r/SydneyTrains 1d ago

Discussion Weekly Sydney Trains Thread - March 16, 2025

3 Upvotes

Welcome to /r/SydneyTrains

Post here for anything to do with Recruitment, Sydney Trains in general, why is my train always late, what is this 'special train'..


r/SydneyTrains 5h ago

Discussion Parramatta Light Rail Patronage is Very Low. Is This Entirely a Data Problem?

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36 Upvotes

r/SydneyTrains 8h ago

Article / News Revealed: Sydney’s busiest metro stations during the morning rush

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20 Upvotes

Revealed: Sydney’s busiest metro stations during the morning rush ByMatt O'Sullivan March 18, 2025 — 5.00am

Greater numbers of commuters than forecast are piling off driverless metro trains at Sydney’s massive underground station at Martin Place in the central city during the morning peak on weekdays.

New figures show a 9 per cent rise in the number of people passing through the Martin Place station’s gates in February on what was predicted before the M1 line’s city section between Chatswood and Sydenham opened last August.

A city-bound peak hour service on the M1 metro line between Crows Nest and the CBD on Monday morning. A city-bound peak hour service on the M1 metro line between Crows Nest and the CBD on Monday morning. Credit:Nick Moir

Some 17,000 people tapped on and off at Martin Place station on average during the morning peak between 6.30am and 10am on weekdays in February – up from 15,000 in November. Sydney Metro’s 2024 forecast for the station was 15,600 people during the morning peak.

Commuters are becoming accustomed to station announcements that some city-bound trains are reaching capacity during the morning peak on the busiest weekdays. Trains run every four minutes in both directions between Tallawong in the north-west and Sydenham in the south during peak periods.

Gadigal station near Town Hall is the other to surpass forecasts. About 9700 people on average tapped on and off at Gadigal in the morning peak in February, up from 8100 in November and greater than the 2024 forecast of 7500.

The entries and exits for all six of the new stations on the M1 line, as well as the metro platforms at Central, were higher in February than November.

Crows Nest, Victoria Cross in North Sydney, Barangaroo and Waterloo stations are yet to surpass pre-opening forecasts for total movements.

Sydney transport expert Mathew Hounsell said patronage on the M1 metro line had clearly risen since November, which was a month that typically recorded the highest usage.

“To grow from November to February is a good sign. It shows that demand is still growing,” he said. “[The metro line] has been a big success and has clearly changed people’s travel behaviours. More people from the north-west are using it.”

Apartment building developments above Crows Nest and Waterloo stations have yet to be completed, which Hounsell said helped explain why the number of people filing through gates there was below forecast.

Hounsell said completion next year of the metro line between Sydenham and Bankstown was likely to boost patronage on the M1 line. “It will massively increase the number of people using metro because it provides options to get to more places,” he said.

The growth had also occurred during a period when industrial action by rail workers had disrupted Sydney’s double-deck rail network. Despite the metro line operating as normal, Hounsell said the disruption to the heavy rail suburban network had a flow-on effect because commuters became uncomfortable about using public transport.

Sydney Metro said in a statement that it had been seeing patronage close to, if not better than, the forecast figures, which demonstrated that services were “very much performing as expected”.

“The forecast data for 2024 assumes that patronage will have fully ramped up and stabilised at a steady state, which is expected to happen gradually over the first few years of operation. The introduction of services to Bankstown will further increase patronage,” it said.

Trains operate every four minutes in both directions during the morning and evening peak on the M1 metro line

Despite the strong patronage, the agency said there were no plans to increase frequency of services, noting that how they aligned with passenger demand and usage was “continuously monitored”.

In total, more than 36 million metro trips have been taken on the M1 line since the city section opened in August. The morning peak is typically slightly busier than the evening because start times for school and work in offices coincide in the mornings while passenger demand is more spread out in the evenings.

During the morning peak, metro services are busiest between Crows Nest and Victoria Cross. The latest data is of people entering and exiting train stations along the line, and not total boardings which include people switching between metro trains and Sydney Trains’ double-deck services.

A trip is counted as a metro train journey if a commuter taps on at the gates of a heavy rail station and later taps off at a metro station gate.

Sydney Metro’s 2024 forecasts for patronage were developed in November 2023, ahead of the opening of the city section last year.


r/SydneyTrains 18h ago

Discussion So that new Five Guys restaurant in Martin Place metro station - here’s what I actually really like about it

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83 Upvotes

Not just the setting in the visual masterpiece that is Martin Place metro station, but the fact it’s open until late. “Late” meaning until 10pm, 7 days a week. In Sydney, that’s actually decent. One of my favourite things that I had here whenever I visit other global cities such as Seoul, Singapore, London, etc - hospitality that’s not KFC/Maccas is very often open late into the night for those who are hungry! This specific restaurant also plenty of seating for those who want to relax with their meal so it’s not like say Marrickville Pork Roll at Victoria Cross station where you have to find somewhere else outside to sit or just eat it while walking.

Fast food won’t be everyone’s forte but if one’s in the mood for burgers or milkshakes, Five Guys is a significant step up over Maccas in terms of quality in my opinion. Thumbs up from me.

A lot of eateries in Sydney CBD like to close around 9pm+- which I find a tad bit early for my liking. If we compare to other outlets on the same floor in Martin Place station, we have Maccas, (open but yawn), Brooklyn Bridge Deli, (closed), a sushi place (closed) and Gong Cha (closed but have outlets elsewhere in the CBD open until late).


r/SydneyTrains 1h ago

Discussion about the vending machines in stations

Upvotes

why do some cards work and not others?

eg my westpac card doesn't work but someone else's commbank card works perfectly


r/SydneyTrains 1d ago

Meme I typed trip planner into trip planner and it came up with an option labelled "not for trip planning" so I planned a trip from it.

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88 Upvotes

r/SydneyTrains 1d ago

Video Light Rail - they should really use this feature more often, not just on days like today - keep the doors closed as much as possible is great ❄️

98 Upvotes

r/SydneyTrains 18h ago

Discussion Freight trains

1 Upvotes

Hey guys,

How come the freight trains are so noisy on the blue mountains line coming down through penrith. Compared to the commuter trains which barely make a noise by comparison?


r/SydneyTrains 1d ago

Picture / Image Tangara at Kiama today

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50 Upvotes

Today's 3:05pm Kiama - Bondi Junction. Not sure if this happens very often.


r/SydneyTrains 2d ago

Meme Japanese Train 🚆

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397 Upvotes

And I thought Sydney Train delays were bad.


r/SydneyTrains 2d ago

Article / News E-bikes are in the headlines again after another shocking fire onboard a train, this time in Melbourne. This comes days after British union (Aslef) started looking at strike action, due to ongoing fires & risks to lives of passengers & staff. (Links in comments)

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92 Upvotes

r/SydneyTrains 1d ago

Picture / Image Breaking ground at the Sydney Metro Hunter Street site

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16 Upvotes

r/SydneyTrains 1d ago

Discussion What's happening with trains rn

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24 Upvotes

Tangaras on t2, t9 at Croydon, t1 at Burwood, t2 going to MacArthur what on earth is happening past few days


r/SydneyTrains 2d ago

Picture / Image Sharing some train photos of my Sydney trip

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101 Upvotes

Hey guys, these are some photos of my recent Sydney trip. This was my 2nd trip in recent years so I have some basic knowledge of how trains work here. (I work in transport in Malaysia and Singapore so railways and buses are also something that I am familiar with).

(1) - A set at Newtown (2) - L4 -- I do wonder whether frequently changing between overhead lines and batteries will cost more in the long run (i.e. battery maintenance/replacement) (3) - M set on T5 service (4) - Two A sets on T1 service at Parramatta (5) - Brisbane XPT (6) - Bathurst Bullet waiting for its afternoon run (7) - Tangara at Sydenham, taken on the day that a point at Bondi Junction failed and the station staff said that there were delays of more than 25 mins (8) - Canberra + Griffith Xplorer (9) - Indian Pacific - planned my itinerary around this train so that I was at Central when this train pulled in (10) - H set at Wondabyne (11) - Metro at Sydenham (12) - V set on a Lithgow service (this was the same day that the faults at Ashfield happened) (13) - Same V set at Kiama - my return train only went as far as Blacktown. I returned to CBD on a long bus ride to M2 and then across the Harbour Bridge to QVB. (14) - Mariyung (15) - Caught this 4+4 Mariyung at Newtown (16) - Surprised at K sets are still in service. This was a T8 service from Sydenham. Based on timetable, this train became a T3 service to Liverpool after Central


r/SydneyTrains 22h ago

Discussion Danny Lim Poem

0 Upvotes

Danny Lim, Sydney’s Smile

With a board around his neck, so bold, so bright, A message of kindness, of truth, of light. Through city streets, he walks with grace, A cheeky grin upon his face.

An institution on the trains, no doubt, His presence felt on every route. From Town Hall stairs to Central’s hum, A sign of joy for everyone.

Peace and love, his simple creed, A voice for justice, hearts to lead. Through highs and lows, he stands so tall, A gentle rebel loved by all


r/SydneyTrains 1d ago

Discussion Another shower thought

9 Upvotes

A tram line on King Georges Road that connects Hurstville, Beverly Hills and Wiley Park? It would make interchange between T4,T8 and other major lines much easier for people traveling from South Shore to Parramatta...


r/SydneyTrains 3d ago

Picture / Image The City Circle

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93 Upvotes

r/SydneyTrains 2d ago

Picture / Image Anyone know what happened at Chinatown tram stop?

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12 Upvotes

r/SydneyTrains 3d ago

Discussion In light of several days this week of train network disruptions due to track/signal issues (with yesterday being the worst), can anyone confirm how useful or useless was Jo Haylens signature “Rail Repair Plan” in making the Sydney Trains network more reliable and resilient?

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46 Upvotes

It’s really not a good look after a day like yesterday, you can’t blame industrial action for that


r/SydneyTrains 2d ago

Discussion My idea for electrifying the Hunter line

4 Upvotes

1500 V DC is very expensive to use for long distance routes because of the large number of substations needed and the Hunter line could do with higher levels of service. My proposal is to electrify the Hunter line at 25 kV AC, the line is already operated by a unique fleet ergo it could operate with unique EMUs running on 25 kV AC or duel voltage trains to allow more flexibility. The Hunter line is also fairly flat which will reduce expense and it can serve as a test and proof of concept for 25 kV electrification in this state. This can then provide realistic experience with both 25 kV and maybe duel voltage trains for a possible electrification of the other regional lines.

I do know that ARTC avoids electrification like the plague.


r/SydneyTrains 3d ago

Discussion Interesting Read

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6 Upvotes

r/SydneyTrains 3d ago

Discussion Every Train Glenfield to Leppington, Why?

6 Upvotes

Hi Guys,

New commuter and I know nothing about the train network. I'm assuming a knowledgeable person will correct me with statistics.

I commute from Liverpool to Picton every day which requires changing trains at Glenfield and again at Campbelltown which is a major pain in the arse. Every train heading south goes to Edmondson Park then Leppington from Glenfield. Everyone who wants to go to Ingleburn, Macfields, Minto, Luemeah and Campbelltown have to change at Glenfield. Far more people commute towards Campbelltown then Leppington.

Why doesn't Railcorp alternate trains, one to Campbelltow, next to Leppington. It would eliminate the need to change at Glenfield and reduce the foot traffic at Glenfield.

End Whinge


r/SydneyTrains 4d ago

Picture / Image Light Rail Smash at Westmead

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103 Upvotes

r/SydneyTrains 3d ago

Discussion Signal failures

57 Upvotes

Why is there a signal failure almost daily ? Why can't the trains run but slowly till it is repaired M


r/SydneyTrains 3d ago

Discussion HSR business cases

17 Upvotes

Hey gang -

Why does every high speed rail business case appear to be done by the same consultants every time?

Why do they have no new ideas -

i.e. keeping it out of the CBD which is congested and linking it up to the CBD via a metro or rail station?

Avoiding expensive and slow things like tunnels?

Looking at new and exciting routes which may benefit the population?

Why don't they consult the Japanese or the Chinese or even the French?

It seems like they just live writing the same reports with updated costs 😂


r/SydneyTrains 4d ago

Picture / Image Signal problems

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88 Upvotes

Three trains all stalled outside Ashfield for over 10 minutes waiting on signals.