Sydney Metro is Great, But...

[@illiiilli24601]

I've just assumed that Sydney Metro is just positioned to be a spiritual successor to Sydney trains (suburban rail as opposed to a metro). Which makes it even more puzzling that different sydney metro lines are not intercompatible with each other (i.e. with other Sydney Metro lines) as is the case with Sydney Trains

[@RMTransit]

I don’t think the idea of succession makes sense when it comes to modern transit modes - but it does feel like it’s serving the same role!

[@Koochoo]

Sydney Trains and Sydney Metro are equally important and integral parts of Sydney's heavy rail network. Metro is not a successor to Trains, it is at this stage a complement. Neither will work without the other. Unlike other cities, our Train network is not restricted to outer suburban once an hour service, or 4 services a day. It's used the same way as a metro in terms of frequency and service in some areas, particularly the Inner West, and the Illawara Line. Heck even the T1 with great frequency at many stations. Understanding this, and understanding the way our heavy rail network works is important to understand the bigger picture. Sydney Metro West interchanges with the T1 at Westmead, T9 at North Strathfield, and T4 and M1 at Martin Place. Metro North West interchanges with the T9 at Epping, T1 and T9 at Chatswood, the T4 and soon to be Metro West at Martin Place, all lines at Central, and the T8 and T4 at Sydenham. The Metro is very well connected with plenty of interchanges. Metro in Parramatta connects with Light Rail, at Hunter Street and Central it also connects with Light Rail, at Barangaroo it provides easy access to ferries. Even at SOP it connects with future Light Rail. One of Reece's main points was the lack of platform to platform interchange at Hunter Street. Whilst I agree that better interchanges would have been great, it's not to say there are NONE. There seems to be some misplaced criticisms of Sydney Metro in the comments.

[@illiiilli24601]

@@Koochoo thanks for your comment and insights. Just wanted to point out one minor typo you made, where you said that other cities are restricted to outer suburban once an hour service or 4 services a day. Pretty much every Australian capital city has train service which runs at least every 15 min minutes, often 10 or less, similar to an S bahn. It'll reach 3 minutes in some corridors in a few years in Perth.

[@Koochoo]

@@illiiilli24601 Oh of course. I should have said outside Australia. Our heavy rail non-'metro' services in most of our cities here are the frequent reliable services that are distinct to what is considered regional rail in North America.

[@craigpayne5500]

I’m from Sydney. It probably eventually will. Already it has taken over and split a rail line, Bankstown line, terminating at Bankstown where people change for further travel. The station will look great

[@dodgeybrother6271]

The incompatibility of the lines was a deliberate political decision to make it harder to integrate them with Sydney Trains when the government left office

[@Ken-nv2hl]

Yeap he doesn't understand with the previous government. it's about squeezing money out of people

[@angelaballard3929]

But what was behind that? Anything to do with industrial relations? That's the only reason I can think of...a conservative govt not wanting union contagion.

[@pattster7813]

Metro Main line to scholfields train station or the other station was meant to happen If they got re elected Guess what happened.. Didn't get elected Was put off for years until now 😮 😂 😢😢😢 There is some article i read that stated this. If we get back in blah blah..etc lol

[@Xavier_City]

Somehow all Australian train projects are just based on political values

[@SineN0mine3]

​@@Xavier_Citybecause major public works are always political in a democracy. There might be many benefits to cooperation but there are also always going to be conflicts of interest when it comes down to the finer details. Unless the projects are dictated by the federal government (which usually involves paying everybody off so they don't complain) you're going to have to cater to various interests if you want the projects to go ahead.

[@Jokrono]

Super excited to see Sharath on here. His channel is great! It'll be interesting to see what the next additions to our rail network in Sydney settle on now that there are competing standards in the network.

[@RMTransit]

Well it sadly seems like Sydney trains expansion plans are basically nonexistent

[@IIAOPSW]

Pffft. More like Sharathfield cause that guys a major train interchange.

[@Jokrono]

@@RMTransit it seemed that way for a while before all of the Metro plans got drafted too, so I'm optimistic it's not the end of expansion. That said, I agree the pace is laggard compared to the city's needs.

[@Syulang-nt4kj]

Same! I love his channel. But yeah, some of the decisions that have been made on Sydney metro make me want to cry. I really think the SWMETROCITYSOUTHWESTAIRPORTTHINGY line really should be built as a regular heavy rail line, so people could have a one seat journey from the CBD to Badgery's Creek, and link it to the end of the Leppington branch, as well as continuing down to Narellan and Macarthur. That way you could get direct services to the airport from the CBD, the Blue Mountains and the SW. The choice of 25kv ac for random lines makes absolutely no sense to me at all, I must admit. Didn't even know that was something being considered, and it makes my brain hurt as to why on Earth they'd do this.

[@rebeccawinter472]

I love Sharath’s channel - almost as much as Reece! 😊 They’re a good combo.

[@nansatdefqon.1807]

I’m a Bricklayer currently working on the Victoria Cross Metro station at North Sydney and from what we’ve seen here, we also think it’s stupid that none of the metro lines are interconnected. It would definitely benefit the city so much if they were. Plus we’re hoping that the western Sydney airport line will extend out past Bringelly down towards Oran Park and Narellan not just for work purposes but to also help service all the people including myself who live out there as for the last 25+ years we’ve had to go to Campbelltown for train services.

[@RubyChiang]

Literally was taking the Sydney Metro to Chatswood just a couple days back. One thing I do love about the connection from Tallawong-Chatswood so far is that 'shortcut'. I can go straight to Chatswood without having to go all the way around in a giant semi circle. While these projects take 500 years to come to fruition or they don't at all, it's a much faster form of transportation and I'll happily take it.

[@dj1NM3]

The real shame is that the Liberals didn't "close the loop" properly and petered-out their SydneyMetro line 3km short of actually connecting to the main western line, near or at Schofields Station, which probably should have been rebuilt to be similar to Wolli Creek Station, with the two lines crossing under/over each other at virtual right-angles.

[@theaussiebackflipboy]

@@dj1NM3 I believe that's part of the overall Metro plan - an extension from St Marys to Tallawong via Schofields - with the difference in the power voltage and train sizes, I would expect a separated platform interface at Tallawong.

[@dj1NM3]

@@theaussiebackflipboy It doesn't seem like a very good plan at all, if there isn't even a single "standard SydneyMetro train" which can (if circumstances arise, such as multiple breakdowns, like all the rolling stock on the Inner West Lightrail dangerously cracking-up) traverse from one end of the SydneyMetro lines to the other (to take up the slack) without being pathetically forced into using rail replacement buses, rather than simply re-routing SydneyMetro trains from one line to another.

[@JamesTK]

@@dj1NM3Wolli Creek station sucks. Apart from the interchange, there's only two platforms on the T4 line which means if there's trackwork on that running line there's no access to the station, whilst all the other stations along that stretch have four platforms.

[@dj1NM3]

@@JamesTK There wouldn't be much other choice except build a similar to Wolli Creek station, unless a few KM of the SydneyMetro was ripped up and a big curve either east of west rebuilt to make in come in parallel with the main western line, but that seems a bit unrealistic.

[@TheRicoboy22]

7:36 As someone who has been involved in the design of the Hunter Street Station, one of the major issues is all the other underground stuff. I absolutely agree, Wynyard and Hunter Street should be in the same location, but the reason for the weird arrangement is entirely due to space constraints.

[@peterhoz]

Exactly. Tho I thought future extension east was also a consideration, but sounds like I assumed incorrectly. There's a lot of stuff underground around there - I heard there's like centimetres between the tunnels and some existing infrastructure, and not very many cm either!

[@RMTransit]

But then I’d suggest moving to interchange at a different site where better connections could be made. I think a good metro metro connection should probably a priority over trains metro connections.

[@Koochoo]

@@peterhoz It is a consideration and still is. They're building stub tunnels for that.

[@Koochoo]

@@RMTransit Any connections are better than none - and given that Wynyard sees a high volume of trains at high frequencies from multiple lines, that undergound connection (even if requiring to tap on and off) is still important. However for the design of Metro West, to ensure a station at Pyrmont (which is one of the most densely populated places in Australia) then a station in the northern CBD was needed. As Ricoboy also pointed out, the station and lines had to fit around existing tunnels of Metro and Trains, and building foundations and basements etc. Having the Hunter Street Station be somewhere else may have meant no Pyrmont Station, or potentially far worse outcomes in other areas. The approved plan allows for a super hub at Martin Place as well as connections to Wynyard and Light Rail on George Street. I think it's a good result even if it may not be ideal.

[@garethjd78]

Large scale events and possible overcrowding may be why they decided against cross platform transfers at Hunter St. Sydney Harbour has throughout the year big events Australia Day, NYE, Vivid, where many hundred of thousands gather around the Circular Quay and there is desire for more. With these events they often need to close selected stations to prevent overcrowding. Like Bank tube station in London, walking a block to interchange can help with crowd management. Similarly with office workers, shops can help spread out the peak hour crush.

[@LGTC12]

The Hunter St station location actually makes a lot of sense, as it's between Wynyard (T1, T2, T8, T9) and Martin Place (T4, Metro). Will be a very short walk in either direction for an interchange. I'm also no fan of Park and Ride, but Kellyville (in the Hills) was notoriously car dependent, and essentially semi-rural until recently. Comparing Kellyville and Chatswood doesn't really make sense - very different histories and locations, as well as different planned roles going forward. Urban transformation takes time. As a Sydneysider this video was a strange one - feels like it demonstrates the limits of a desktop review, as it doesn't capture the deeper context or experience of using the network. Also a big fan of Building Beautifully, but many times it's evident that he hasn't worked in the industry, and a certain naivety as to why things are the way they are. Reminds me of myself many years ago before becoming a planner. Looking forward to seeing his journey now that he's started a civil engineering degree.

[@LewisTL95]

Agree. I don’t think this video really accounted for the nuances of Sydney, that the Metro is a complement to the Sydney Trains network (not something totally different), and that the incompatibility between the two lines isn’t necessarily a showstopper.

[@BigBlueMan118]

Agree, although I dont think it's sensible to refer to the T8 going through Wynyard as once Metro 1 opens and the Bankstown line moves out of the City Circle, there will only be the one line travelling through the Circle (T2-T8 will merge). Unsure how this will be referred to on the official network map and materials though.

[@kazpaapzak8637]

As a person who lived at the end of a Melbourne train line, in a comparable area to Kellyville (Belgrave). Having parking (lots) is essential. People out that way aren’t going to trek half n hour on bad footpaths to the train station and there isn’t really buses like that too. My train station had a small amount of parking and it would overflow everyday out onto the street.

[@BigBlueMan118]

@@kazpaapzak8637 Belgrave isn't comparable to Kellyville in my opinion, Belgrave is more comparable to Richmond, or even Berowra or Waterfall except for the fact that the Main North and the Illawarra rail lines continue beyond those two stations respectively.

[@MonoMan1]

@@kazpaapzak8637 I think the point they were making was to create those bus networks, because I agree that walking in areas like Kellyville isn't really feasible. Parking at the NW metro stations is relatively good compared to older stations in similar areas but a few decades from now when density is increased those 1200 spots will be pretty irrelevant.

[@paulmiller591]

Well said Reece. It was a puzzling call by Sydney.

[@JayJayGamerOfficial]

Yep, and unfortunately when the new state government came into power they couldn't do anything to fix it.

[@RMTransit]

Thanks for watching, puzzling indeed!

[@Flare03l]

@@JayJayGamerOfficial The new state government cut plans for building even more metro lines :\ they're not off to a good start.

[@JayJayGamerOfficial]

@@Flare03l i mean do you blame them? The suburban rail network was neglected for a decade or so and the state is in a record amount of debt with shortages with healthcare and schools especially

[@DaArcanePanda]

@@JayJayGamerOfficial To be fair, the new state government opposed new lines being built in my area saying it’d be expensive, and still don’t want to build the new lines down South which need more and new public transport, but I’m very thankful the Tallawong-Epping-Chatswood metro was built and being extended to CBD when there has historically been no good public transport from the Hills to the other Northern suburbs let alone the city. And it’s a huge upgrade in terms of experience, safety, and reliability compared to Sydney trains plus buses. I think all gov’ts should be ambitious in spending for the future like the NSW Libs under O’Farrell, Baird, Gladys, Perrottet, and like previous Labor governments such as Hawke, Keating, Rudd. I hope as inflation wears off Labor will continue to invest in finishing the Metro whilst we’re building the rest, rather than simply cancel them and rush to build newer, more incompatible versions 30 years later when people demand it.

[@nperceived]

I live just 800 m from a new metro station, but the incompatibility is something I've always been concerned about.

[@KanishQQuotes]

Incompatibility is a recurring theme in Australia

[@nperceived]

@@KanishQQuotes Indeed. In fact, the last line to be converted to the standard Australian gauge was only finished in 2004.

[@RMTransit]

I don’t think it’s something that users need to worry a lot about - it’s a planning problem!

[@mt-mg7tt]

@@RMTransit But the users will be inconvenienced by the bad planning!

[@frafraplanner9277]

​@@nperceivedstandard standard gauge? Or cape gauge?

[@nightowldickson]

I'm from Sydney and have only realised that the metro trains aren't compatible across the lines from watching your video. Would have thought it was common sense to get the same rolling stocks and electrification system but apparently not! Hopefully this doesn't cause problems in the future but I suspect it will.

[@timtam53191]

WIth TOD, there are plans for TOD around every station. Of the 13 stations in the existing line, it's only 2 stations (Kellyville and Cherrybrook) which has nothing going on right now. Believe me, every other station is being built up right now. There's plans but the problem is Sydney's slow and disastrous, NIMBY favouring planning system.

[@mdorey]

No matter how high of a carpark skyscraper you build, you will never conquer the universal constant of your Park N Ride facility being full by 8am every workday.

[@Reoh0z]

Sydneysider here, I see your problem please allow me explain. You're using both rational thought and common sense, that's not considered in our Public projects.

[@static-san]

Sydney has been trying to do this sort of big upgrade for quite some time - for many decades, in fact. A big part of the problem is politics and fighting between the existing commuter rail system and successive governments. This has seen projects proposed and die several times. More cynical observers might say that going for Metro systems instead of expanding the existing system are partly intended to cut out the rail union from the process. And yes, the government has also been accused of short-sighted thinking multiple times about things like why multiple standards and incompatible rolling stock. Unfortunately, we'll have to see in time if that was a good decision or not.

[@Low760]

Or parked up rolling stock banned by the unions for safety?

[@static-san]

@@Low760 Oh! I'd forgotten about that!

[@RMTransit]

Unionized workers frequently operate and maintain automated train systems, so they aren’t some silver bullet of Union busting. Worth looking into such cases in London and Paris!

[@static-san]

@@RMTransit This is true. The truth is going to be more complex than I know, but the only thing I can add is that it was always only one particular union who were in the news.

[@static-san]

Didn't intend to point the finger at any rail union, BTW. Some of the big technology decisions have criticised by the media, too. Generally the response has been something like "that's what we think best" with not great attempts at explaining why.

[@TheLocalLt]

Pretty sure Honolulu is about to finally open their metro, reaction?

[@Stenman99]

The whole purpose of Sydney Metro is to have a driverless system to point at when the heavy rail system has Union Issues.

[@OhKnow379]

An elaborate union bust

[@JayJayGamerOfficial]

Yep, unfortunately those union issues are only happening because the previous government tried taking too many shortcuts not only on the new intercity trains but on everyday service too

[@crowmob-yo6ry]

Driverless trains are good.

[@xyzxyzxyzxyzxyzxyz]

I would love to hear your thoughts on the planned expansion of the new Copenhagen metro line to Malmö and continuing within Malmö. I think the plan to span a metro across an ocean, two cities and two different countries is pretty wild. But I'm not sure if it's good-wild or bad-wild.

[@RMTransit]

It’s an interesting project, the capacity seems like it’s probably needed long term!

[@Infernus25]

Is this actually getting built or is it more in the proposal stages?

[@xyzxyzxyzxyzxyzxyz]

@@Infernus25 it has been in the proposal stages for quite a while. Malmö actively plans for it and even has a project website for it. Just recently Copenhagen finalized the plans for its M5 line, scheduled to start construction in 2024 and opening in 2035. This is the line that may be extended to Malmö in the future. Both cities look very favorable at the extension, but there is no financing yet. The Danish government wants Sweden to shoulder the cost of an extension. And Malmö is not allowed to finance an extension via loans themselves without the approval of the Swedish parliament. Traditionally, Sweden has never prioritized infrastructure in or around Malmö, so it's really up in the air. The plans are very cool though. And train capacity for travel between Malmö and Copenhagen is already starting to become an issue.

[@Infernus25]

@@xyzxyzxyzxyzxyzxyz oh cool, it would be very neat, when I visited the existing trains were already great but as you said the capacity was an issue. I just don't see it being the smartest use of funds though tbh as tunneling all that way would cost billions, surely more frequent service should be suggested first

[@xyzxyzxyzxyzxyzxyz]

@@Infernus25 the problem is that the actual capacity on the tracks are limited. Plus, a metro connection would result in around 20 minutes from Central Station to central station, where it is 40 minutes today. Multiple alternatives to alleviate capacity is being considered though. One option is another fixed rail link from Landskrona to Copenhagen (especially for cargo traffic, but also for traffic from Helsingborg and further north) or from Helsingborg to Helsingør. Also, capacity on the bus network in Malmö is severely strained as it is, despite double articulated express buses, bus priority signaling and bus only roads. So Malmö could benefit from a metro and it would make sense if the two cities could share maintenance and facilities. But yeah, cost of that tunnel is an issue. Though, TBM has been a surprisingly cheap and fast option before in Malmö. When they built a train tunnel through Malmö 20 years ago, the project was finished a year before schedule and massively under budget.

[@Dobuan75]

Hey Reece, I think it’s time you came to Sydney and meet all the bloggers and local fans as well as see for yourself.

[@asdaneedsfunds]

I'm not sure how Reece made it through an entire video without talking about Sydney's Platform Screen Doors 😂

[@DanChan-qb2ec]

I think it's because platform screen doors are almost a must in newly built systems

[@ficus3929]

I’ve never seen someone that loves platform screen doors so much. Meanwhile in the US just having trains is a big accomplishment.

[@Tryinglittleleg]

He mentioned them right at the very end

[@illiiilli24601]

Name a better duo

[@estrheagen4160]

This + P3 feels like the explicit goal of such incompatibility is to put as much taxpayer money as possible into private hands

[@saumyacow4435]

The cross platform interchange is a good idea, but there are geometrical constraints that makes this nearly impossible under Sydney CBD.

[@crazycomet8635]

They manage to do it in a number of locations in London, I think we should be able to do it in Sydney. So far we have tried nothing and it didn't work

[@JohnFromAccounting]

@@crazycomet8635 London has a much easier geography than Sydney. I think they genuinely don't have enough space to do it.

[@morerightrudder9742]

@@crazycomet8635 you need to look at an underground map of the Sydney CBD to really understand why we can’t do it. The amount of tunnels down there is immense.

[@LetsJamFunk]

So inspired to finally see Sharath get noticed and do a collab with you! A lot of urban planning content out there tailors to the NAM-European audience and it's great to see that APAC is getting noticed. So much more development with the emerging markets and it'll either be a golden or missed opportunity.

[@keirapoppins2514]

It's a similarly confusing call to what TfL did with the latest generation of Victoria line stock. The 2009 stock is 40mm wider than the 1967 stock, which works on the fractionally more generously large Victoria line, but means they cannot use the rest of the tube network. The Victoria line has a track connection to the Piccadilly line, but the 2009 stock trains cannot use it, no matter the circumstances. Fortunately, the New Tube for London stock seem to be being built to identical standards, but it's still a somewhat ridiculous oversight.

[@Mgameing123]

Its not if you know the Victoria line at rush hour. The additional space was needed!

[@liam6nugget]

The North West was the last thing my uncle was working on before he died, and he was super proud showing me around the proposed sites. This was before the link to the CBD was proposed, let alone the Parramatta, Bankstown or Western Sydney lines. It’s kinda surreal seeing so much development in places like Castle Hill when last time I was there it was basically just a field

[@Coolwow437]

Hey sorry about your uncle

[@CarolFremel-my4hs]

And a very nice field it was too - with charming village attached - bit of a pigs ear now in my opinion

[@shadoww7301]

@@Coolwow437 bro cant read

[@Coolwow437]

@@shadoww7301 shut your mouth mate

[@FairDingo]

yeah, isn't high density living just great. People up your fundamental orifice, basic shelter costing you and arm and leg, some space of your, just a thing of the past. Oh, yes! bring on the glorious future!

[@reisf94]

Nice video Reece, except the one crucial thing you missed is the politics. The north west component of Sydney Metro was proposed 30 YEARS AGO and nothing happened because of politics. Sydney Metro is evolving and it will take time, it's only been open for 5 years. Incompatibilities such as line voltages can be addressed in the future. The newly elected Labor Government have scrapped all future expansion of Metro because all the unions hate Metro and their driverless nature. Under the previous state government, Metro West was to continue to Western Sydney Airport from Westmead, Metro Northwest was to continue to St Mary's from Tallawong and Metro South West was to continue to Liverpool from Bankstown. It could have been great, but unfortunately it won't.

[@-PORK-CHOP-]

The NSW Liberals may have been corrupt but they implemented a lot of much needed infrastructure changes, Labor just does the typical Labor thing, cancels everything, stops any future projects and wastes money on rubbish by letting the unions make all the decisions, so we will now stay in Labor stagnate for however long they are in charge of NSW.

[@markcaritas3073]

it’s a good thing metro is getting scraped! Think about how many jobs losses would occur from the continuation of sydney metro. I support extending sydney train network instead!

[@dennistiong5815]

Can you do Malaysia next? We have quite a diverse system here. Anyways, keep up the good work!!

[@koman7609]

After 5 years from the birth of this video, I can say Sydney metro can sometimes be totally useless when there’s frequent day time track work. In many countries, track work and maintenance only occurs at night time when there’s no more train services. Sydney transport has been unreliable over the years which do not help with reducing traffic congestion. Many people in this expensive city still regard owning a car is a necessity, even they’re staying close to public transports. It’s not surprising that road congestion is getting more serious.

[@colinharris6425]

Sick shout out for Building Beautifully. But yeah, we suck at making good decisions out here. As someone who has to come from the Illawarra region to access various parts of the city/suburbs, there is minimal good connections to anywhere.

[@markedwards4879]

You are completely wrong about parking at stations. I agree that having people living near the station is convenient, it isn't how many people in Sydney live. No parking at the station means that I drive instead, and I'm not about to sell my house and move into a unit. There really isn't a reason for it to be one or the other, you can have commuter car parks that encourage people to catch the train underneath the units. Choosing Chatswood as an example of everything right in your comparison is not a good example either. Chatswood is considerably closer to the city than Kellyville, has a different demographic and isn't as spread out. I live around 5km from Hornsby station, meaning that the train is either a 5 minute drive or a 20 minute bus ride away. Since the commuter car park is already full well before 7:30am as it's woefully small, getting to the city or anywhere else for 9am by train is at best inconvenient. If I am at the station early enough for a car park, then I may as well just keep driving as I'm before the peak. Your solution to this would be to try and encourage everyone to sell their homes and buy into something new near the station, since you don't want to make it convenient for the existing population. Here's. what would happen - the units would be bought by new people to the area, and the existing residents would be stuck using their cars. That's not a good way to get popular. The real problem with Sydney metro is the archaic city centric design. There are plenty of trains to the city - albeit generally overcrowded, but the lines largely radiate out and if you are trying to travel across the city then it's a nightmare. This is especially the case on weekends. Public transport should be cheap, convenient, reliable and available. Sydney misses most of those points for most of the population. The upgrades to the metro are a good start, but are seriously lacking.

[@alexhaowenwong6122]

4 minutes peak and 10 min off peak is low frequency for an automated metro.

[@sjokomelk]

Just a small comment regarding 1500V DC vs 25kV AC. You need a vast amount of less transformers/substations when running on 25kV AC. 1500V DC is very "infrastructure heavy" and gives poor efficiency. With 25kV AC you "just hook it up" to the normal grid.

[@d1234as]

25kV AC work better if in open spaces, in tunnel requires a lot of additional electric insulation for higher tension. 1500 V DC is a "standard" overhead metro electrification, 25 kV AC is not.

[@MarioFanGamer659]

@@d1234as That makes perfectly sense. I can add to that: The only time you ever see use in a tunnel system is if it's part of the national mainlines. The S-Bahn tunnels of various German cities are 15000V AC because the national railway network, which they also drive on, is electrified with these voltages as well. There also is the fact that lower voltages also favour smaller systems as the comparative amount of substations which needs to be built is lower than over larger distances.

[@dirtywashedupsparkle]

I think if we really want to see change, at some point someone has to harrass the right organisations that decide these things. I'm conflicted about the Metro because it's basically an MTR system in Sydney. I grew up experiencing the Hong Kong MTR system and I believe that one is the best in the world - it's highly efficient, manages a train every 30 seconds at peak periods (I've timed it personally) and knows to put shops and residential right above the station to ensure high-volume use. But placed here in Sydney where things are so spread out and less densely populated that means you have to create Hong Kong-like developments around each station as well, and clearly that's only happened in some places like Chatswood. Kellyville has a lot of car park space but it gets filled up to the brim already. Yes, the solution should then be more people living in walking distance of the station, or buses to the station. The incompatibility issue is a head-scratcher for me. I can only think the Metro is the future and Sydney trains the system to be superseded, but then so much of the system is already the Sydney train model. Still, it's been a long-standing tussle about new carriages and who builds them and where they're made, what design to have - the double-level carriage of Sydney is unique to only this country I believe and you either get rid of it to adopt a more internationally common standard or you keep making these trains locally, and I suspect governments want to do the first option. And good to see a shoutout to Sharath, his channel has been really good for focusing on these issues local to Sydney.

[@SeanSoraghan]

Train every 30 sec is 120tph did u time the train from when it enters the platform to when the last carriageleaves the platform ir just the dwell time ?

[@PetarAndrejic]

Nah double level EMUs and loco hauled are common in Europe, Americans have lots of double level loco hauled sets and I believe EMUs in Chicago, and caltrain are even upgrading to Swiss double level multiple units

[@BenStewart]

I could see 25kV being useful if the metro lines serving Parramatta or Western Sydney Airport ever get converted to a HSR line, but it is odd that there's a lack of standardisation.

[@Low760]

It's because of.. the liberal party.

[@RMTransit]

I think it’s fair to say the chance of that is 0, I do not think the infrastructure is being built to support HSR

[@daveg2104]

@@Low760 Yeah, politics.

[@saumyacow4435]

It would have been better to convert the existing infrastructure for the original metro line to 25kV. Nevertheless I don't have a problem with stand-alone systems. The use cases where you might actually need to swap trains between metro lines are either rare or contrived.

[@c.d.c9425]

​​@@Low760As opposed to the Labor party who couldn't even build a metro in their 14 years in office and were still opposed to the whole system up until the election. But yeah, blame the Liberal party for building the whole network we have now from the ground up

[@OpEditorial]

Fun fact: Up until 2013 Sydney also operated a monorail system, which conveyed a small tram's worth of passengers (mostly Asian tourists) around the various skyscrapers a few stories above street level.

[@Jack39847]

Great video. Should definitely do a video about transport in Brisbane / South East Queensland soon!

[@RMTransit]

I’m planning to do so, eventually!

[@nicholassdc]

Even considering I'm a Melbourne person, Chatswood is easily my favourite transport hub in Australia. Lived there a few years back and just found the experience easy and convenient. Really felt like Singapore.

[@BigBlueMan118]

Would have been even better if the tunnels to Macquarie had been built properly and not had to have ridiculous curves to avoid building a bridge over the Lane Cove River. That adds several minutes to the journey.

[@benhongh]

@@BigBlueMan118 I'd happily give that extra few minutes for a smoother ride. Imagine going down the valley on the Metro as you would on Delhi road, jeez.

[@turtlelazers476]

Dude I live in Melbourne but when I saw chatswood from this video I like almost cried at how much better the whole area looks compared to here

[@FairDingo]

you must love how the chinese have taken over, then?

[@NoTaboos]

What does Melbourne have to do with anything?

[@trackstarpat151]

I never understood the negative accepts of suburban stations. Because typically they built the best station for that community at the time especially when it comes to the amount of parking Because if have a station that is transit oriented development with little to no parking those cars just drive into the city

[@JohnFromAccounting]

That means there is not enough density surrounding the station, or not enough stations.

[@robertfountain4856]

You have said it all except the key subject that really the NSW Government has stuffed up regarding the Sydney Suburban Rail Network. Our City Circle trains used to do a two way loop. Just look at the original all stations loop. Central to Bankstown, then to Lidcombe and then to central and the City Circle. If two additional tracks were supplied between Homebush and Lidcombe then that loop would be almost a totally independent line. Convert it to a Metro Style system built to the existing heavy rail suburban specifications and we have a driverless rail system which could at a pinch be used on every other city line. Since the Government already had a great and operational system why did they give the Bankstown line to be used for an incompatible Metro line system. They are now talking about closing totally the Bankstown to Regents Park section and putting on busses. Talk is that the Cabramatta to Lidcombe line will also be closed to suburban passenger trains. I see our previous government as not having the brains of a gnat!

[@victorsvoice7978]

Australian's love their cars. The bigger the better. They won't ride the bus. Only when in an emergency.

[@reecemiranda3213]

Love this collab, Sharath is a legend

[@lyme420]

in defence of sydney, the roads are good capacity and people generally know how to drive. it's only a problem if say, crash on the harbour bridge. i can see that having 1000 spots in a carpark for one PT station is a bit excessive, but sometimes park and ride is the best we can do *cough* baulkham hills. anyhow, i support the idea of the interchanges, and that an interchangeable rolling stock would be better. nice vid though 😅

[@p1mason]

Sydney Metro follows the great Australian tradition of slapping the word "metro" on things that ain't. Every part of the Sydney Metro was either planned as an extension to the Sydney Trains suburban rail network, or iwas converted from an existing Sydney Trains line. As such, each Sydney Metro line serves a purely suburban rail function and is designed accordingly. The intent of Sydney "metro" is not to be any new kind of transit system, or any kind of actual metro. The intent is to offer service that is indistinguishable from suburban rail, but do it in a way that is difficult to absorb into the wider Sydney Trains network (because of different loading gauges, electrification or both). To this end, the weirdness is a feature, not a bug. To understand why Sydney would attempt something this bonkers, you need to understand a little of the politics. The railway unions are traditional supporters of the party that has been in opposition in New South Wales for many years until recently. The party in government has been a traditionally business friendly party. This is the party that has been responsible for converting all these projects to "metro". Depending on your point of view, this might be a boondoggle for the private sector operator, who now doesn't have to worry about future governments wanting to merge the metro with the government operated Sydney Trains. Or it might be an attempt to make parts of the Sydney transit network a non-union shop that can't be taken over by the incompatible (but unionised) Sydney Trains. Or it might just be a way for the pro business government to spend money on rail infrastructure without giving any perceived benefit to a union that typically votes against them. It's probably all three. What it's not, is a proper metro, and the weirdness is by design.

[@IIAOPSW]

It might be all those things, but lets also give it some credit. The automated trains really can run higher frequency and well into the night in ways that would be too costly if you had to pay drivers to do it. Sure that does undercut a union job, but if the union is functioning to preserve jobs that can be automated (at the expense of public money and service quality) then its at least as misaligned with the public interest as the government for the reasons you listed. and while Sydney's metro does have somewhat lengthy station spacing, I wouldn't call it a suburban commuter system either. to clarify, I notice that commonwealth countries tend to use this word "suburban" to just mean some subdivision of land below-but-within the level of city. In contrast, I'm understanding "suburb" to mean places that are not considered part of the city, and are primarily low rise residential places which people commute from. Sydney's "suburban" rail connects places that are generally very much considered part of Sydney, and which are destinations in their own right for reasons other than living there. The closest thing to what I would call suburban rail is the newcastle line, making like 2 stops within the city proper for key transfers and then serving a bunch of places (albeit at low frequency) that would take forever if not for the express run. The clearest cut example of the difference between what I'm calling metro vs suburban rail would be the NYC subway vs the Long Island Rail Road / Metro North Railroad. They are both extensive, both in New York, but you can't put both on the same map. Sydney Metro (and for that matter "its suburban rail") are very much what I'd consider Metro. Its at least as much a Metro as BART is in the San Fransisco bay area. In so far as Sydney's lines are a bit more sprawling and less frequently stopping than some other Metros, its justified in that it has to deal with the settlement patterns that already exist (which are sprawling and spaced far out).

[@timtam53191]

What's metro and what's suburban rail lol. It's just about introducing better, newer tech to supersede the older worse tech that's bogged down by a highly militant transport union. What would you call San Francisco's BART or Hong Kong's Tung Chung lines?

[@IIAOPSW]

@@timtam53191 Generally the distinction I draw anyway, is that suburban/commuter rail brings people from far flung and dispersed areas where land is cheap to the singular high demand destination of the city (where jobs exist). In contrast, a Metro exists to get around multiple destinations within a city. The stops are spaced closer, often close enough that you could walk to the next station within 10 min if you really needed to. Frequency is high enough that there is no need to plan around a time table. around 1 train every 3 min (18 trains per hour) at peak. The network may prioritize certain hubs or certain directions of travel, but its generally possible to get between any two points without too much hassle. thats the distinction I draw. and honestly, its an artificial distinction. Some places really blur the line. BART along Emarcadero / Main Street very clearly is a Metro in terms of frequency and station spacing and where it is. The branches of BART once you're on the East Bay are far more functionally similar to a suburban line. JR lines in Tokyo tend to be structured in this mixed commuter/metro one-seat way as well, whereas the other Tokyo operators (Tokyu and Toei) are clearly purely Metro services. So the distinction is dumb, but at least in the US, its the worst kind of dumb: dumb with the backing of authority. Subway/Metro/Rapid transit services have fewer rules to follow than a "real railroad". However, if your "metro" is connected at any point to the national network, even in a way nobody uses, the stupid rules apply. Pointless distinctions have this funny way of embedding themselves in law and culture and eventually force you to think about them even if you didn't want to.

[@p1mason]

IIAOPSW terminology aside, I think that the issue is exactly that Sydney's suburban train service is basically indistinguishable from the metro service, except that it uses incompatible rolling stock. Sydney's existing lines run long fast trains, they have wide stop spacing, with most stations located in low density areas and supported by park and ride. They are heavily focused on bringing passengers from widely dispersed origins into a core segment consisting of less than ten stations, they run headways of around 4-5 minutes in peak and 8-15 minutes off peak. Sydney Metro is essentially the same in these respects. I'm not really taking a position on the politics, but I think it's important to realise that Sydney Metro doesn't exist to be anything the trains already aren't. Sydney Metro exists primarily to be incompatible with the existing network. The metro branding is largely to disguise this fact. Maybe, almost by accident, it will lead to a renewal of the entire rail network. But I'm not holding my breath. When the primary goal is incompatibility (and any other benefit is seen as a bonus) I think there's too much risk that it'll never quite reach its potential.

[@mark123655]

​@@p1masonTend to agree - Metro is more of a brand.. much like the B-Line buses or the Red Metro buses before them. And some point in the future some of Sydney's existing train lines might also go single deck, partially automated with platform screen doors, and the distinction will diminish further. Sydney simply doesn't have enough areas of sufficient density for a classic Metro/Subway (not that there are many true Metros) - even the London Underground has more overground stations than underground, and the outer edges of the system are less dense than many parts of Sydney

[@barryrobbins7694]

7:43 The only thing better than cross platform transfers is not having to transfer at all.

[@jan-lukas]

While true for a single route, you can't actually have that network wide.

[@CNPapadopoulos]

Not should you want to

[@barryrobbins7694]

@@jan-lukasYes, it is situational. Fair clarification.

[@LawpickingLocksmith]

Ah well, Delhi is a total mess with body touchdowns past necessity. Sydney just had to have a mess. With Labor now rewarding the criminals touchdown will eventually be as annoying as in Delhi!

[@losgann]

Sydney is the capital city of New South Wales which had a deeply conservative state government from March 2011 - March 2023. Almost every instance where you went 'this seems a little odd' is absolutely in character for everything the Liberal party did over those 12 years.

[@Geotpf]

An example of intercompatibilty paying off was in last week's video-Los Angeles' Regional Connector. The fact that the former Gold, Expo, and Blue Lines used the same trains, tracks, and electrification systems meant the three existing, disparate lines could be combined into two long ones with minimal disruption during construction.

[@smithydll]

An example of lack of compatibility not working is when the entire fleet of Sydney L1 had to be grounded and the fleet from L2/L3 were not certified for L1.

[@videowilliams]

Wow, great job, man- also by your "man in Sydney". I only used the Metro recently for a trip to a massive cemetery in the northwestern suburban quadrant of the city and was super-impressed with the shiny new service that whooshed me there. So I wasn't even close to critiquing how it slotted in with the rest of the network. I'm sure you're right it was the PPP method that let a company choose what suited them by way of voltage and rolling stock rather than choosing something that harmonised with the rest of the government-run Cityrail network. We are indeed part Houston, part Hong Kong in our planning.

[@mistleigh6108]

as a Australian from Sydney, i fell so proud seeing our amazing city in videos even overseas!

[@TonyTomas01]

“Amazing city” lol

[@trowl42]

These issues are disappointing but not surprising given the context of the former government that made these decisions. Nonetheless, at least it's something.

[@DoorsClosingTransit]

Intercompatibility tends to be one of the more overlooked features what truly makes a great transit network, not just system, and I couldn’t have said it better than you did in the video. So massive up as usual for putting out great content! Also, although I live and make transit content in Dubai, I’d love to hear your thoughts about the Cairo Metro network - Africa’s first metro system ever, and it’s made quite a bit of progress. Not only with the new “LRT” project, but with new trains, new lines, and better equipment. As usual, looking forward to your next one! :)

[@chris_yang]

Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good Better to have new infrastructure (rather than decades of no new infrastructure at all), unclogging the city rail loop and create duplication between Parramatta and Sydney

[@Low760]

This isn't even that, they build something from scratch, they can spec it to be identical, economies of scale etc.

[@RMTransit]

I said exactly this in the video, but in this case the good could have been better, it wouldn’t have taken much

[@michaelalldritt7649]

The missing link from St Marys to Tallawong will have to be built to connect the lines. Incompatible rolling stock, track gauge and traction is like going back to 100 years where every state chose a different train gauge, with Victoria on broad gauge, NSW standard gauge and Queensland on Narrow gauge. It done to stop railway operator from one state taking over in another. the NWRL was built so only single deck rolling stock could fit through the tunnels preventing a double deck train like the Waratah from using it at any point in time in the future. thank you

[@smithydll]

One just has to go back to the Melbourne privatisation splitting a large fleet into 2 and resulting in the fleets being incompatible after refurbishment when one franchise went insolvent, and the two franchises were joined again. Sir Bradfield would be very upset and wouldn't let this happen if he were to oversee it.

[@jonnnosands]

I don't get the criticism about car parks. Can someone explain that to me? I live 10km away from a train station. I drive to there park my car then catch the train. If there were no places to park my car I would just drive to work instead of taking the train. If they remove the car park and put shops it won't change anything. I'll still need somewhere to park my car or I don't take the train at all. if you remove the car park and put more residential areas around it, good for the people that will buy the houses there, but it doesn't help me. And no I won't buy one of those new houses I already have a house, it is my home.

[@car_tar3882]

Busses? More lines? Trams? Parking lots aren’t the solution.

[@sahn5995]

Unless there is huge investment coming anytime soon and I will emphasis huge investments on road infrastructure and bus networks, those car parks around kellyville area are definately required.

[@A4roMan]

I kinda just found out that Hunter Street will have a underground pedestrian tunnel to connect to Martin Place.

[@Stokie99]

Would love to see you do an update on Perth. Theres been lots of changes and progress with Metronet. The airport line opened, the old Bayswater Station has been demolished along with the iconic Bayswater bridge and the new C-Series cars about to enter service. and still more to come.

[@georgou271]

I always watch your videos but I think that something is missing . You should make a video about Athens and the latest Thessaloniki (Greece) metro system!

[@stuartparks8094]

I like your videos but I think you have got this one quite wrong. The lack of compatibility between the lines really is not as big a deal as you make out. The two 25kV lines are basically express metros so their power demands are different, higher voltage is more appropriate in that case, it's more efficient and can supply more power. In the event the lines ever needed to run through, dual voltage trains are the answer

[@garyhaber6957]

That's Australia for you brother. It's like this with everything here..... our governments and planners here are just hopeless. And they can't fix anything. They can't even get our standard trains to run on time and connect right. And there are always delays due to one excuse or another. It's very frustrating here to catch public transport. 😒

[@Azzap2001]

Another point being discussed in Sydney for the reasoning behind different systems is to potentially allow privatisation of the individual Metro lines. Which I really hope doesn't happen... Otherwise, the system is great. The new refurbishment of Central Station to accommodate the new metro line, as well as improve interchanges between lines is amazing and really feels world standard. Hoping this trend of new metro lines in Sydney continues, with extensions of the metro west of Parramatta to the new airport, and extend the new airport line further down to Macarthur... oh and that damn missing link between Tallawong and Schofields!!!! That should've been connected in the first place, or even built to St Marys to interchange with the new airport line... fingers crossed!

[@davidmcdonald3314]

I'm pretty sure that incompatibility has been intentional - the NSW government that ordered these incompatible things (including heavy rain rolling stock that couldn't fit in some tunnels until tunnels were enlarged) It was a repeated pattern of behaviour that is difficult to explain away as abject incompetence

[@matster7752]

You should check out the Prague metro. Although small, with only 3 lines, it's A line stations are absolutely beautiful and worth seeing :D

[@tacitdionysus3220]

It's just not that big a deal. Yeah, compatible metro stock on separate lines has some advantages, but 25Kv AC is something that should have started happening years ago. Sydney and Melbourne are quite old systems and 1500v catenary supply was the technology at their birth. Since then rail traffic has become much greater and air conditioned DD trains have become the mainstream on Sydney Trains. That increased the need for power substations substantially. 25Kv AC has a lot less need for substations, and should have been introduced gradually from then. If a VFT train ever gets up, would you really want to go 1500v DC from Sydney to Melbourne because it's 'compatible'? The Tallawong-City-Bankstown metro is destined to be a high traffic line. The WSI airport line is probably not ever going to be as heavily used (hence the 3-4 car design). I haven't heard about the cars being wider - does anyone have a source for that? Connecting Tallawong to it at St Marys would mean running far larger trains than WSI-Bradfield-Macarthur will need, simply for 'compatibility'. Oddly, nobody talks about the incompatibility of Sydney Trains stock, and I suspect complaints about Sydney Metro have much more to do with "it was good enough in the past" attitude and thinly disguised industrial issues. As for stations, there are places like Chatswood where the sort of station it has makes perfect sense; but Kellyville is in a quite different situation. It's not a mini-CBD and probably never will be. Look at a place like Liverpool and you'll see a station strongly based on people walking in or catching the bus, yet just up the line is its shoulder station Warwick Farm which is overwhelmingly park and ride. There's room on the Sydney system to create stations that reflect wide commuter market segmentation. It's not being the anti-christ to provide for passenger preferences other than PT acolytes. Should Kellyville start looking like Chatswood, then by all means replace the parking station with something else that works for it then, and be happy that chunk of land was available next to it for such a development. I will defer to infrastructure designers on the matter, but I would be surprised if dual lines with cross-platform interchange would be easily possible anywhere in the Sydney CBD (except where it was intended originally at St James). Sydney streets are notoriously narrow. Bradfield was lucky to squeeze so many platforms in at Town Hall and their modest width causes issues. Plus there are so many tunnels under and around Sydney, driving a TBM around them must be getting difficult. It's interesting that one place you could do another 'Chatswood' cross platform style connection is by extending the WSI airport metro to Glenfield using the Leppington tracks. It would connect the WSI/Bradfield with South Line, Airport Line, Cumberland line and southern NSW Train Link services. There's a study being done on it now, but I expect any suggestion of that arrangement will get howls of derision as it would replace beloved DD trains on the SW link. The above may generate a bit of hate, but I'm always one to subvert the dominant paradigm, and I fear many PT discussions become a bit of an echo chamber of the faithful at times. No disrespect to RM or BB. Their ability to encapsulate complex systems and issues is often awe inspiring.

[@digicola2250]

Great video!! Completely agree with the intercompatibility of lines. Its so weird that they wouldn’t make them interoperable when the rest of the train and tram network is! Sydney trains routinely shuffles trains through the network for maintenance, storage, or when only tangaras can be used during strikes. I also hate that signage is so good but the lime naming is so bad! They should be renamed to M1, M2 etc like the trains, ferries, trams. Apparently not making interchanges at Parramatta and Hunter street was done on purpose to alleviate future congestion. Thats why there is an interchange at Westmead and an underground walkway at Hunter Street. To be clear Sydney is small enough that the walk from Hunter Street to Wynyard or Martin Place will be very short, much less so than Central to Hong Kong on the MTR.

[@mastersingleton]

Despite the strange decisions Sydney Metro made; but to me its still a clean and modern yet somewhat efficient system that is getting built and not a pipe dream.

[@Frahamen]

I mean Singapore is technically English speaking too. India is pretty English-speakingy too if you stretch the definition...

[@BrianCairns]

Regarding the 1500V DC / 25kV AC split, at least Chengdu in China has the same split. In the case of the Chengdu Metro, 25kV is used on line 18 which goes to the new Tianfu airport. Line 18 has much wider station spacing and it serves as a hybrid express service transitioning to a regional-style service as it gets further south. 25kV was chosen because of the need for higher speeds outside the city center. I wonder if similar factors were in play in Sydney.

[@Tryinglittleleg]

I love how you add that using one type of train helps with economies of scale to keep cost down, then proceed to mention the CAF Interurban light rail trains as an example, most of which have been pulled off service because of structural issues. What would have happened if they were all the same type of train, and instead of having the alstoms to replace them, they were all taken off and we had no rolling stock available?

[@rambleon3698]

Was just going to Sydney for a holiday. I thought I'd use the trains to get around. I researched the system online and came to the conclusion that there are to many independent players to negotiate and its too expensive. I'm going to Perth instead. One system operator and $5 trips from one end of the city to the other. To easy.

[@sunnesunne4039]

The Sydney system is actually by far the best integrated in the country....it's one tap all the way either with a opal card or your own bank/credit card .....makes things very easy and efficient.....as a rider of the system you don't notice the complexity ...it runs super smoothly and is quite seamless

[@highway2heaven91]

Sorry Reece, but I disagree with your viewpoint on Park N Rides. I think they’re a great way to get suburbanites to take public transit as long as they’re accompanied by TODs (or at least a few apartments) and there are bus connections to give travelers a few options. They’re also good for end-of-the-line stations where out-of-town travelers can park their cars and use the metro to get into the cities. Building suburban rail also helps to reduce traffic congestion. Transit doesn’t need to be limited to denser areas, especially for ridership to increase. However, this could be better served by heavy rail over metro for commuters who live closer to the edges of the city.

[@francesconicoletti2547]

A salient point is that busses stop running, often long before trains stop running. As a lapsed suburbanite my option when working late shift would not be taking the train and then catching the non existent bus, it would be driving my car to work and driving home. Having the option to park near the station means I only have to take the car to work if I work after the trains are shut down. For work read socialise or shop or live life in general. I do have friends who live within walking distance of stations and it is awesome, but that is not how most of Sydney was built out once the car appeared.

[@spartan117zm]

Thanks for this. I get Reece’s general apprehension towards Park N Rides, especially when they’re built with no consideration for the future, but in general having some space for them is a good thing on the outer fringes of the city. Chatswood not having a large Park N Ride makes sense because it was already a developed area when Metro was built, as trains have been serving it for something like nearly 100 years. It also has very frequent bus service. Development of a new area doesn’t happen overnight, so using the space around the station for something purposeful in the meantime isn’t a bad thing.

[@AlRoderick]

You have to do it smart. Set up the car parks in little blocks that you can gradually replace with proper buildings over time, the amount of money you have to spend demolishing a surface lot to put up a building is small compared to the cost of demolishing a multi-story parking garage. You just have to plan ahead by making sure that there's infrastructure right of way for all the buildings you eventually want to build.

[@f.g.9466]

@@francesconicoletti2547 that's really shocking to read. My experience in Europe is that buses continue running even after trains stop running, although with reduced service at those late hours. And in most medium sized cities and capitals there are at least some night buses even if metro/trains don't run during the night. I'm guessing that was Reece's point of view too, sad it's different in Australia!

[@Pigeon_journey]

Another Aussie city! with one of the weirdest metros... Love to see More Metros! but what about other cities, like Nagoya or Osaka?

[@dengpoop]

Pigeon 😍😍😍😍😍

[@Pigeon_journey]

@@dengpoop I see you enjoy Pigeons!

[@victorsvoice7978]

They Sydney Metro needs to extend the line from Talawong through Ropes Crossing into St Marys. This would take pressure of the western line to the CBD. It would be a second way to the CBD. It would be a common sense solution to overcrowding and congestion on the western line.

[@ulfw]

Sucks that Sydney builds nothing to it's fancier eastern suburbs

[@andrewrussack8647]

In retrospect, 1500VDC on Northwest and subsequent extension to City & Southwest has been accepted as a mistake. Hence, the adoption of 25kVAC for Western Sydney Airport and West. Both of the new systems will be SFC fed. There is a race between WSA and Suburban Rail Loop (Melbourne) for the first fully SFC powered system in the world. Interoperability and compatibility is not always a good thing to pursue. Creating ‘greenfields’ systems can be very helpful to ensure old inefficient ways of working can be left behind….

[@kierannelson2581]

Exactly. I will say though, on NW, it was a decision made to minimise rail line shutdowns as changing the power meant a much more lengthy build time in the existing tunnels.

[@mark123655]

Yep. I think if you were building the line from scratch today you'd use 25kV AC, but given the Metro reuses much of the Bankstown line and the Chatswood-Epping line it was cheaper to stay with what they had in terms of power delivery and substations. The West Airport and West Metro are also more semi-express lines (in terms of station spacing, and expected speed) which generally works better with AC. Interoperability I think really goes away with fully automated metros as they need to work in a very closed environment in any event.

[@junefranklin458]

keep in mind chatswood took 30 years to transform from low density suburbia to what it is now (still impressive if you lived through it like i did)

[@tsetstransport]

Thanks for making this video, I only just learnt how the metro trains on the West line and WSA line will be different in sizes! Like you were mentioning, this could mess up everything, for lines such as the WSA line, it just looks like a singular branch and thats it... Personally, I think a possible solution could be that they connect the Metro West line to the WSA line so people can actually go into Sydney instead of using 5,000 bus routes that would take double the time.. The biggest con for me is definitely the fact how an Airport line is all the way out west with no possible connections unless you interchange at St Mary's where you can change for trains (it won't be a cross platform interchange...), once again, thanks for uploading this, I look forward to seeing more of your talks about our rail system. 😊

[@OneIdeaTooMany]

Sydney builds housing estates first, then implements busses, 10 to 20 years later when its long overdue, they give you a metro with lots of parking that mostly gets used by people who live even further away from the station.

[@michaelrapson]

The outcome depends on whether you bribe the right people or not.

[@timor64]

Sydney "metro" is driven by a Treasury department that wants to eliminate train drives. That's what drives the project. The new Sydney West Airport has a rail corridor reserved for it linking it to the train network - to the very trainj line which runs east to the esiting airport then on to the city. Instead of that they are building a "metro" northwards to the train line at St Mary's. This makes it impossible to interchange easily by rail between the two airports.

[@gregessex1851]

Or it was a technical decision to join the 21st century. It had zero to do with the NSW Treasury

[@thelionking219]

In Melbourne, the Metro Tunnel is on target to open by 2025 and it will serve the Sunbury, Cranbourne and Pakenham Lines. Also the Metro Tunnel will have direct airport connection via the Melbourne Airport Rail Link by 2029. There is also the Suburban Rail Loop which is a 90 km rail line from Cheltenham to Werribee via Melbourne Airport. It is still 3 decades away until it is all completed but half of it from Cheltenham to Melbourne Airport will be underground with SRL driverless trains.

[@JohnFromAccounting]

Suburban rail connection to the airport will probably be canceled.

[@NoTaboos]

So what? What has Melbourne got to do with anything? Never heard of any of the suburbs you mention anyway.

[@samuelese22]

Colab with my 2 fave channels 🤗🤗

[@DosAussieThai]

The airport is actually now called "Western Sydney International (Nancy Bird Walton) Airport" which is even more mouthful LOL

[@isaacfung622]

I have the same jacket as Building Beautifully😂

[@killzoneisa]

My uncle is the locksmith for NSW railways an he say there a lot of odd things they do that never get heard by the public.

[@jacktattersall9457]

I have never heard someone compare cross-platform transfers to vegetables!

[@u1zha]

"Vegetables of transit planning" your analogies are getting really deep

[@husen5033]

Every time good Videos.❤and good said.

[@afropenguin]

Im still of the believe that syndey metro as a consept was one of the worst ideas they have had, syndey trains is standardised over the network but now its split. What should have been done is make the new Hills line apart of sydney trains then build a new tunnel between Milsons point/north Sydney station to Chatswood (as they have done to metro) then use the old tram tracks to get over the habour bridge into Wynyard station. It never made any sence to create a separate network.

[@CNPapadopoulos]

25kV AC is more efficient and requires fewer substations. The only reason Line 1 is 1500kV DC is because it reused portions of Sydney Trains lines. I don’t personally care about the interoperability issue. The lines will be separate for the foreseeable future and they will be privately operated. 25kV will be the new metro standard. At least the tracks are all standard gauge should the airport metro platforms need to be lengthened to accommodate longer trains and for some reason, connect to other lines.

[@cameronstrauss1818]

Great to have Shareth on as a Ko-fi supporter of his! We recently had a new change of state government for Sydney and they've indicated that they want to densify Sydney to relieve housing pressures and engage in TOD to do so, so hopefully we will see more of this in the future! Not to mention less stupid mistakes with the Metro's planning and configuration!😂

[@josephj6521]

If they want higher densities they’d better build more terraces or apartments with at least 4 bedrooms fit for families. Having 95% of 1&2 bedroom apartments and a few penthouse 3 bedrooms is a waste.

[@peterkirgan2921]

When is the current premier Chris Minns going to get rid of these old 40 yr old Tangaras & replace them with modern trains???? They are a safety issue & a death trap for commuters!!!!

[@dengpoop]

Well They Work

[@OldAussieAds]

I don't live in the Hills district, but I can imagine what it would be like. Lots of suburban sprawl. The average worker living in these parts would be used to getting in the car each morning and driving straight to work. But now there's a metro train that runs through the region. That's great for some parts of Kellyville for example, but what about those that live in Kellyville Ridge, Stanhope Gardens, The Ponds etc. Do these people just keep driving to work, or do you suggest they just wait it out for 50-100 years when they have a metro on their doorstep? That's where commuter car parks come in. I get your point that the spaces provided are inadequate, but in my opinion, they should build more spaces. It sounds counter intuitive, but letting these people park their cars actually gets cars off the road. The reason Chatswood works is that it's closer to the City. So if you live in Chatswood West for example, it's not too much of a stretch to catch a bus to Chatswood and then get on the train. This just makes a short journey a little longer. But if you live near Kellyville, you're already looking down the barrel of a pretty big commute. Add an infrequent bus (I assume) journey to the mix and... well, it's now getting easier to just drive to work. I agree about Sydney's incompatible lines. My original opinion was that they should have made these new lines just standard Sydney Trains lines and have one big awesome system. I've since warmed up to the metro concept. But having incompatible lines within the metro system just to award a certain vendor a contract? Ridiculous!

[@DanChan-qb2ec]

7:10 Hong Kong too, with M trains often being moved between the urban lines to fix train shortages of a line and K train on the Tseung Kwan O Line often move to Kowloon Bay Depot on the Kuwn Tong Line for regular maintenance work

[@piffiiiiiiit]

Some observations of my own: 1) Some metro routes follow a very similar route to the existing trains; 2) Some routes have very few stops, which means they service a very small % of the population. Metro West, for example, misses Rozelle, Lillyfield, Leichhardt and Haberfield, and there are no stops between SOP and Parra; 3) Last but definitely not least is the decision to buy carriages from overseas when we have the capability to build them locally. On one particular route the overseas built carriages ended up being too wide for the tunnels!

[@andre-cb8lp]

It confuses me why the metro west skips so many suburbs like i get that it’s meant to be fast and only for people getting to those suburbs but it just skips so many..

[@adityarangarajan1603]

Can you make a video covering the Mumbai metro and the suburban rail system. There are around 14 lines under construction/proposed, with 3 already operational and couple other set to be opened in the next couple of years. I would like to hear your opinions on them. Really loved your video on the Delhi metro rail system.

[@blaxlankoca2942]

the problem with development at stations all comes down to locals and councils. some locals in the north and western parts of the city dont want transit any high to medium rise developments near stations or lines. while it sucks it's unfortunately a sad reality of infrastructure planning in NSW and Australia as a whole. It also depends on the suburb too. many people dont just travel to the CBD and instead choose to travel from suburb to suburb so they drive to the station, park, catch the train, go do whatever they need to do, then head home. So there really Isn't really a need to over build some of these stations. another cause for the disparity of Chatswood and kellyville is that most of the land in Kellyville was already developed by the time sydney metro was being built and no land was really available for and large apartments. also Chatswood already had the station and developments above ground, also government spending at the time of planning was to cut corners as much as possible and get it as cheap as possible for political points. Hopefully that cleared some things up and keep up the good work!

[@pointlesscine]

Even Vienna, which is currently building its first fully-autonomous U5 line, procured backwards-compatible trains for U5 and all other lines. They’ll be driver-operated everywhere else. If you order 90 trains at a time, that just gives you a lot more negotiating power.

[@applausenu]

The area in the outer stations such a Kellyville will be densified - we've seen this before, even in Chatswood (as a older example). The trains bring densification to these sort of suburbs.

[@coweatsman]

As an ex-resident of the Emerald City, I can say that Sydney is past its best. Too many years of corruption and the takeover of governance by property developers means I do not regret my decision to leave. It's degraded.

[@NoTaboos]

The corruption doesn't remotely compare with Melbourne.