Driverless metro trials step up a gear as target opening date looms

The green light has been given for trials of driverless trains without a supervisor keeping watch on board along the final section of Sydney’s $30 billion M1 metro line a month out from the targeted opening date.

It marks a step forward in the rigorous process to gain approval for passenger services on the 13-kilometre stretch of metro line between Sydenham and Bankstown. Confidential Sydney Metro documents have cited “mid-October” as the most recent target date for the opening.

The opening of the southwest section of the M1 will hinge on final approval for passenger services by the country’s rail regulator.

The Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator said that once all the evidence and documentation supporting the safety case for the Southwest Metro section was received, and its due diligence had been completed, the application for accreditation could be finalised and granted.

The watchdog said it would assess the final application as quickly as possible, but noted that it “requires sufficient time to undertake the work”.

“As with other projects of this type, the final assessment, ahead of services beginning, will be to verify that all risks to safety have been identified and that the appropriate systems and processes are in place and working to manage these risks effectively,” it said.

Two years ago, the Minns government announced the planned date for the opening of the M1 line’s city-section between Chatswood and Sydenham a month out, only to be forced to delay it by several weeks because it had not secured approval from the national regulator.

Transport Minister John Graham said he wanted to give communities an opening date they could rely on, and that depended on the independent regulator’s important work. “This is not a tick-and-flick exercise. This a real-life, independent safety assessment process,” he said.

Graham said the delivery of data and documentation to the national rail regulator was an “iterative process and is in line with planned milestones”.

He confirmed that the line’s operator, Metro Trains Sydney, had gained approval on Thursday for trial running of driverless operations without a supervisor on board the trains to step in if required.

The final stage of the M1 line has added complexities such as mechanical gap fillers between curved platforms and driverless trains. Ibises and other wildlife entering the rail corridor have regularly triggered a detection system.

Sydney Metro said documents would continue to be submitted to the rail regulator “over the coming weeks in line with planned milestones as part of the progressive assurance process”.

“The Southwest Metro will be open by the end of this year. We will continue to work with regulators to ensure the line meets all safety and operational requirements and is ready to open,” it said.

“We have consistently said that an opening date is not confirmed, and any suggested date is purely speculative. When we are confident of a firm opening date, we will share this publicly.”