Driverless M1 Metro Line: First Passenger Test, Easter Closure

0:00Sydney's massive M1 Metro line is wrapping up its final 13-kilometer stretch in the southwest, turning a century old heavy rail into A. Driverless system at a total project cost blowing out to $23 billion. Wildlife keeps popping up as a big headache, with bin chickens, or ibises, kittens, and even possums wandering into the corridor between Sydney and Bankstown. This week, they ran the first passenger test from Bankstown to Merrickville, hitting speeds up to 100 kilometers per hour, carrying, politicians, and marking a historic step forward. Commuters are fed up after months on unreliable pink replacement buses since the old T3 line shut in September last year, adding 15 to 20. Minus the trips amid high fuel prices, pushing folks toward public transport. Testing ramps up now, with over half of the needed 30,000 kilometers done, checking signals, platform doors, and those tricky hydraulic gap. Fillers at eight stations to keep driverless trains safe.

1:02Over the Easter long weekend, they'll close the line from Tallahong to Sidenham for four days to link everything up, paving the way for an opening in. The second half of this year, despite earlier delays, Sydney news today, powered by AI bringing you what matters. I'm Corey with the story.