The New South Wales Government's Sydney Metro program is the biggest public transport project in Australia. It is a fully-automated metro rail system, the first in Australia, and will increase Sydney’s rail capacity by up to 60 per cent by 2024.
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Sydney Metro Northwest ($7.3 billion)
Sydney Metro Northwest, formerly the North West Rail Link, is the first stage of Sydney Metro, that became operational in 2019.
The project was originally costed at $8.3 billion.
Sydney Metro Northwest features:
- 36 kilometres of track between Chatswood and Rouse Hill
- single-deck trains with about 50% more hourly capacity than double-deck carriages
- 15 kilometres of tunnels
- 13 stops including eight new stations
- 4000 commuter parking spaces
- a train stabling facility
- a four kilometre ‘skytrain’ viaduct, and
- four kilometres of bridges.
Major packages awarded under the Northwest project can be found in the procurement section below.
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Sydney Metro City & Southwest ($20.5 billion)
This project extends metro services from where Sydney Metro Northwest ends in Chatswood to Bankstown in South West Sydney.
The project was originally costed at $12.5 billion.
There are two components of Sydney Metro City & Southwest:
- Chatswood to Sydenham, and
- Sydenham to Bankstown upgrade.
Scope of works for Chatswood to Sydenham comprises:
- 15.5 kilometres of twin tunnel
- Crows Nest Station
- Victoria Cross Station
- Barangaroo Station
- Martin Place Station
- Pitt Street Station
- Waterloo Station, and
- underground platforms and upgrades at Central Station.
Scope of works for Sydenham to Bankstown comprises:
- upgrade of 13 kilometres of rail line, and
- conversion of 11 stations between Sydenham and Bankstown.
Major packages awarded under the City and Southwest project can be found in the procurement section or major contract pages below.
The Sydney Metro City & Southwest project cost range has been set at $11.5 billion to $12.5 billion in its final business case. The final project budget is to be confirmed once all major contracts are awarded.
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Sydney Metro West ($25.32 billion)
Sydney Metro West will deliver approximately 24 kilometre of underground metro railway connecting Parramatta to Sydney CBD. The proposed Sydney Metro West will work together with the existing T1 Western Line between the Sydney CBD and Parramatta.
The project was originally costed at $13 billion.
The alignment comprises stops at:
- Westmead
- Parramatta
- Sydney Olympic Park
- North Strathfield
- Burwood North
- Five Dock
- The Bays
- Pyrmont, and
- Sydney CBD.
These involve new constructions and upgrades to existing stations.
As of October 2020, the main project packages:
- Trains, Signalling, Maintenance and Operations (TSMo)
- Line-wide systems and depot package
- Integrated Station Development packages at Parramatta, Sydney Olympic Park, The Bays Precinct and Sydney CBD
- a single stations and associated developments package for remaining stops
- three tunnelling contracts - Western, Central and Eastern packages, and
- Enabling works (multiple contract packages).
The Government will safeguard the ability to extend Sydney Metro to the south-east of the Sydney CBD via Zetland, serving the Green Square town centre, as well as towards the west beyond Westmead.
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Sydney Metro Western Sydney Airport ($11 billion)
Formerly known as Sydney Metro Greater West, the Western Sydney Airport Line will see a new metro rail line run from St Marys on the existing T1 heavy rail line to the Western Sydney Aerotropolis near Bringelly, via Western Sydney Airport (WSA).
The Line comprises of following stops:
- upgraded existing station at St Marys
- Orchard Hills
- Luddenham
- Airport Business Park
- Airport Terminal, and
- Western Sydney Aerotropolis.
The scope also includes a new stabling and maintenance facility and an operational control centre along the alignment.
As of October 2020, the main project packages (with procurement model) are:
- Stations, Systems, Trains, Operations and Maintenance (PPP)
- Station Boxes and Tunnelling (D&C Contract)
- Surface and Civil Alignment Works (D&C Contract), and
- Advanced Enabling Works (Various packages).
The estimated total cost of the line is $11 billion. Planning investigations continue for the North South Rail Link, extending from WSA Aerotropolis to Macarthur, and the South West Rail Extension, extending from the Aerotropolis to Leppington. Should these future stages proceed as metro projects, the full Sydney Metro Western Sydney Airport Line is estimated to cost between $15 and $20 billion.
Key Dates
Jun 2013 | Contract Award: Northwest TSC contract |
2013 | Construction Commencement |
Dec 2013 | Contract Award: Northwest SVC contract |
Sep 2014 | Contract Award: Northwest OTS PPP contract |
Jun 2017 | Contract Award: City and Southwest TSE contract |
Sep 2017 | Contract Award: City and Southwest SSJ contract |
Mar 2018 | Contract Award: Central Station Main Works |
Sep 2018 | Contract Award: Martin Place ISD |
Nov 2018 | Contract Award: City and Southwest Line-wide Works |
Dec 2018 | Contract Award: Victoria Cross ISD contract |
Sep 2019 | Contract Award: Pitt Street ISD contract |
Dec 2019 | Contract Award: City and Southwest TSOM PPP contract |
Dec 2019 | Contract Award: Waterloo ISD |
Oct 2020 | Contract Award Crows Nest ISD |
Feb 2021 | Contract Award: City and Southwest SSC Main Works |
Mar 2021 | Contract Award: Barangaroo Station |
Nov 2022 | ROIs Open - Sydney Metro West Partnership |
Nov 2022 | ROIs Close - Sydney Metro West Partnership |
Jun 2023 | RFTs Open - Sydney Metro West Partnership |
2024 | Expected Construction Completion – Metro City and Southwest |
Dec 2026 | Expected Construction Completion – Metro WSA Line |
Dec 2032 | Expected Construction Completion – Metro West |
Funding contributions
Federal Government | |
NSW Government | |
Sydney Metro – Northwest was fully funded by the NSW Government. Initial project cost was slated to be $8.3 billion, with the project being delivered $1 billion under budget. Cost escalations have seen the funding committments increase from the NSW Government. However, with total estimated costs not in the 2023-24 Budget and an upcoming Sydney Metro review total funding committments from the NSW Government are yet to be confirmed. |
Procurement
Procuring Agency: | Sydney Metro |
Procurement note: | Sydney Metro is an operating agency owned by the NSW Government and is part of the NSW Transport cluster, operating similar to Sydney Trains. In November 2022, Sydney Metro announced it would procure a total of eight Sydney Metro - West packages through a new model - the Sydney Metro West Partnership. |
Related contracts: |
PROJECT HISTORY
Jun 2013 | The NSW Government awarded the $1.15 billion Tunnels and Stations Civil works contract for Sydney Metro – Northwest to a Thiess and John Holland joint venture with Dragados. |
Dec 2013 | The NSW Government awarded the $340 million Surface and Viaduct Civil works contract for Sydney Metro – Northwest to Impregilo-Salini Joint Venture. |
Sep 2014 | The NSW Government awarded the $3.7 billion Operations, Trains and Systems (OTS) Public Private Partnership (PPP) contract for Sydney Metro – Northwest to Northwest Rapid Transit, comprising MTR, John Holland, Leighton Contractors, UGL Rail Services and Plenary Group. |
Jun 2017 | The NSW Government awarded a $2.81 billion Tunnel and Station Excavation contract for Sydney Metro – City and Southwest to a joint venture comprising John Holland, CPB and Ghella. The contract value was later amended to $3.4 billion. |
2017 | An initial round of the industry engagement took place in the second half of 2017 to build awareness of the project and to obtain market information to shape its scope and definition, to ensure the desired transport and land-use outcomes are met. |
Sep 2017 | The NSW Government awarded a $301 million for Sydenham Station and Junction Works to John Holland Laing O'Rourke. The contract value was later amended to $409 million. |
Mar 2018 | The NSW Government awarded a $955 million contract for Central Station Main Works to Laing O'Rourke. |
Apr 2018 | The initial delivery strategy for Sydney Metro – West was released, comprising an initial packaging strategy with a range of options subject to further analysis and industry consultation. Following consultation, a base case delivery strategy was released in December 2018. |
May 2018 | The 2018-19 NSW Budget reserved $3 billion with $28.1 million allocated in FY2018-19 to progress planning and final business case development for Sydney Metro – West. The allocation will allow Sydney Metro to start designing new metro stations and precincts for Metro West, and commence planning approvals and ongoing community and industry consultation. |
Jul 2018 | The Sydney Metro authority was established to deliver the Sydney Metro program of works. |
Sep 2018 | The NSW Government awarded a $87 million contract for lifts and escalators for Sydney Metro – City and Southwest section to Thyssenkrupp. |
Sep 2018 | The NSW Government accepted Macquarie’s unsolicited bid for Martin Place Integrated Station Development, awarding them a $379 million contract. Lendlease was appointed by Macquarie to deliver the development. |
Nov 2018 | The NSW Government awarded a $1.4 billion contract for Sydney Metro – City and Southwest Line-wide Works to Systems Connect, a joint venture comprising CPB and UGL. The contract value was later amended to $1.5 billion. |
Dec 2018 | The NSW Government awarded a $476 million contract for Victoria Cross Integrated Station Development (ISD) to Lendlease. |
Mar 2019 | The NSW Government committed an additional $3.2 billion to Sydney Metro West during the 2019 State election campaign. |
Mar 2019 | During the 2019 election campaign, the NSW Government also announced that it would continue to plan for future stages of the Western Sydney Airport Line, from St Mary's to Rouse Hill via Schofields, and Aerotropolis to Macarthur, in the next term of government. |
May 2019 | Sydney Metro – Northwest opened on 26 May 2019. The NSW Government confirmed that the project was delivered $1 billion under budget. |
Jun 2019 | The 2019-20 NSW Budget allocated $6.4 billion over four years for Sydney Metro – West. |
Jun 2019 | The 2019-20 NSW Budget also allocated $2.0 billion over four years to Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport line, subject to completion of the business case, to commence construction. |
Jun 2019 | The NSW Government awarded a $370 million contract for Crows Nest Integrated Station Development (ISD) to AW Edwards. |
Sep 2019 | The NSW Government awarded a $463 million contract for Pitt Street Integrated Station Development (ISD) to a consortium of Oxford Properties, CPB Contractors and Grocon. |
Dec 2019 | Sydney Metro reached financial close for Sydney Metro – City and Southwest – Trains, Systems, Operations and Maintenance (TSOM) PPP package with Northwest Rapid Transit. This extends NRT’s existing PPP contract for Sydney Metro Northwest. The extension contract was valued at $3.7 billion, including $1.7 billion for additional fleet and core rail systems as well as a $2 billion operations and maintenance component to operate the combined North West and City and Southwest lines until 2034. |
Dec 2019 | The NSW Government awarded a $299 million contract for Waterloo Integrated Station Development (ISD) to a joint venture between John Holland and Mirvac. |
Apr 2020 | The first Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Sydney Metro – West went on exhibition on 30 April with the community able to provide feedback until 26 June. This is one of three EISs for the project due to its scale, and the community will have further opportunities to comment. |
Jun 2020 | The NSW and Commonwealth governments announced a further $3.5 billion in funding for Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport project. |
Sep 2020 | The NSW Government appointed Ricardo and Seoul Metro as the Shadow Operator for Sydney Metro West and Western Sydney Airport lines. The Shadow Operator will provide advice and technical input from the viewpoint of the prospective operations and maintenance contractor. |
Oct 2020 | A refined packaging of Sydney Metro – West was released during Transport Infrastructure Pipeline 2025 industry briefing. |
Oct 2020 | Procurement began to appoint an independent rectifier for Sydney Metro – West. |
Nov 2020 | The 2020-21 NSW Budget allocated $9.2 billion over four years for Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport, including $810 million in FY2020-21. |
Nov 2020 | The 2020-21 NSW Budget allocated $8.3 billion over the forward estimates for Sydney Metro – City and Southwest, including $2.7 billion in FY2020-21. |
Nov 2020 | The 2020-21 NSW Budget allocated $10.4 billion over four years for Sydney Metro – West, including $2.1 billion in FY2020-21. |
Nov 2020 | The NSW Government commenced the procurement processes for Geotechnical Investigations Services and Integration and Delivery Partner Services for Sydney Metro – West, with both Requests for Tender (RFT) closing on 23 December 2020. |
Dec 2020 | The NSW Government commenced procurement for Planning Approval Services for Sydney Metro – West, with the Request for Tender closing on 1 February 2021. |
Feb 2021 | The NSW Government Awarded a $227 million contract for corridor works within the City and Southwest – Southwest Stations and Corridor (SSC) package. The contract was awarded to John Holland and Laing O’Rourke. |
Mar 2021 | Infrastructure Australia concluded its assessment of the Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport Line business case, and chose not to add the project to its Infrastructure Priority List. Corridor preservation for Western Sydney Airport Line is identified in the Infrastructure Priority List as a High Priority Initiative. |
Mar 2021 | The NSW Government granted planning approvals for two components of the Sydney Metro – West project. The project concept for Sydney Metro – West, from Westmead to the Sydney CBD, was approved, as well as two sections of station excavation and tunnelling from Westmead to The Bays Precinct. This incorporates the Central Tunnelling Package (CTP) and the Western Tunnelling Package (WTP). |
Mar 2021 | The NSW Government awarded a $217 million contract for Barangaroo Station to BESIX Watpac. |
Mar 2021 | Sydney Metro called for tenders for planning approval services for the State Significant Development (SSD) Concept Development Applications for five over station developments on Sydney Metro West. Stations at Parramatta, Sydney Olympic Park, The Bays Precinct and Sydney CBD were confirmed to comprise over station developments in October 2020. The fifth identified over station development has not been publicly disclosed. However, a new station at Pyrmont was confirmed in December 2020, with its development and delivery type still being finalised. |
May 2021 | Turner and Townsend, HKA, Deloitte and LogiKal were appointed to provide Project Management Office Services to Sydney Metro. The appointment is for a term of up to six years and will encompass Sydney Metro City & Southwest, Sydney Metro West, Sydney Metro Western Sydney Airport, and studies into future network expansion. |
Jun 2021 | SNC-Lavalin, in partnership with HKA and Infrastructure Nation was appointed as the Integration and Delivery Partner for the Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport project. |
Jun 2021 | NSW Government selected Betchel as its Integration and Delivery Partner for Sydney Metro West. |
Jun 2021 | The 2021-22 NSW Budget allocated $26.1 billion over the next four years for Sydney Metro. Of this, $12 billion was allocated for Sydney Metro – West, with $2.9 billion in FY2021-22. In addition, $8 billion was allocated for Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport over four years, with $943 million allocated to the project in FY2021-22. The NSW Budget also allocated $6.1 over four years – including $3.1 billion in FY2021-22 – to complete works on Sydney Metro – City and Southwest. |
Jul 2021 | The NSW Government granted planning approval for the Sydney Metro - Western Sydney Airport Line. |
Sep 2021 | The Federal Government granted planning approval for the Sydney Metro - Western Sydney Airport Line. |
Mar 2022 | Sydney Metro released the rail infrastructure, stations, precincts and operations Environmental Impact Statement for Sydney Metro - West for public consultation, closing on 4 May. |
May 2022 | Sydney Metro called for Registrations of Interest (ROIs) for the Sydney Metro West - Financial Structuring Advisor contract, closing on 10 June. Separately, Sydney Metro issued a Request for Tenders (RFT) for the design and construction of the Sydney Metro Integrated Project Office at St Marys, as part of the Western Sydney Airport Line, closing on 8 July. |
Nov 2022 | Sydney Metro hosted an industry briefing in which it called for ROIs for the remainder of the Sydney Metro - West packages. Sydney Metro announced they would procure the remaining packages through a Sydney Metro West Partnership model. Sydney Metro also shortlisted two bidders for the Sydney Metro – West – Hunter Street Station Precinct. |
Nov 2022 | Sydney Metro announced the completion of the 80-metre underground concourse which provides escalator access to Central Station's platforms 16 to 23. The pedestrian link also provides a connection between the lower northern concourse and the eastern suburbs railway concourse. |
Apr 2023 | The NSW Government has announced an independent review into the Sydney Metro Project. The Sydney Metro Review will examine value for money, delivery models, governance,and passenger impact of the Sydney Metro Project. The Review will make recommendations for the future implementation of the Sydney Metro and confirms cost increases to Sydney Metro West and City and Southwest. |
2022/03/18 - Sydney Metro - West EIS Summary
Transport Infrastructure Pipeline 2025
City and Southwest Business Case
NSW Future Transport Strategy 2056
NSW Infrastructure Strategy 2018-2038
Sydney Metro Western Sydney Airport – DITRDC investment page
2022/11/14
2021/06/02
2021/06/07
2018/03/07
2018/09/12
2018/09/10
2018/11/21
2018/12/21
2019/05/06
2019/09/17
2019/12/22
2019/12/04
2019/12/19
2020/10/19
2021/02/08
2021/03/15 (Barangaroo contract award)
2021/03/15 (Metro West planning approval)
2020/06/01
2020/04/30
2019/03/14
2019/03/07
2021/07/25
2021/09/22
2019/03/11
2018/06/19
2018/03/23
2016/11/14
2013/12/18
2014/09/18
2017/06/22
2017/09/21
2022/11/14
2023/04/13
2023/04/13 Sydney Metro Review announced and cost increases confirmed