Sydney City and NW train station statistics

Comparative station exit numbers for all stations from the NW through Sydney city to Sydenham, September 2023 vs September 2024 (pre and post city metro extension). For those unfamiliar with the stations, the exclusive metro stations in the list are: Waterloo, Gadigal, Barangaroo, Victoria Cross, Crows Nest, North Ryde to Macquarie University, Cherrybrook to Tallawong. Stations hosting both metro and suburban services are: Sydenham, Central, Martin Place, Chatswood and Epping.

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The uplift in new patronage brought by the metro over and above transfer from suburban services is obvious. Also on the NW metro line, which has been operating west of Chatswood since 2019, there's a huge uplift since the line was extended to the city. Most of these commuters were probably previously driving since there was no convenient alternative through to the city.

The big numbers still coming into Town Hall and, to a lesser extent, Wynyard stations reflect the mass of commuting from western and southern Sydney, where there are no metro lines open yet. These figures will fall when Metro West and Metro South West open. The lower North Shore Line has been heavily affected by the metro, as shown in the patronage falls for St Leonards and North Sydney.

I've often wondered whether having a line through the heart of the Sydney CBD (thus more central to people's final destinations) will be more attractive than the existing loop around the CBD perimeter and this seems to be the case. It will be interesting to see if there's a similar outcome when the new Melbourne line through the CBD opens, relative to the existing perimeter CBD loop line.

Tony P