Automated trains a historic milestone for Sydney rail infrastructure

An automated train on a trial run has crossed the Sydney Metro Northwest skytrain bridge for the first time, a major milestone for the project.

Testing over Windsor road and on to the skytrain towards the new Kellyville station is the start of an expansion of the metro train testing program beyond Sydney Metro HQ at Rouse Hill.

Trains will be initially tested at 60 kilometres an hour before being tested at up to 100 kilometres an hour.

Train testing will then progress into the new 15 kilometres railway tunnels between Bella Vista and Epping.

Sydney Metro Northwest is set to open in the first half of 2019 and is the first stage of the Sydney Metro project. It will be Australi’s first fully automated metro rail system, stretching 36 kilometres from Chatswood to Rouse Hill.

The skytrain bridge is the first of its kind in Australia, with two towers reaching 45 metres in height. Each has 16 pipes containing cables that fix it to the bridge deck, which is made up of 88 concrete segments weighing from 70 to 140 tonnes each.

NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance said the trial was a historic moment which is transformative for the city of Sydney.

“The people of the northwest who have waited for generations for public transport of this magnitude are about to see it become a reality next year,” he said.

“This is akin to the first car being on the Harbour Bridge.”

The bridge was constructed by civil infrastructure company Salini Impregilo, which has won a number of awards for the project, including a ‘Leading as Built IS rating’ from the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia for its sustainability.