Sydney's Southwest Metro: $23B Project, Free Buses, and Late 2024 Launch

0:00Sydney's southwest link buses have been hustling hard since the T3 rail line shut down between Bankstown and Sidenham back in September 20, 24. These pink rides, mixing all stops and express routes, haul up to 60,000 commuters daily for free, and now the bills hit an extra 100, million dollars for operations, marshals, traffic control, and gear like marquees. The government's extending these replacement buses, while they iron out the switch to metro service on that 13-kilometer stretch, transport. Minister John Graham calls it a tricky brownfield project on a 100-year-old line with built-in contingency cash and no exact opening date beyond late this year. Locals in Sydney, southwest have shown real patients through the hassle, and Graham straight up, no apologies for free rides during the disruption. Meanwhile, opposition Treasury spokesman Scott Farlow's pressing for a firm metro launch date if taxpayers are footing this bus tab.

1:00Testing on the southwest metro sections paused until May 1st to wrap up platform gap fillers, wiring and signals 1,140 of those fillers alone. Once it restarts early next month, expect full M1 line closures on weekends, May 9th 10th and 16th 17th, hitting almost 1.5 million weekly passengers. The whole city and southwest M1 metro, 66 kilometers from Tallahong to Sidenham, now balloons to $23 billion total of 1.4 billion from before. Keep an eye out, those trains should roll with passengers late this year, easing the bus grind for good. Sydney News Today, powered by AI bringing you what matters.