Sydney has become accustomed to the eternal wait for trains. Whether it’s the go-slow network every time heavy rain hits the city or missed punctuality targets even when the definition of an on-time train is granted a generous five-minute grace period. Yep, Sydney sure knows how to wait.
And sometimes that wait is on a grand scale. The opening of the $21.6 billion driverless metro rail line, which will finally transform Sydney into a grown-up city, is imminent, possibly just days away.
However, the wait for the metro has been long and, at times, agonising. No sooner had NSW Premier Chris Minns revealed the highly anticipated start date, the government was forced to backtrack and concede it had fired the starter’s gun too early. The word “intercity” conjures an image of speed.
Then you see the train. Credit: BeyondImages Further testing was needed after a firefighter suffered a minor electric shock during an evacuation drill. Even though the government is now confident the metro is ready to go, it is still awaiting final tick off from the national rail safety regulator.
Minns hinted strongly this week that the metro would be running “within days”, which will be welcome news for the commuters counting down to its arrival. Less so for the eager trainspotters who travelled to Sydney, some from interstate, for the aborted start date of August 4. But the metro delay is nothing compared with the stunning failure to have the new intercity fleet up and running.
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