Original subtitles

In Australia, Sydney is on a mission.

There's still a huge amount of work that we need to do. To relieve chronic

traffic congestion.

Sydney's traffic problems are incredibly difficult to solve. By building a new

state -of -the -art metro system right through the heart of the city.

But can it all be built underneath five million busy people?

Huge logistical nightmare.

Without bringing them to a standstill. A lot of things have to go right.

In sequence.

So an expert team of men and women from around the world... Quite scary.

There's a lot that can go wrong.

..are stepping up to this challenge with some pleasure... Oh, wow, this is

amazing. ..and pain... Wow.

..along the way.

That's my station here. That's what we built.

The construction on the groundbreaking Sydney Metro City line is rapidly

approaching its last stop.

Seven new 21st century railway stations have been coming to life, filling the

massive voids of the station boxes deep beneath Australia's busiest city.

The biggest underground railway cavern in Australia, Victoria Cross, has been

transformed into a striking...

fully functioning automated train stations.

At Crows Nest, more than 126 ,000 custom -made bricks have been laid by

hand, creating its unique design.

Right next to the harbour at Barangaroo, sandstone cladding has topped off the

station. At Martin Place, the new pedestrian tunnel linking the metro to

existing suburban station has been transformed into a path of light.

with immersive sound and lightscape.

In the inner city suburb of Waterloo, finishing touches are underway,

massive public art installations and the display of some artefacts found during

the excavation.

In the CBD, Pitt Street Station is nearing completion and has now been

Gadigal, recognising the local indigenous community.

And at Central, The longest escalators in the southern hemisphere have been

lowered into place, each 45 meters long and weighing more than 26 tons.

Now that the tracks are down, and the trains have made their first tentative

runs on the city line, Hugh Lawson has come to witness the finishing touches to

the platform screen doors.

Platform screen doors are a critical piece of the infrastructure, really

symbolic of Metro. It's one of the key features customers see and keeps them

safe on the platforms.

The PSDs, as they're commonly called, are one of the last pieces of train

infrastructure to be bolted down.

But it was a long journey to get them into the stations.

We brought them in actually through the tunnels on high -rail vehicles.

dropped them onto the platforms, and then from the platforms we had special

lifting equipment.

If you look at them, those are really heavy pieces of glass, like reinforced

glass, big panes.

That's where you get nice views through them when you're in the train so you

know which station you're at.

They've got to go in absolutely spot on, millimetre accuracy.

These are super precise bits of mechanical kit.

These doors are going to operate something like 70 ,000 times a year, so

imagine any slight misalignment on the doors is going to be a problem.

So the team that come in and install them, specialist team, went station to

station, installing every single panel, every door, lining them up, testing

them, making sure they were working, and then we move on to the next one and the

next one. So, yeah, really specialised tasks to get these doors in and make

they're going to be good for their 30 -year design life.

There's one final detail that the construction teams have left.

to peel the remaining section of protective coating off the last platform

doors on the entire metro.

So we thought we'd save the last bit for Hugh to come down. He's obviously been

here for the full journey. It'd be nice to come down and just mark that

together.

This is the very last bit. This is it.

Six years of work and this is the very last stage of the project now.

That's all the way. I'm really glad to see this last piece of the puzzle coming

together. Yeah.

It's a pretty special day because we've been working at Central for probably

seven years, from putting in an access bridge to the archaeological work to the

excavation, then building the structure, finishes the systems, now into the

testing. So getting to that last bit of construction and that handover point,

that's massive.

And with the plastic now coming off, the last of the 288 glass doors that keep

people safe have been installed along the edge of all the metro platforms.

By the time we open the railway, something like 50 ,000 people will have

directly involved in building this metro.

There's probably tens of thousands more who've been involved or their family or

their friends have who've been touched by kind of the work that's been going

So all of those people rightly should be pretty proud of what we've achieved.

And I hope they'll be there on the opening day or thereabouts to come and

what the finished product's like.

The Sydney Metro City Line is just about ready to go.

But one of the last remaining hurdles is signing off on the automated train. As

we come around, the guys are moving through the process.

Delivery Director of Train, Melvin Bolas, and Testing and Commissioning

Andrew Turner, are on a special mission.

Morning, guys. How are we?

So today the train is going through its final paces as part of the integrated

railway approach. So we've shut down the railway on the north -west.

We have actually possession of the whole northwest and city line to do this

testing. What we call UTO, in UTO mode, unintended train operations.

And basically what that means is driverless.

So this train is about to run from Talawong, the most northwesterly point,

Sydenham, the very end of the city line.

TC1, this is train set 36.

We are ready to switch the train back into UTR mode and release EV over.

In the crucial final stages of dynamic testing, the train will need to execute

every single automated function and feature on its own. And to perfection.

The big test is as soon as we go past Chatswood and into the city, where

be monitoring closely how this train performs and driverless, seeing the

open, seeing how it controls into the station, and it's take -off.

Looks like we're about to get going. We're about to launch.

There we go.

Wow, that's pretty cool.

The train makes its way along the northwest line.

But the real test will begin at Chatswood. What's going to happen is

to pull into Chatswood, but we're going to see the platform doors remain closed.

Melbourne certainly doesn't want anyone getting on their train by accident.

We're still doing about 65 kilometres an hour coming into the platform.

The train slows and aligns perfectly with the closed

doors on the platform.

After a few seconds...

They're off again, heading into the tunnel towards the harbour.

We're coming into Crosbyth now.

They only have a few seconds to check if the customer information boards are

correct before the doors close again.

We're in our integration peak where we're marrying up an automatic operating

train. with an automatic operating station.

We're heading into Victoria Cross now.

This is the last stop before we head under the harbour. Melvin quickly checks

the board.

So far, so good.

Back on board, everyone heads to the window at the front as they dive under

harbour.

Oh, here we go. Here we go under the harbour now. Yeah, this nice straight

I think all of these systems come into play.

right now just for this, you know, this experience just to go under the harbour.

On the first night it took hours, but here you can see under the harbour it

just took seconds.

Here's the Barangaroo Cavern now.

At this point in the tunnel, just near Barangaroo Station, the team have built

crossover cabin where the trains can switch tracks in case of delays or an

emergency.

Through months of testing, we've been able to optimize the speed and the

takeoff.

The testing has allowed the system to be tuned to ensure that as the train

leaves the station, the customers are comfortable, but the train also reaches

maximum speed in the shortest possible time.

We're heading into Central Station now.

One thing that I want to quickly want to check is the passenger information

display unit showing that... Our next stop is Waterloo Station.

Bang. Spot on.

All right.

Yeah, all the indicators are right, and we've got Waterloo to Sydenham. So

that's exactly what we want to see.

Perfect. Everything is working as it should, and the train climbs up the

towards the light and Sydenham Station.

Our journey from Tullawong towards Sydenham is spot on.

So this is exactly...

We want to see on day one.

Even though the main construction works at Martin Place have been completed, one

last delivery is making its way through the darkened streets.

But this is no heavy piece of industrial gear.

The trucks carry enormous sculptures.

Created by artist Michaela Dwyer, several major works will occupy the

Place public spaces in an installation called Continuum.

Well, both artworks, I guess they're huge, they're large, because the space

large, the station's large.

And then Albie's spotting and Pat spotting. Jeremy Spark and his rigging

need to hang them from the ceiling inside Martin Place.

With public art and with any unique form comes with it unique problems.

Another artwork has arrived called Shelter of Hollow.

It's separated into two huge pieces that will need to be joined then lifted into

place. It's delicate and it has all of our high -end finishes, gold leafing.

silver spray auto patina ring ferrous oxide finishes so it's a very delicate

stuff that's why it's wrapped in plastic the two pieces weigh one and a half

tons combined and at this end of the building there is no access for cranes

electric hoists have been attached to the roof beams ronaldo tuki runs the

rigging team and they need the hoist to be in perfect

We're going to lift that up to make sure that the winches are working and we're

looking for the levelling of the sculpture.

The first big job, remove the protective steel cage that surrounds the artwork.

Now all you're going to see is the steel's going to get removed out and

going to start sandwiching and then we fly up.

Jeremy climbs inside the sculpture while Ronaldo will be outside.

coordinating the removal of the steel beam.

We're removing those steel beams. They're pretty heavy, about 80 to 100

each.

Inside, they've rigged lifting gear to winch the top and bottom together.

Then we're going to lift the bottom part to the top section, start bolting them

together, and then we should be able to lift the whole thing.

If everything goes well, the join between the two sections will be

The rigging team knows that the stakes are high on this one.

There's zero tolerance to play with that, so the boys are taking their time.

There's three guys all in there using the rigging on a point each.

The artwork is now hanging free and the team inside the sculpture begin to winch

the two sections together.

Once the bolts go in and Shelter of Hollows is one single work of art, it's

ready to head for the sky inside Martin Clay.

It's actually quite nice. It's like a little casino.

The hoists will haul the 1 ,500 -kilo Sculptor five metres into the void above

the Elizabeth Street entrance.

We're going to run the Sculptor up, have a look at how that's playing out.

There's potentially a bit of balancing.

And then there's the electrics to go in.

Even though day one for the Metro is just around the corner, this is not

something they can run.

So far, so good. It's always tricky to be as efficient as possible and as fast

as possible without damaging anything.

The hoists fire up and the sculpture rises.

They swap the hoist chains for the steel cables.

A little more tweaking to do and the sculptures will be unwrapped in time for

day one.

There's a balancing act to be had where we swap out rigging. That's it.

It's there.

Excited passengers are about to take a ride on a metro train at Waterloo.

The beautiful platform and the thrill of riding the city line for the first time

have passengers like Dilshan on a high.

To actually experience it before the general public, it's a bit of a kick,

really. Dilshan will join 400 other people on a northbound train to Victoria

Cross on the other side of Sydney Harbour.

But things are not going to go well.

We know the train's not going to get to the other station. It's going to break

down halfway through and then, you know, the exciting stuff begins.

The trains will be loaded with officials, staff, customer journey

and observers like Georgia.

My role here today is to observe. I'm not the one who sort of says, you know,

it a pass or a fail or the overall success of it. What I will take is some

observations.

This is part of a major set of exercises to test the responses to breakdowns and

emergencies on the Metro.

The last passengers are loaded, and the train begins its journey into the

inevitable. All the passengers are volunteers, including Deputy Chief

of Sydney Metro, Rebecca McPhee.

I haven't ever done anything like this before, and I'm really excited to be

involved in the exercise.

Very quickly...

The passengers settle into the quiet calmness inside the train as it passes

along the dark tunnel.

In just a few minutes, it's at the deepest part of the harbour tunnel,

comes to a complete stop.

Good morning.

You may have noticed that this service has come to a stop.

We'll be back shortly with an update.

The signs light up, the PA comes to life, and the customer journey

coordinator... Swing into action.

It's definitely building anticipation.

There's been lots of really great announcements.

We've kept really well informed, both over the speakers and by the member of

staff coming up and down doing the assistance check. But definitely got

feeling of anticipation building.

Right now, 400 people are stuck on a train right in the centre of Sydney

Harbour. It's a 500 metre walk, uphill in both directions to the nearest exit.

And... There are people with disabilities on board.

To make it safe for the passengers to walk in the tunnels, the power has been

cut in the overhead line.

The train is now running on its own internal battery.

The power does turn off as well.

Yeah, so we're just getting ready to evacuate. So the lights have dimmed a

little bit, the air conditioning's gone off, and it's starting to get a little

bit warm in here, so you can definitely feel that anticipation building.

The fastest way out of the tunnel.

is on another train.

A rescue train full of emergency service personnel

pulls up.

The volunteers

are about to experience something

extraordinary at the bottom of Sydney Harbour.

They will step off one metro train and walk through the tunnels to a waiting

rescue train. When the doors open, we're all going to exit onto the walkway.

There is a drop down onto the track, so everyone's got to be careful.

Emergency crews arrive.

OK, what we're going to do this morning is police are going to segregate each

carriage.

An important element of this exercise...

It's how Metro and emergency authorities work together.

Hello everyone, can I have your attention for a minute? This is from New

Wales Ambulance. There's only one who needs immediate attention at this time.

Once the checks are done, it's time to get off the stricken train.

So we'll then walk single file along the walkway to the rescue train and get on

that rescue train. There is quite a drop from the platform to the railway

tracks. This might be an exercise.

But keeping 400 volunteers safe as they get off one train and negotiate a

walkway in a dark railway tunnel and then get safely onto another train is

real.

After more than seven years of construction

and with the launch of the city line rapidly approaching, Chief Executive

Regan is meeting with Deputy Chief Executive Rebecca McPhee and Project

Hugh Lawson to discuss the plan for the final stages of this mega metro.

We're getting pretty close now to opening the railway, but we've actually

work through with the team, with Hugh and Rebecca, exactly what still needs to

be done. We need to be in trial running with some reliable performance

occurring, and that's when we'll start to get that confidence.

We're at a really critical juncture at the moment where the infrastructure is

nearing completion.

You go out there, the stations are 95 % complete.

Lifts and escalators are working, gates are in. With the physical work, like,

the team are all over the lot.

bits of the stations that need to be finished off. We've got a really clear

plan, but it's going to come right to the wire.

There's so many different work streams.

They're all running in parallel. Part of the job is just making sure we

understand where we are at this point in time, what still needs to get finished,

and how's it all going to come together. Yes, we've got a couple of key

milestones to get through before we can announce that final date, but tracking

well. All right.

The trains and stations are now deep into dynamic testing, and the team needs

take stock of what is left to finish.

We're looking all across the project and really drilling down to a super

granular level of detail to understand what works are remaining.

But it's not just the physical works, it's not just what you can see, it's

understanding where we are with the testing and commissioning, how the

are performing, have we got critical functionality visible from the control

centre, all of these things need to come together.

As the nearly completed Metro becomes more visible, with new trains passing

through new stations, there's a new set of issues.

A lot of pressure on us to get this open so that the public can use it, but we

don't want it open too early. So we need it to be reliable, we need confidence

that it's good to go.

So it's trying to find that right balance.

But when day one of Metro services does arrive, there will be other

considerations to take into account.

Obviously, we open our new metro to customers for the first time, but we're

changing bus routes. We're putting live customer information.

We are running a marketing campaign to raise awareness. We're putting out

precinct plans.

Hundreds of people all trying to deliver key outputs for one day.

Since the opening of the North West Line in 2019, Sydneysiders have waited

another five years for the city line to open.

And it looks like we'll still have to wait just a little longer.

There have been thousands of people working millions of hours on this

For me personally, it's seven years' work, and it will all come down to how

we open.

It's really a tension point of trying to provide certainty as early as we can,

but not until we've got confidence that we're going to open a reliable train

service. There are a few more boxes to tick.

before the date for day one can be announced.

So we'll announce publicly when we're ready to go and then the services will

start. It's going to be a fantastic day for Sydney. But that train is rapidly

coming down the track and Sydney Metro needs to be ready.

As the Sydney Metro City line races towards an opening day...

The entire system must pass critical testing of the emergency procedures.

400 volunteers are about to evacuate a metro train stopped under Sydney

We don't want anyone falling down. I will ask that you keep your left hand on

the handrail the entire length of the trip from this train to the next train,

OK? Does everybody understand that?

Excellent.

The one -metre -wide steel walkways run along the walls of the tunnel.

They are designed for maintenance, repair crews and emergencies only.

All right, ladies and gentlemen, we're not far off decanting this first

carriage. You will note when you exit the train onto the walk platform, there

quite a gap, OK? The first passengers step out into the unknown.

Since testing began, humans have had little to no presence in the tunnels.

Now here they are, in their hundreds, deep beneath Sydney Harbour.

Carriage by carriage, they make their way to safety.

Firefighters stand on the tracks below to ensure passengers

don't get distracted by these unfamiliar surroundings and make a misstep.

We've now moved across to the rescue train. We've still got people boarding

you can see at the moment.

Lots of emergency services personnel came onto the previous train, helped

off, made sure people were safe walking along the walkway between the two

trains. So definitely a really interesting experience for everyone

far today.

The last passenger gets a helping hand from police rescue officers.

A final sweep by... and the train is empty of passengers.

So it's all gone really smoothly.

People single file along that walkway. Everyone's very calm. Everyone being

communicated to as we went through. So it's gone smoothly so far.

A short 500 -metre train ride and a wrist break at Barangaroo.

From our perspective, that exercise went really, really well.

Then it's back onto the train for part two.

of the exercises what's going to happen this time is the train is going to stop

about 100 meters outside of martin place station and we're actually going to

evacuate the train on foot the requirement for people to walk a

the tunnels introduces a difficult new element and something that is a real

issue we've got a couple of injured people so emergency service will come on

help deal with the injured people as we evacuate the other people by foot to the

station. Volunteer Richard has put on a moon boot to play the role of an injured

person. And so the challenge will be how does the system respond to me being a

bit of a fly in the ointment.

So there we go.

This doesn't just require the cooperation of passengers.

This exercise will test the core design of the train.

The team are actually going to put the front of the train down so that we can

roll a wheelchair off the front of the train.

They travel into the Sydney CBD.

But stop just before entering Martin Place Station.

As before, the customer journey coordinators spread the word. It appears

our train has come to a stop here. Our team has notified me that we are waiting

for emergency services and we're going to transfer you to Martin Place.

Emergency services arrive.

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

Police rescue here to organise the evacuation of the train.

And evacuate the train along the walkway.

As the last passengers leave and the volunteers in wheelchairs need

the metro train gets to do its most amazing party trick.

It's taken seven years and over 50 ,000 people and the city metro city line

is just about ready to open to the public.

Every nut, bolt, screw and electrical connector, escalator,

lift, track, trains and automatic gate, all in store, buttoned

down and operating exactly as they should.

Well, almost. One station is taking a bit longer and it's causing some

stress for Deputy Project Director Nathan Hoffmeister.

So here at Martin Place, we are actually running right to the wire. We're

actually at the final knockings, but it's going to be right to the wire for

we need to open. One of the main reasons for that is the sheer scale of this

build. We're in the middle of the city, logistics is a nightmare, and the space

that has been created underground here is phenomenal.

So it's a huge space to actually build and fit out, but the amount of detail

that goes within this space, and we've got the highest level of quality at this

station across the network.

Martin Place Station is so close to finishing.

But as they take every step closer to completion, things get even more

As much as I would love to flood this station with endless people and endless

machinery to get this done instantly, unfortunately it's just not something

we can actually achieve. Because we're in the final stages, we do have the

finishes on, very easy to damage with larger machinery, so we are limited to

what we can bring in here.

The man on the ground who was in charge of delivering this underground cathedral

of a metro station.

is delivery director Luke Garden.

And it's one step forward, two steps back.

So here at Martin Place, we're 95 % complete on the station, so basically

everything inside the building line is done, and we're just pushing it to get

the public domain finished.

Martin Place is so massive compared to our others. The public domain is huge,

and we're really just battling to try and get it finished before opening.

The Metro build needed a huge access hole dug in the centre of Martin Place.

The hole has since been covered over, but the crews need to replace the paving

right up to the front of the southern Martin Place station entry.

The City of Sydney specifies that Martin Place has a granite paver sourced from

a specific quarry in a special state of dark grey laid exactly to specification.

Because it really is the centre of Sydney, we need to make sure this is

and the City of Sydney have really high standards here as well and we need to

make sure that we meet those.

But to get the hundreds of 40 kilo pavers down and the site finished is

take a superhuman effort.

And perfect weather.

Not good.

Because the rain's so heavy, we've really...

Almost butted the side here, so we have to call works off for the day.

With the clock ticking for the countdown to launch, this delay is the last thing

the team needs.

Deep underneath Central, the Metro team has achieved an extraordinary feat.

The tunnels, platforms... And platform screen doors for the new Metro are fully

operational.

And automated trains are doing test runs that pass through the station every 10

minutes.

Over the centuries, Central Station has seen the remarkable evolution of railway

technology, from steam power, diesel and electric, to the driverless, computer

-controlled Metro system of today.

As a striking reminder of this evolution, an historic visitor is

patiently for passengers at Central's Platform 1.

Taking a break out of Testing Commission Day, Melbourne's joining me on this

steam train ride down to Wollongong. It's great to kind of be part of the

of rail transport in Sydney, but also be able to take part in a look back at

some of the history and the heritage that we're building on. Just an

experience to get so close to a train like this. On this rainy Sunday,

locomotive 3265 is taking a trainload of excited passengers on a trip down

railway memory lane.

The train that we're about to board is 120 years old, so it feels great to be

around people that are excited to be around trains and what it's like to step

onto something new. I can't wait.

Good morning, Hugh. How are you doing?

Hey, Melvin. How's it going? Good, man.

We're off. Good to see.

We've picked up quite a bit of speed already, which is good.

Hugh, we are moments away from launching the Metro, and today we're on a 120

-year -old train.

You know, what are you feeling at the moment?

I think it's worth remembering when this train was new. This was world -class,

best technology you could get.

People were probably blown away by it. They feel the same about the Metro when

it opens, and maybe in 100 years' time, they're still looking at the Metro

thinking how great it was, because this steam train's fantastic.

3265 was built in England in 1902 and worked in and around Sydney for 66

Retired in 1968, this steam locomotive was restored in 1998, hauling authentic

and beautifully renovated... New South Wales government railway carriages. The

rail network in Sydney is huge.

Like, it's phenomenal.

And it's taken hundreds of years to get like this, but riding a steam train on

the main line, mixed in with all the normal suburban commuter trains that

trains operate, it's a phenomenal experience.

They're travelling to Wollongong down the south coast line, which has been

operating since 1887.

Over time, this line has seen all types of steam locomotives.

including the pride of Australian steam locomotive engineering, the legendary 38

class.

As an engineer on the new Metro, Melvin can appreciate the skill and

determination that was needed by early locomotive building.

You know, that legacy that they've built and just being able to stand on their

shoulders to be able to deliver what they delivered back then to what our

is doing right now. It's just an amazing feeling.

Nearing the end of the journey and heading downhill towards the coast,

locomotive 3265 picks up some extra speed.

Before steaming across the spectacular Danwell Park Viaduct.

For Hugh and Melvin, this steam adventure has been a look back to the

But now they need to turn their attention back to the future.

In a tunnel just outside Martin Place Metro Station, nearly

400 passengers are evacuating a train on foot.

Under the watchful eye of emergency services, most have made their way along

walkways, 100 metres through the tunnel to safety.

But the real test is for people with mobility issues.

If anyone on board has any mobility issues, please identify it so that the

police move through and we'll facilitate your evacuation off.

I should be OK to walk. It's just when I'm, like, deaf, large gaps.

Because volunteer Richard can walk, he exits through the side door and it's

helped his safety.

But for passengers in wheelchairs, the train has a special surprise.

You'd never know by looking at it, but the streamlined nose of the metro train

does this.

The people in wheelchairs take an unexpected trip out the front of the

train.

So the whole front of the train cracked open and flipped forward onto the tracks

to provide a ramp for the last couple of wheelchair users who've been evacuated

from the train.

It's an easy journey along the track and then helped up the stairs by emergency

crews. I haven't ever seen that before. It's a quite impressive sight. A mega

milestone is reached on the Metro's journey to day one.

It's fantastic to have just done those past two exercises. They went pretty

well, some lessons learnt, and we're in the countdown to the last few weeks.

Only a few weeks until this railway is open. It's an incredible feeling.

At Barangaroo, the finishing line is in sight, but there's one last finishing

touch to complete, a nod to Sydney's remarkable maritime history.

When excavation first began on this site, archaeologists made a rare

Australia's oldest colonial -made boat. The 190 -year -old boat was carefully

removed and since then has undergone a painstaking and extensive conservation

process.

Now, near the entrance to Barangaroo Station, the team is back where it all

began.

I was back here five years ago when the boat was being excavated, and when I

came here, it was just one gigantic construction site.

Kieran Hofty has been involved in the conservation of the boat since the

beginning.

Really unexpected to find a site here in Sydney under three or four metres of

sand and sediment, but a joy for archaeologists.

Today, a two -dimensional metal inlay of the boat is being installed as public

art.

The boat as it was unearthed during the excavation, it was 3D scanned and we've

taken that 3D scan and outlined it digitally to then recreate that in the

that you see today.

Made from cast iron, the artwork is being installed in the exact location

the original boat was found.

So we installed a template or a stencil of the boat out on the granite pavers.

We then sandblasted around the edge of that template and sandblasting takes

approximately 15 millimetres off the top of the granite paver. The 14 steel

pieces are then lifted into place using a small gantry and powerful

electromagnet and fitted together piece by piece like a puzzle.

After our works are complete here today, we will cover up the heritage boat

inlay tiles and protect it until station opening, at which point we will remove

that and people will be able to walk on it and experience it for themselves.

This steel inlay will be completed in just a few days, ready for the opening

the Metro.

But what has become of the physical timbers of the boat retrieved from the

Barangaroo site?

They are currently...

in the last phase of a five -year conservation process, being freeze

the largest freeze -dryer in the southern hemisphere.

And happily, their long -term fate has now been decided.

We're very excited that the boat is going to be taken by the National

Museum and reconstructed in one of their galleries so that the public can go and

see it. The Barangaroo boat has travelled a long way since its

And it's fitting it will end this journey at the Australian National

Museum, located just across the harbour from where it was discovered.

The seven new megastations are all getting their absolute final details and

their works of art in their own right.

Crow's Nest.

Victoria Croft, Barangaroo, Martin Place,

Gadigal, Central, and Waterloo.

The Sydney Metro City Line is ready to go.

The track, train, and signals are in and fully tested.

And that means there's only one thing left to do.

opened the Sydney Metro City line to the public.

A date for day one of operations had been set and then postponed.

But now, Hugh Lawson receives the news he's spent the last seven years working

towards. Yep, no worries. All right, thanks. Bye.

I just heard we've got a confirmed date for opening agreed.

The Minister's just announced we'll be opening in August.

For us, that means that's the deadline. Everything has to be closed by then.

Everything that's left, there's nowhere else for it to go.

The countdown to launch has finally begun.

The railway's got to open really well, safely, reliably.

Got to make sure every I is dotted, every T is crossed, all the paperwork is

done. It's just a big task. And now we've got a deadline, we've got to hit

Pressure's on.

It's 4 a .m. on Monday, August 19, 2024.

Day one for the city line.

At the Sydney Metro trains facility, 35 kilometres northwest of downtown Sydney,

the trains travelling south begin to wake up.

As they go through the self -test and pre -check, in the huge building right

next door, the operations control centre, screens light up.

as each new train set comes online.

The launch is happening on a Monday, so the City Line system will have a baptism

of fire from the first passenger rush at 4 .55am straight into peak hour.

Trains will run through the peak every four minutes and then will proceed into

every seven minutes.

The system is in full UTO, or unattended train operation mode.

As usual, the network will run itself today, but the OCC crew will be watching

for any signs of trouble.

At the extreme opposite end of the line to Talawong, at the Metro Trains

facility near Sydenham Station, Project Director Hugh Lawson waits in the pre

-dawn with Chief Executive Peter Regan, dignitaries, the Minister for Transport

and Metro staff for one of the biggest moments of their working lives.

It's opening day.

and we're about to get on the first train that's going to head out the

head to Sydenham Station, and then we're going to be on it when it leaves. First

train through the new city section.

I'm tired, excited, nervous.

All eyes are going to be on us today.

Just a few hundred metres from where Hugh stands is the focal point for the

launch.

Sydenham Station, where the city line's service will collect its first ever

paying customer.

I think a lot of people don't quite realise what they're about to experience

this isn't a railway for today or a week. This is a railway for the next

years. It's really going to change the shape of Sydney and the way it works. I

truly believe that. The greatest unknown is exactly how many people will want to

ride the train on this auspicious day.

I can't wait to see their faces when they get to see the station for the

time, some of them, and ride the train under the harbour.

On the other side of Sydney, the Joint Operations Centre convenes to ensure all

the transport streams mesh into one perfect system.

Run by a team of specialists, it's their job to troubleshoot in real time.

The room behind me where we're working today is a hive of activity because

got representatives from across the group and I guess we all just want it to

a massive success.

So, you know, a big, big day.

Grant and the team have spent months preparing to integrate the new metro

the existing transport network.

We keep an eye on things like the trains, the buses.

the active transport, all the vehicles that go in and around station precincts,

just so that we can make sure that the whole transport network as a whole is

functioning together with the new metro services.

Even with meticulous planning, making sure everything will run smoothly is no

easy task.

If there are any issues, any teething issues, we can identify them and then we

can proactively manage them.

Back in 2019,

On day one of the Northwest Line, there were some teething issues, with the

crowd numbers exceeding even the wildest expectations.

Over 100 ,000 people turned up in the first few hours to ride the new train.

Despite the enormous success, a few tiny glitches in the platform screen doors

caused the then Sydney Metro bot, Rod Staple, some anxious moments.

This time, however, the team are hoping for a smoother ride

on day one.

This train begins its 31 -kilometre journey to the start of the city

line at Chatswood.

At the exact other end of the line, the crowd has swelled outside Sydenham

Station.

The roller doors open, and the enthusiastic travelling public get their

taste of a new metro station.

Sydney -siders have been waiting five years for this line to open.

There is a massive expectation on the new metro.

It's going to be great. It's going to be great. Very tired, but very excited.

750 metres away, the first passengers board the very first train.

Deputy Project Director Nathan Hoffmeister looks cool, but his

everything coming down to the wire proved scarily accurate.

There's always a few last -minute issues we have, like last -minute precinct

work, some of the entrances needed a few final touches over the last couple of

nights. In the end, they got everything done, and now the first northbound

train rolls out of the depot.

So we're just heading now into Sydenham itself.

from the depot and can't wait to see just how many people are waiting for us

it looks like it's going to be a popular train.

Train enthusiasts, bystanders, commuters and the curious join the rush to get on

the train.

Among them

Delivery Director of Trains, Melvin Bowlett. It literally is like the New

Day of Sydney's public transportation.

Good morning and welcome aboard one of the first metro services to carry

customers along the city line.

It looks like things are going pretty well.

Chief Executive Peter Regan finally gets a moment to reflect.

The train is absolutely full.

People queuing at Sydenham to get on. So far so good. It's running on time,

running smooth.

We're three stations in.

At Chatswood, the southbound train from Talawong is fully loaded and coming in

hot. Eager passengers get on board and depart, carrying the first paying

customer to make the connection from the northwest line.

onto the city line.

Former Sydney Metro Chief Rod Staples has come to welcome the first train on a

project he first breathed life into over 16 years ago.

He congratulates the team on a job well done.

This is a massive engineering feat.

I'm so proud of the thousands of workers that have worked on this day in and day

out, including yourself, Hugh, in bringing this to a point where it's now

But this is for the people of Sydney.

What did it feel like coming back and seeing the city stations for the first

time? For me, coming in and out feels like a bit of closure and a bit of

completion of the vision that I had for the project. And so probably the funnest

part of today has been on the train, talking to people.

them sharing their stories about what they're doing differently today than

they did last week, and how much faster their journey to their destination is.

It's something that you should be really proud of, you and the whole team should

be really proud of.

From an idea that started with John Bradfield in the early 20th century, to

vision of Rod Staples for the Northwest Life, the passengers now riding the

first driverless train travelling beneath Sydney's famous harbour.

means Sydney's transport network is now playing on a global stage, all thanks

to the thousands of people that have made this dream a reality.

It's been an amazing day so far. The trains are running perfectly.

People are milling through the station as if they've always been here.

It's the end of the build, but the start of the operations. This is going to run

for 100 years.

It's amazing. It's really an incredible beginning.

This has got to be the biggest achievement and the proudest moment of

and probably for the whole of my career. I don't think there's going to be much

that can possibly top this.

We're really excited seeing people get using the system now. It's been such a

long journey to get here.

Job done.

Welcome!

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