Sydney Metro Southwest Opens with Alstom Trains and Signalling

Sydney Metro Southwest has begun passenger services, completing a 66km metro connection between the city’s northwest, central business district and southwest.

The opening connects the M1 North West, City and Southwest sections into a single line serving 31 stations. It brings high-frequency metro services to Sydney’s southwest for the first time, providing direct cross-city connections and reducing journey times for passengers.

Alstom supplied the trains, signalling technology and maintenance services supporting the new section. Its scope included the installation of its Urbalis communications-based train control (CBTC) signalling system, alongside the provision and maintenance of Metropolis metro trains.

The Southwest extension incorporates a 130-year-old railway corridor, with ten stations upgraded as part of the project. The work has adapted the existing railway infrastructure for metro operations while retaining the heritage features of the stations.

Alstom’s involvement in Sydney Metro dates back more than a decade. Following the opening of the Northwest line in May 2019, the company was awarded a contract that same year to supply 23 additional six-car Metropolis trains and Urbalis signalling technology for the City and Southwest extensions.

The contract covered project management, design, manufacturing, testing and commissioning. Alstom also maintains the metro fleet at Metro Trains Sydney’s Tallawong depot.

The introduction of CBTC signalling on the Southwest section represents Alstom’s second deployment of the technology on an existing railway corridor in Australia. The company previously delivered a brownfield CBTC installation for Melbourne’s Metro Tunnel project.

Guillaume Tritter, Managing Director of Alstom Australia and New Zealand, said:

The journey to Sydney Metro Southwest passenger service has been built on deep partnership, trust and the commitment of people across Alstom and our partners across Sydney Metro, Metro Trains Sydney, NRT Corporation and MTR.

The opening of Sydney Metro Southwest, powered by our global technology, expertise and local knowhow, is an historic moment in Sydney’s passenger transport history. We take great pride in the contribution of our teams to this moment and the positive impact on people, communities and industry that the opening of Sydney Metro Southwest will have for years to come.

The opening completes another stage in Sydney’s expansion of its metro network.