In news no Sydneysider will welcome, it has been announced that a major Sydney rail line will shut down for a year as a major upgrade is put in place.

From mid-2024 the T3 Bankstown line between Birrong and Marrickville will cease to function as the state government upgrades the line to new driverless Metro trains. Stations on the T3 line between Birrong and Marrickville that will be affected include Yagoona, Bankstown, Punchbowl, Wiley Park, Lakemba, Belmore, Campsie, Canterbury, Hurlstone Park, Dulwich Hill and Marrickville.

Replacement buses won’t be provided for each station, rather buses are set to run to a complete new timetable, with services dedicated to helping the community travel between suburbs with ease. 

Even so, it is expected that thousands of commuters will be affected by the upgrade for approximately 12 months. Premier Chris Minns said construction will see 13 kilometres of the T3 Bankstown line closed for at least one year. 

This conversion will form part of the Sydney and South West Metro network, which will eventually stretch from the city’s North Shore at Chatswood to Bankstown. Metro driverless trains have been operating on the north-west rail line from Tallawong to Chatswood since 2019.

See you on the bus, friends *silently sobbing*.

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