them is over,” Graham said, ABC News reported.
Graham has ruled out a fare-free day, 7NEWS reported.
Teething Issues Expected
The government has warned of possible “minor teething issues”, ABC News reported.
Some platform screen doors will stay closed at first: three at Dulwich Hill and one each at Canterbury, Campsie and Marrickville, according to the Herald. The paper reported that 170 gap fillers have been installed at eight stations.
An opening celebration runs from 10am to 1pm on Sunday 1 November at Bankstown and Dulwich Hill stations, Sydney Metro said.
More Sydney news is in our Sydney archive.
The first train is scheduled to leave Bankstown at 4:31am on Friday 30 October, with replacement buses running alongside the metro for its first three days.
Sources: Sydney Metro, “The wait is almost over: Southwest Metro gets official opening date!” (https://www.sydneymetro.info/article/wait-almost-over-southwest-metro-gets-official-opening-date); ABC News, “Sydney’s Southwest Metro line to open to commuters at end of the month”, 22 October 2026 (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-22/nsw-south-west-metro-opening-date-october-30/107294482); The Sydney Morning Herald, “Opening date locked in for final stage of Sydney’s M1 metro line”, 22 October 2026 (https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/opening-date-locked-in-for-final-stage-of-sydney-s-m1-metro-line-20261022-p61240.html); 7NEWS, “Sydney’s $23 billion Southwest Metro rail line to finally open after long delays”, 22 October 2026 (https://7news.com.au/news/sydneys-new-23-billion-southwest-metro-opens-after-long-delays-c-23058200)
Photo: MDRX, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
A Sydney Metro train near Kellyville in June 2019, on the line’s north-west section. Trains of the same type will run through to Bankstown.
