Sydney’s Bankstown metro still needs accreditation before it can open

The Southwest Metro opening in Sydney still has no confirmed date and awaits formal regulatory accreditation, with more than 5,800 of 9,000 required testing hours logged by 1 September.

In mid-July, the NSW Government said the converted line would open later in 2026. It will confirm the exact date only after trial running ends and all required regulatory approvals arrive. The Sydney Metro project page for Sydenham to Bankstown gives the second half of 2026 as the opening window.

Trial running is complete, accreditation is still pending

On 1 September, Sydney Metro reported that its five-week Trial Running program had ended after more than 130 operational scenarios. One was an emergency drill, planned for over a year, in which a train halted near Bankstown Station during a simulated fire. Fire and Rescue NSW, police and Transport for NSW took part, and about 300 volunteers left the train safely.

The next stage uses driverless running over set periods to see how the network copes with different operating and journey-time scenarios. In parallel, Sydney Metro and operator Metro Trains Sydney are completing the documents needed for an independent regulatory assessment, which comes before formal accreditation. The operator is also refining the mechanical gap fillers on platforms and the procedures for protecting the rail corridor.

Minister for Transport John Graham linked any firmer timeline to that process:

“Now that trial running is complete we look forward to continuing the work with the independent regulators, and providing a firmer guide on the opening timeline, as we get closer to final accreditation.”

The testing figures show how the commissioning program has progressed. Testing on the Southwest line started in April 2025, when the first metro train ran on the converted tracks. Since then, the program has logged more than 5,800 of the required 9,000 testing hours. It has also covered 24,235 of the required 30,000 kilometres, based on the September update. In mid-July, the government put the totals at around 22,000 kilometres and over half the required hours.

From on-board operators to automated control

Trial Running began at the end of July with more than 120 planned operational scenarios. Until that point, an operator had been on hand for each test train on the Southwest line. Sydney Metro said the program would move trains to fully automated operation, directed from the Operations Control Centre as in passenger service.

Graham has described platform gap filling and protecting the corridor as challenges that come with converting a 130-year-old line that runs above ground. According to the NSW Government, the corridor now has 22.5 kilometres of security fencing with a fibre-optic system that detects intrusions and objects. It is part of 28.3 kilometres of new fencing, which also separates the metro from the neighbouring freight line. Teams have fitted platform screen doors and mechanical gap fillers at every station from Marrickville to Bankstown.

What the 2024 city section opening showed

The previous extension of the M1 line also depended on sign-off from the safety regulator. On 7 July 2024, the NSW Government set Sunday 4 August as the target date for the city section between Chatswood and Sydenham, provided final testing and regulatory approvals were completed. That section opened on 19 August 2024, after the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator signed off on the project.

The Southwest schedule has already shifted once. When it set the city section target, the government expected the T3 Bankstown Line to shut for as long as 12 months. Metro services were due to reach south-west Sydney by 2025. The line closed in September 2024. In March 2025, the government moved completion into 2026, saying industrial action had disrupted work on more than 130 days. Free Southwest Link buses continue to run between Sydenham and Bankstown until the metro opens.

Once open, the extension will create a continuous M1 line from Tallawong to Bankstown, with trains at four-minute intervals in peak periods. Travel time between Bankstown and Central will be 28 minutes.