Communities between Sydenham and Bankstown will see more trains running along the tracks as they ramp up to four minute service intervals in the morning and afternoon peaks.

Trains on the Southwest line have been operating with a driver on hand, but throughout this testing phase they will switch to fully automated conditions, controlled by the Operations Control Centre.

As part of Trial Running more than 120 operational scenarios will be tested, including emergency exercises involving Fire and Rescue NSW, the NSW Police Force, NSW Ambulance, the Transport Management Centre and Sydney Trains.

Reflecting real-life incidents, the exercises will include disrupted train operations, customer evacuations from stations, crowd management, lift and escalator failures, security incidents and service recovery.

This week the first emergency exercises commenced involving station evacuations using simulated smoke.

These operational exercises are testing the resilience of the railway and the readiness of workers both on the frontline and behind the scenes to run the new metro.

Once Trial Running and all remaining regulatory approvals are complete, Southwest Metro will be ready to welcome passengers and join the M1 Metro line as one continuous service from Tallawong to Bankstown.

This comes as new patronage forecasts reveal an expected 34 per cent increase on the Southwest once the line opens, 9,500 passenger movements between 8-9am weekdays. That’s up from 7,100 passenger movements on the former T3 Bankstown Line before the conversion commenced, and a 10 per cent increase on previous September 2025 patronage modelling that predicted 8,600 passenger movements between 8-9am on weekdays.

The new modelling predicts an increase of 13 per cent in weekday patronage, across the entire M1 alignment after opening, when compared to patronage numbers from March 2026.

The fully integrated 51.5-kilometre M1 line will be capable of moving around 17,000 passengers in each direction every hour through the Sydney CBD during the busiest periods.

Minister for Transport John Graham said:

“Locals will start to get a glimpse of what their metro service will look like when it’s running every four minutes.

“Trial Running is the last step before the independent safety regulators make their final assessment. We already know the railway works, we’re now proving it can perform under every high pressure operating condition.

“This phase combines trains running to timetable with realistic operational and emergency scenarios, making sure we have a safe and reliable service from day one.”

Minister for Emergency Services and Member for Bankstown Jihad Dib said:

“It’s exciting that seamless turn-up-and-go metro travel is just around the corner for our community.

“These emergency exercises are necessary to put the network and our emergency services to the test so we can make sure we’re ready for every scenario before passengers get on board.”

Member for Canterbury Sophie Cotsis said:

“Trial Running is about ensuring our communities on the Southwest extension experience the same world-class reliability and service we see on the rest of the M1 line.

“The Minns Labor Government is working hard to deliver for the Canterbury community. It’s exciting to enter this last phase of the Southwest metro project that will unlock this region like never before whilst delivering more job opportunities for the people of Canterbury.

Member for Summer Hill Jo Haylen said:

“This is Southwest metro’s dress rehearsal. We’re nearly ready to raise the curtains and welcome passengers on board.

“As Trial Running progresses, people may notice more activity at stations and along the rail corridor. I want to again thank everyone for their patience. The pink buses will soon be behind us as the future of travel in the inner west arrives.”