Sydney Metro Northwest - Operations, Trains and Systems PPP
Australia’s biggest transport project
The Sydney Metro Operations Trains and Systems (OTS) public private partnership (PPP) delivered Australia’s first driverless railway when stage one of the country’s biggest public transport project, the Metro North West Line, opened in May 2019.
The PPP has gone on to deliver a level of customer service and safety never before seen in Australia, demonstrating Sydney Metro’s commitment to delivering sustainable city-shaping outcomes and a world-class metro that is enhancing the city’s liveability and productivity.
Rail passengers have enjoyed continued high availability and reliability of services every four minutes in peak and ten minutes off-peak. Easy, safe and reliable journeys have been maintained on more than 380,000 services.
Scope extension
Pacific Partnerships, and CIMIC Group companies CPB Contractors, UGL and EIC Activities, as part of the Northwest Rapid Transit consortium, delivered the $3.7 billion OTS contract – the largest PPP ever awarded in NSW.
This included delivering eight new railway stations, more than 4,000 commuter car parking spaces, Sydney’s new metro trains and upgrading the railway between Chatswood and Epping.
Pacific Partnerships provided further equity investment when the OTS2 PPP was granted to extend the metro line from Chatswood, through the City and to Bankstown in the southeast.
Metro North West Line will be operated and maintained through the NRT PPP for an initial concession period of 15 years by Metro Trains Sydney (MTS), a joint venture including UGL.
ESG initiatives
The Metro North West Line uses zero-emission electricity for all operational electricity needs, saving more than 133,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions across the 2020-21 and 2021-22 financial years. This includes 100 percent of operational electricity needs sourced from renewable energy via a power purchase agreement with the Beryl Solar Farm in regional NSW. The line has also installed 1100 kilowatts peak (kWp) of solar photovoltaics.
Public art is a key part of Sydney Metro’s placemaking approach and promotes inviting, welcoming stations that are connected to communities. Its first artwork, ‘Light Line Social Square’ along the Metro North West Line received an urban design award recognising its effectiveness to elevate the customer’s journey with art and engagement.