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Railway line moved to make way for metro

30.03.2021

Machine cutting the train track at night. There is sparks coming off the track and 3 workers in personal protective equipment Machine cutting the train track at night. There is sparks coming off the track and 3 workers in personal protective equipment
Tracks are being reconnected by construction workers at night between Artarmon and Chatswood stations. Sydney city skyline can be seen in the background. Tracks are being reconnected by construction workers at night between Artarmon and Chatswood stations. Sydney city skyline can be seen in the background.
5 construction workers in high viz, using a tool to realign the train track. 5 construction workers in high viz, using a tool to realign the train track.
Worker cutting the rail track at night. There is sparks coming off the track and 2 workers in personal protective equipment Worker cutting the rail track at night. There is sparks coming off the track and 2 workers in personal protective equipment
A heavy machine is picking up and moving the rail track. Construction worker in high viz is directing the operator of the machine. A heavy machine is picking up and moving the rail track. Construction worker in high viz is directing the operator of the machine.
The arm of a heavy machine is picking up and moving the rail track at night time. Construction worker in high viz is directing the operator of the machine. The arm of a heavy machine is picking up and moving the rail track at night time. Construction worker in high viz is directing the operator of the machine.
Machine cutting the train track at night. There is sparks coming off the track and 3 workers in personal protective equipment Machine cutting the train track at night. There is sparks coming off the track and 3 workers in personal protective equipment
Two construction workers on a cherry picker are working on the overhead gantries for track realignment Two construction workers on a cherry picker are working on the overhead gantries for track realignment
Image of rain falling with blurred out-of-focus heavy machinery in the background. Image of rain falling with blurred out-of-focus heavy machinery in the background.
Machine moving the track whilst a construction worker cuts the track. There are several construction workers and shed in the background. Machine moving the track whilst a construction worker cuts the track. There are several construction workers and shed in the background.

A major Sydney railway line has been picked up and moved in just 48 hours, to make way for the brand new Sydney Metro.

The Sydney Trains T1 North Shore Line had to be permanently realigned, between Chatswood and Artarmon, because the existing suburban railway tracks were effectively blocking the new city-bound Sydney Metro.

A team of 250 workers completed the critical track work at Chatswood, so that Sydney Metro can be extended from the city’s north west into the Sydney CBD and beyond to Bankstown.

The northbound Sydney Trains track, which was first built in 1890, was cut and moved to connect with new tracks 20 metres to the west, to make way for the Metro North West Line to extend into the new twin metro tunnels.

The huge operation took 48 hours to cut, slew and join the existing suburban line with almost 900 metres of new track and about 2.5 kilometres of new overhead wiring.

So far almost 11 kilometres of track and more than 10,000 railway sleepers have been installed as part of the Sydney Metro City & Southwest project.

All up, 62 kilometres of Australian-made rail steel weighing more than 4,000 tonnes will be used to lay 31 kilometres of railway tracks in the twin tunnels between Chatswood and Sydenham.

Sydney Metro rail services between Chatswood, the Sydney CBD and Bankstown start in 2024, when Sydney will have 31 Metro railway stations and a 66-kilometre standalone metro railway system.

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