The New South Wales (NSW) transport authorities have announced the closure of the T6 Bankstown and Lidcombe rail line for more than two months, beginning April 27 and lasting until June 29. This decision affects thousands of daily commuters who will be required to rely on replacement bus services or alternative transportation methods during this period.

The two-month closure comes shortly after the official acknowledgment that the T3 line, which operates between Sydenham and Bankstown, will remain out of service longer than the initially planned 12 months.

This line has been closed since September as part of its conversion to metro standards.

Up to 60,000 commuters have had to use replacement buses in the city’s southwest due to this disruption.

Transport officials have stated that the closure of the T6 line is essential to facilitate significant construction works tied to the T3 conversion.

The work involves updating signaling systems and extending platforms at Bankstown station to accommodate eight-carriage trains, increasing from the current capacity of four-carriage trains on the T6 line.

According to Transport for NSW, these upgrades are expected to enhance the operational capacity of all Sydney Trains fleet accessing Bankstown station and support future growth demands on the T6 line.

In response to the closure, fare-free replacement buses will operate, including express services and an all-station stop route between Bankstown and Lidcombe.

Currently, approximately 11,000 passengers utilize the T6 line's train services on a typical weekday.

During the T6 line's suspension, train services on the T3 line will remain available for commuters from Berala and Regents Park stations, providing travel options to the central business district (CBD) and inner western suburbs.

However, stations such as Yagoona, Birrong, and Bankstown will not have train services during the closure.

Additional complications are introduced by the full or partial weekend closures of the M1 metro line, necessitated for work and testing associated with the Sydenham to Bankstown conversion.

Over the recent weekend, part of the M1 line between Central Station and Sydenham was closed to facilitate these activities.

Sydney Metro has announced that testing of the new extension from Sydenham to Bankstown is set to commence soon, with the agency confirming that the necessary powering up of the line is complete.

It cautions that passengers on the M1 line should expect substantial disruptions as testing proceeds, leading to several weekends of full and partial train service interruptions, as well as some nightly service terminations at 10 PM.

The original reopening date for the 13-kilometre segment between Sydenham and Bankstown was slated for late 2023; however, this has now been postponed to 2024.

The NSW government allocated an additional $1.1 billion in late 2023 to address the complications related to the line's conversion, bringing the overall cost of the metro project from Chatswood to Bankstown via the CBD to approximately $21.6 billion, significantly higher than the initial estimate of $12 billion made when the project was first unveiled several years ago.