If you’re boarding the Sydney Metro (I’ll mostly use the line number M1 for short) for the first time from a CBD station, the first thing you see is the grand architecture.
It’s impressive, but you also get a sense that they have designed it for scale to carry large numbers of people through the stations.
In contrast with Melbourne, they have named the interchange stations after the existing Sydney Trains stations.
So there’s no confusion about the M1 running to Central – a clear benefit over the confusion we’ve seen in Melbourne from people not understanding that Town Hall and State Library stations are adjacent to existing stations at Flinders Street and Melbourne Central.
That said, I did not try the connection at Martin Place (Sydney Trains T4 to M1).
But the interchange at Central from train to metro was pretty seamless, even if it involves a bit of walking and a few escalators.
The signage is good. The use of TMLBF for the various modes helps with navigation.
Many of the M1 platforms look similar to Melbourne’s new metro stations. Island platforms with platform screen doors, not a great deal of seating. Even the same rubbish bins.
The trains are similar to other trains elsewhere around the world; you don’t really notice that they’re driverless unless you’re at the front of the train… which of course I had to try!
The basic weekend and evening frequency of every 10 minutes is similar to the Melbourne Metro tunnel but the weekday off-peak (interpeak, eg midday) frequency is far better at five minutes.
Peak frequency is similar at about every 4 minutes, but the Sydney Metro does not have V/Line services disrupting the flow resulting in the 7 to 8 minute gaps that Melbourne has.
Melbourne protip: don’t catch a peak train just after one of those gaps if you don’t like crowds. Check the screens, there’s probably another train just behind it. … in fact this is something you can’t do in Sydney, because oddly, the screens on the platforms don’t have this information.
I didn’t have a chance to see all of the Sydney Metro line but I did visit Chatswood – which includes cross platform interchange with the existing T1/T9 suburban lines.
It’s important to remember that a metro line doesn’t exist in isolation. The quality of the connecting services counts for a lot – almost all Sydney suburban stations have trains every 15 minutes or better.
In public transport, the network effect is vital. The total utility of all the lines combined is far greater than the sum.
At the Sydney suburban M1 stations they also rely on connecting buses. They were trialling on demand bus routes but moved away from them as they found they are not very economically efficient to run at scale.
They’ve also built some pretty big station car parks which definitely do not scale… but they’ve fallen into the trap of building more. Just a few months ago they announced $160m for 1200 spaces, or an eye-watering $133,333 per space.
Sydney is building further Metro lines. The existing M1 line is being extended west to Bankstown (conversion of a suburban line) and two new lines are being built – from the CBD to Parramatta, and from St Marys to the new Western Sydney Airport.
The only solid plans in Melbourne for more heavy rail are the long-awaited extensions of suburban rail to Melton and the airport and of course the Suburban Rail Loop.
SRL is the only proposed standalone automated metro planned anywhere in Australia outside Sydney. But it’s quite different from any current of proposed Sydney Metro line, with far fewer stations (meaning it reaches fewer people directly, and means fewer development precincts and fewer overall benefits).
The other point worth noting about Sydney’s Metro is that patronage is going gangbusters, especially since the city section opened in August 2024.
An average of 238,000 trips on weekdays (as of July 2026) makes it the busiest single public transport route in the country. That one line therefore carries about a third of the number of passengers as the 15ish lines of Melbourne’s entire suburban rail network.
I expect over time we’ll also see strong patronage growth for Melbourne’s Metro tunnel. It could be better, but it does represent a big upgrade over what was there before, especially for the western side of town.
It turns out people like a fast frequent reliable transit route through the heart of a busy city. Australian cities could do with more like this.
Update: Corrected text about the Martin Place metro to train connection. (Thanks to those who commented)
8 replies on “Some thoughts on the Sydney Metro”
“ I did not try the connection between Martin Place (Sydney Trains T4) and Gadigal (M1)”
Do you mean Town Hall and Gadigal? (Given Martin Place has its own M1 station.)
@Guy, corrected, thanks.
There is also a (very good) connection between Martin Place M1 and T4 platforms
The frequencies are a bit higher (although you won’t notice it in peak). Since the Iranian invasion, it has been 3min30s in peak, and 7 min on weekends.
https://www.nsw.gov.au/ministerial-releases/temporary-uplift-services-as-southwest-metro-sprints-towards-completion
The 3min30s in peak however, is temporary – they have excessive trains from Bankstown not being open. Once Bankstown opens, it drops back to 4min
Town Hall and Gadigal are completely separate stations. No connections there
At Martin Place the contrast between the Metro Platform and the 1970s train platforms for the Bondi Junction line remind me of the contrast between State Library and Melbourne Central Stations (contrast between modern and 70s/80s underground railway architecture)
The on demand bus service feeding the outer end of M1 in the NW has been very successful and still thriving after six years. And that’s in addition to regular route bus services through the region.
The additional car parking is because the end of the line has a catchment extending to the semi-rural lower Blue Mountains, up to 30 km further NW. There are no serious direct bus connections between M1 and that region and the M1 stops short of connecting to the Richmond line, so lots of commuters have little option but to drive to a station. A bit like the NE edges of Melbourne.
The line is like a magnet and is the only rail line in Sydney currently growing patronage.
@Daniel Bowen As an afterthought, because you might be interested, here is TfNSW’s current On Demand network. No apparent sign of them retreating from the mode for now.
https://transportnsw.info/travel-info/ways-to-get-around/on-demand
@DJ, thanks – I find it a little odd that they don’t show those enhanced frequencies in the PDF timetables or even in the GTFS data.
@TonyP, thanks – I will have a read and do some more digging.
What’s been found in Melbourne is the cost per ride is high (as noted in NSW too, see the link in the blog post) and as ridership increases the on-demand service doesn’t cope well.
Over the weekend bus changes linked to West Tarneit Station included replacement of an on-demand service with a regular route.
On-demand still has its place (Vic still uses it in some outer suburbs and regional towns), but it seems to me that the higher the travel demand, the less it makes sense, at least when it’s the only route in an area.
It probably makes a lot of sense to complement arterial services, for people who can’t/won’t walk to them. (See also: City of Port Phillip’s Community Bus)