FACT SHEET

Delivering Sydney’s new rapid transit trains

Sydney’s new generation of fast, safe and reliable single deck trains will first operate exclusively on the North West Rail Link.

The $8.3 billion project is the first stage of a new rapid transit network being built to cater for the city’s growth as part of Sydney’s Rail Future – the NSW Government’s plan to modernise Sydney’s trains.

Under Sydney’s Rail Future, the rapid transit network will be extended under the Harbour, into the CBD and beyond – the next major rail project for Sydney once the North West Rail Link is completed in 2019.

It will deliver major flow-on benefits for the entire Sydney rail network.

There will be a 60 per cent increase in services to the CBD from right across the whole Sydney rail network as a result of the new rapid transit system.

An extra 100,000 people per hour in the peak hour will be able to catch a train because of the introduction of rapid transit, and the relief it provides to the existing network.

Rapid transit single deck trains will provide Sydney customers with more choice alongside suburban double deck trains and intercity trains.

The NSW Government has awarded $1.5 billion in contracts to build the tunnel and skytrain sections of the North West Rail Link.

The first of four tunnel boring machines will be in the ground in October this year.

The North West Rail Link tunnels are specifically designed for a modern, fully-automated rapid transit system.

The new system is being designed for a new breed of hi-tech rapid transit trains – unlike anything else ever seen in Sydney before.

A better customer experience Customer-friendly – no stairs and easier to get on and off with three doors on each carriage

Safety Number 1 priority – inside, you can see from one end of the train to the other

Faster and safer – to load and unload customers, because of new platform screen doors

More comfortable – platform screen doors mean underground stations can be heated and cooled

Security – multiple help points and live CCTV cameras inside and outside trains, on platforms and at stations.

A train at least every 5 minutes

Why build rapid transit

Safety is the Number 1 priority?Find out

more inside

Sydney’s three-tiered rail network

Fast, safe and reliable – a new generation of rail for Sydney

Sydney is growing quickly, particularly in the North West – where the population will increase by 200,000 over coming decades, to above 600,000.

Booming employment centres like Norwest Business Park and Macquarie Park mean a growing number of people are travelling to work in places other than the city.

Rapid transit systems like the North West Rail Link are best suited for lines where customers get on and off at various locations – in this region, workers travel to Castle Hill, Norwest, Epping, Macquarie University and Macquarie Park.

A third of people using the North West Rail Link will be getting off the train before Chatswood.

And with a train every five minutes during the peak, the North West Rail Link will triple the frequency of services on the rail line between Epping and Chatswood, which will be upgraded and converted to the rapid transit system.

The introduction of rapid transit and a three-tier train operations model (see back page for more information) means that, for the first time, Sydney is getting the right train for the right job.

The rapid transit system won’t use timetables and will be a turn up and go service – starting with a train at least every five minutes in the peak and increasing in the future to meet demand.

Why build a new rapid transit network

International Association of Public Transport:

Fully-automated rapid transit railway systems like the North West Rail Link:

optimise the running time of trains, increasing the average speed of the system … and reducing dwell time in stations (in optimal conditions) to 15 seconds.”

increased quality of service, thanks to the enhanced reliability of trains and shorter waiting times in platforms.”

enabling operators to inject trains in response to sudden surges in demand, for example in the case of big events.”

Source: UITP 2012 Atlas.

The Warren Centre for Advanced Engineering, University of Sydney:

Single deck cars allow much more suitable configurations for fast unloading and loading and therefore significantly reduced dwell times at busy stations. Lighter single deck train sets can brake faster on entry to stations and accelerate faster when exiting stations.”

Source: open letter by Dr Nick Cerneaz, Executive Director.

Infrastructure NSW:

Single deck trains are able to operate at higher frequencies because delays at stations from passenger boarding and disembarking are less than with a double deck fleet.”

Source: State Infrastructure Strategy, p112.

Sydney’s new rapid transit network is being built to carry fast, modern, fully-automated single deck trains.

Single deck trains can travel up steeper grades, or hills, than the existing suburban trains.

This means that when the rapid transit network is extended under Sydney Harbour, the stations in the CBD will not need to be as deep.

If the new system was built for double deck trains, stations would have to be about 70 m deep – twice the depth of any station on the current Sydney train network.

The stations would be so deep that escalators would probably

not even be an option – making access to platforms by lift only and a more unpleasant experience for customers travelling so deep underground.

On the new North West Rail Link stations, the deepest station is 25 m underground at Castle Hill.

This compares to North Ryde station, which is the deepest in Sydney at 35 m.

Having stations much closer to the surface means they will be cheaper and much less complex to build.

The rapid transit system will include new CBD railway stations, easing congestion at existing city stations like Wynyard and Town Hall.

What the independent experts say on rapid transit

Sydney’s Rail Future recognises the strength of double deck train operations from areas such as Campbelltown

and Penrith where the customer patterns are heavily “city centric” – that is, most customers get on at an outlying station and travel to a major station in the CBD.

Under a previous proposal to build the North West Rail Link for double deck trains, the majority of services would have terminated at Chatswood because there simply wouldn’t be the rail line capacity for more trains across the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

That’s why the NSW Government is building a whole new rail network.

A major challenge faced by double deck trains is the “dwell time” at busy stations such as Town Hall. This is the amount of time a train has to wait at a platform while people get on and off.

Seating patterns, stairs and only two doors per carriage on double deck trains mean greater dwell times compared to single deck trains – which will have three doors and be much faster to get on and off.

The commitment to a new rapid transit system and another rail crossing under Sydney Harbour will cater for a growing transport task well into the future.

A new system using double deck trains would inconvenience customers and force them to travel deep underground, twice as deep as anywhere in Sydney now.

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Fast, safe and reliable – a new generation of rail for Sydney

Sydney’s rapid transit network will deliver a high level of reliability for customers.

The fully-automated system means trains can operate much closer together and faster – reducing the time it takes to slow down at stations, load and unload, and accelerate off.

In the future, the system will be able to operate at least 30 trains an hour in each direction through the Sydney CBD with 98 per cent reliability.

This means a train at least every two minutes – customers won’t need a timetable, they will just turn up and go.

One of the reasons single deck rapid transit systems carry more people per hour than double deck trains is that they are quicker,

can accelerate faster, and stop at stations for less time because they have more doors for people to enter and exit the train.

The new single deck trains will be customer friendly: there will be no stairs, it’ll be easier to get on and off and safety will be paramount. Inside, you’ll be able to see from one end of the train to the other.

Platform screen doors mean trains can arrive and leave stations much faster because the doors keep people and objects away from tracks, making it easier and faster to get customers on and off.

The North West Rail Link will triple the frequency of peak-direction services on the current Epping to Chatswood line, which will be converted and upgraded to be part of the new rapid transit network.

More reliable trains

The tunnels on the North West Rail Link are similar in diameter to other modern, single deck, rapid transit systems around the world.

Building the North West Rail Link for a Sydney double deck system would have significant impacts on the local community.

For instance, the 4 km above ground skytrain structure would be considerably wider – the width of a four-lane freeway, or about 14 m, as opposed to the current single deck train design width of 11 m.

There would also be other impacts like more trucks on the roads and more material used, including steel and concrete. This includes:

An extra 2,200 concrete trucks on the road to deliver the extra concrete needed to build a wider skytrain;

An extra 2,400 tonnes of steel reinforcement would be needed – enough steel reinforcement for a 100 storey skyscraper;

Almost 50 per cent more steel would be needed to hold the overhead wiring – an extra 580 tonnes, or about 725 Holden Commodores worth of steel.

Modern rapid transit systems like the one being delivered for Sydney are in use right now across the world.

Millions of people every day travel on these fully-automated rail systems, which put customer at the centre of their operations.

Benefits of these systems, which will also be used in Sydney, include:

Clear communications with customers Keeping people up to date and fully aware of what’s going on.

Safety Number 1 priority CCTV security cameras inside and outside the trains, on platforms and in station areas.

Constant live monitoring Improving customer safety.

Expert train controllers Constantly monitoring all aspects of the trains, not just the driving.

Platform screen doors Keep people and objects away from the edge of the platform, making train operations faster and allowing heating and cooling of underground stations.

What the independent experts say on rapid transit

Modern tunnel sizes

Right here, right now

At the moment, only about 18 double decker trains reliably operate per hour per line on the rail system into the city.

The Government is aiming to increase that to above 20 by making some operational and infrastructure improvements.

However, around the world it is quite usual to run 25 to 30 single deck trains per hour reliably.

That’s why single deck systems can carry many more people per hour and will deliver a significant capacity increase, which will serve growing populations in Sydney for generations to come.

Rapid transit means more trains

Artist’s impression: Windsor Road skytrain bridge.

1800 019 989northwestrail.com.au

Sydney’s Rail FutureSydney’s new rapid transit system is one of three tiers of train operations identified in Sydney’s Rail Future – the NSW Government’s plan to modernise Sydney’s train network.

Rapid transit single deck trains will provide Sydney customers with more choice alongside suburban double deck trains and intercity trains.

The new rapid transit system will better support Sydney’s growing population, which is set to grow from today’s 4.6 million people to 5.6 million by 2031.

Currently, 44 per cent of journeys to work in the CBD are made by rail – and demand for rail services is forecast to increase by over 50 per cent over the next 20 years.

As most of Sydney’s rail network was built more than 100 years ago, adding more trains to our congested, ageing and complex network is not the long term answer.

Single deck, rapid transit trains delivers the massive boost to capacity Sydney needs to meet future growth.

Once rapid transit is extended to the CBD via the second Harbour crossing, 30 trains  an hour will be able to operate to 98 per cent reliability in the peak.

New train stations on the rapid transit network will reduce crowding at CBD stations such as Wynyard and Town Hall.

There are several key advantages of building a new line completely separate from the existing network.

It means that disruptions on the current network will have no impact on the rapid transit services.

An incident where trains are stopped from going over the Sydney Harbour Bridge, for example, would not have the significant impact it does today because services would continue to run on the separate single deck lines.

When it comes to successful train systems around the world, it is the number of people carried per hour, not per train, that is key.

Rapid transit reduces complexity, increases reliability and delivers more frequent services across the network.

Deciding on the right network for the futureThe NSW Government looked at 15 options in the process of developing a future for Sydney’s rail network.

These options were refined through rigorous engineering analysis, testing a range of customer benefits, cost analysis and sustainability testing.

Following many months of detailed analysis including advice from an expert panel and international peer reviews from Europe, Asia and the US, the NSW Government decided on Sydney’s Rail Future.

Sydney’s Rail Future includes a new Harbour crossing and rapid transit

line under the CBD, new stations and introduction of fast single deck trains from the North West, through the CBD, and south to Hurstville and Bankstown.

A lot of research and consultation has gone into the development of Sydney’s Rail Future. The plan looks decades into the future and ensures it is not only in the interests of today’s commuters, but also in the long term interests of Sydney.

For more information go to: www.transport.nsw.gov.au and search for NSW Long Term Transport Master Plan.

Tier 1: Rapid transit

Frequent turn up and go services without the need for consulting a timetable

Fast single deck trains, with plenty of seats, more doors, designed for easy boarding and alighting.

Tier 2: Suburban

Timetabled services

Double deck trains with more seats per train.

Tier 3: Intercity

Timetabled services

Double deck trains for Central Coast, Newcastle, Wollongong and Blue Mountains services

Comfortable services for long distance commute and leisure travel with on-board facilities for improved customer convenience.

Three tiersTo meet changing customer needs, Sydney’s Rail Future will deliver a three tier rail system:

Artist’s impression: A rapid transit train.