Sydney Metro City M1 Line Records 100 Million Journeys

Sydney Metro has recorded more than 100 million passenger trips on the M1 City metro line since services began running beneath the CBD in August 2024.

This reflects combined travel by commuters, residents and visitors using the automated rail service across its expanded corridor.

Weekday usage has averaged 212,900 trips since the City section opened, with the busiest month reaching an average of 254,500 weekday trips.

The line operates around 2,650 services each week and has covered 10.17 million kilometres in total running distance. Reported on-time performance has averaged 99.51 percent, while customer satisfaction scores have remained at or above 98 percent across survey periods.

Mid-week morning peak periods are the most heavily used, particularly between 8am and 9am on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. The most frequently travelled journey is between Sydenham and Central. Martin Place has become the busiest city station on the line, with about 25,400 weekday trips on average, moving ahead of Central in metro-only counts.

Construction and upgrade works are continuing on the metro extension from Sydenham to Bankstown, with services scheduled to begin in the second half of this year. The project includes 13.5 kilometres of additional rail and upgrades to ten stations along the southwest corridor.

Projected travel times published for the extension indicate reduced journey durations on several routes. Bankstown to Central is estimated at 28 minutes, Belmore to Gadigal at 22 minutes, Dulwich Hill to Victoria Cross at 21 minutes, Canterbury to Chatswood at 31 minutes, and Campsie to Macquarie University at 44 minutes.

Conversion of the former T3 Bankstown line is reported to be 80 percent complete. Platform screen door testing has reached 85 percent completion. Fit-out works at stations are continuing, with tiling nearly 70 percent complete. All 130 passenger information displays and help points have been installed, along with 91 CCTV cameras.

On-track testing is also under way, with two trains currently operating in trial mode and simulated passenger exercises in progress. Additional trains are expected to join the testing program.

Several planned weekend closures are scheduled to support integration works between the existing M1 services and the southwest extension. Full line closures are planned for 21–22 February and for two weekends in March: 7–8 and 21–22 March.