The safety issue putting Sydney’s Metro opening date at risk

The opening of the final stage of Sydney’s $21.6 billion M1 metro line is at risk of further delays due to a dispute between two state government agencies over a lack of fire hydrants on platforms at nine stations.

Modelling by the state’s firefighting agency shows the distance between fire engines parked next to stations and the far end of their platforms will be between 126 metres and 211 metres without hydrants installed.

The worst affected is Wiley Park station in Sydney’s south-west, where firefighters would need to lay seven lengths of fire hoses, adding critical time to them responding to a train fire or other incidents.

If hydrants were installed, the time for firefighters to set up operations once they arrived at Wiley Park, Marrickville or Canterbury would be cut to three minutes or less, from more than 11 minutes without them. The time to set up would also be reduced significantly at other stations.

The modelling is contained in an internal briefing document by Fire and Rescue NSW, which reveals that the agency has frequently aired concerns with Sydney Metro about the lack of fire hydrants at stations along the 13-kilometre line between Sydenham and Bankstown.

The stations without fire hydrants on platforms are Marrickville, Dulwich Hill, Hurlstone Park, Canterbury, Campsie, Belmore, Lakemba, Wiley Park and Punchbowl. Bankstown and Sydenham stations have hydrants on platforms.

As part of the major upgrade, the stations have been retrofitted with platform screen doors and other equipment – albeit without new fire hydrants – to handle driverless metro trains.

If hydrants were put in, platforms would have to be ripped up to lay water pipes and fit the equipment at an estimated cost of $30 million, risking further delays to the opening of the final section of the M1 metro line.

The final stage between Sydenham and Bankstown was meant to reopen in late 2025, but has been delayed until at least April next year due to the complexity of converting an existing heavy rail line into one for driverless trains. Up to 60,000 commuters a day are forced to use replacement buses or find other ways to get to their destinations while the rail corridor is closed.

Under the original plans of the previous Coalition government, the Sydenham-Bankstown stretch was meant to open in 2024 at the same time as the rest of the second stage of the M1 line between Chatswood and Sydenham.

In the internal briefing document obtained by the Herald, Fire and Rescue NSW warned of “excessive intervention times” and limiting “tactical actions” due to absence of hydrants on platforms.

The firefighting agency also advised that the lack of hydrants risks exposed firefighters to “potentially unsafe” workloads while reducing their ability to protect lives and minimise damage to government-owned property.

Firefighters have to roll the heavy hoses out while in their full gear, making it one of the most strenuous parts of their jobs.

Fire and Rescue NSW first recommended as far back as 2018 that hydrant systems be installed at the stations while they were converted to handle metro trains and flagged concerns a year later about the prospect of street-only hydrants.

Fire and Rescue NSW said in a statement that it was working closely with Sydney Metro, Infrastructure NSW and the Fire Brigade Employees Union to protect the safety of commuters, firefighters and railway staff. “Discussions are ongoing,” it said.

Sydney Metro said in a statement that safety was its highest priority, and it continued to engage with the national rail safety regulator and emergency services ahead of opening the Southwest Metro, “just as was the case before opening the city-section of the M1 line last year”.

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