Revealed: Start date for first driverless metro train to run under Sydney Harbour

New driverless metro trains will run for the first time along an $18.5 billion line under Sydney Harbour and the CBD next month as part of critical testing despite concerns from firefighters about access for emergency staff to the rail tunnels.

Sydney Metro, the state agency responsible for the new line, has secretly slated April 21 for the start of “on-track dynamic train testing” between Chatswood in Sydney’s north and Sydenham in the south, which is the main section of the new City and Southwest line.

The first stage of testing will involve computer-driven trains, which are in storage near Rouse Hill in Sydney’s north-west, travelling at up to 25km/h through the mega project’s twin rail tunnels. In the months that follow, the trains will be tested at speeds of up to 100km/h.

The start of train testing, which has been a closely guarded secret, comes amid jostling behind closed doors between Sydney Metro and firefighters over access procedures for emergency personnel to the twin 15.5-kilometre rail tunnels.

Fire and Rescue NSW, a state agency, confirmed that there are “concerns about access” to the City and Southwest line, and it was working with the national rail regulator and Sydney Metro to resolve them.

The firefighters union said it was “deeply concerned” about a lack of suitable protocols to provide emergency personnel timely and effective access from station platforms to an incident within the new rail tunnels.

“First responders need to see these issues resolved before metro projects progress to a testing and commissioning phase,” Fire Brigade Employees’ Union state secretary Leighton Drury said.

At talks last November with NSW Police and fire agency officials, a Sydney Metro official acknowledged that “everyone’s anxious” about the expansion of the metro network, according to leaked minutes of the meeting.

The City and Southwest line is the second stage of Sydney’s $63 billion metro network, and follows the opening of the Metro Northwest link between Tallawong and Chatswood in 2019.

The leaked minutes also revealed that an exercise at Central Station had “identified a gap in communication” about the roles of wardens during emergencies at so-called interchange stations such as Central at which both driverless metro and double-decker trains will stop.

Sydney Metro said it had worked with Fire and Rescue NSW to finalise design and access requirements of the City and Southwest tunnels, and considered operational and fire safety needs.

“Sydney Metro systems have a very high level of fire and life safety provisions designed into the network and require a different approach to managing incidents compared to traditional rail systems,” it said.

The agency said the new line had been designed to allow “fast, safe, high-capacity metro trains” to be used to access emergency incidents from an adjacent tunnel.

If there is an incident in a tunnel, the operator will use a train in the other twin tunnel to transport emergency services to the scene. Cross passages between the twin tunnels, which will be operated independently of each other, will allow passengers to be evacuated.

“Sydney Metro City and Southwest remains on track to commence the next stage of its extensive testing and commissioning program in the coming months,” the agency said. “The first phase of on-track dynamic train testing will soon commence.”

Once the dynamic train testing is completed as part of construction of the City and Southwest, the line will be handed over to Metro Trains Sydney – a private consortium led by Hong Kong’s MTR Corporation which will operate it – to carry out final testing and commissioning.

While responsibility for the timing of that rests with the operator, the national rail regulator said it would need to be satisfied that a detailed plan shows that a safety assurance process had been followed.

The Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator said the plan had to address full details of the testing and commissioning phase, including emergency response provisions. “ONRSR will, of course, step in as required in the event of any significant safety concerns,” a spokesman said.

Fire and Rescue NSW assistant commissioner Trent Curtin said the agency was committed to ensuring the safety of railway staff and emergency services during the testing and commissioning phase of the new rail line.

The main section of the metro line from Chatswood to Sydenham is due to be opened to passengers next year. However, a 13-kilometre stretch from Sydenham to Bankstown is at least a year behind schedule and is not yet ready for trains to be tested on it.

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