Willoughby City Council has called for the introduction of frequent and high capacity bus services to help alleviate the impact of a snap shutdown of northern Sydney train lines that is planned for the first week of October.
On 19 September, the Council was notified that the NSW Government would be closing the lines from Monday 3 to Friday 7 October.
During this period, the T1 North Shore Line will be closed between Gordon and North Sydney and Metro services will be closed between North Ryde and Chatswood.
In addition, the NSW Government has already announced that, on the weekend of 8-9 October, the T1 North Shore Line will be closed between Hornsby and Wynyard and the Metro line will be closed between Tallawong and Chatswood.
While rail lines are shutdown, works will take place to connect the Metro North West Line and Sydney Metro City & Southwest at Chatswood.
Willoughby Mayor Tanya Taylor said the Council was concerned about the short notice given for the line shutdowns, along with the fact the NSW Government had advised there would be “limited replacement bus services”.
“While the Metro extension into the city and beyond will provide a significant long-term benefit to the Chatswood CBD, the construction impacts do need to be carefully managed,” Mayor Taylor said.
“This shutdown will have significant impacts on the Chatswood CBD, which is home to around 25,000 jobs and 11,500 residents, along with our other important centres at Artarmon and St Leonards.
“These works will make it extremely difficult for tens of thousands of residents, commuters and shoppers to access these centres.
“As such, we will be urging the NSW Government to put more effort into alternate transport services and actions to allow our centres to continue to effectively operate and indeed recover from the effects of COVID-19.
“This should include frequent and high capacity bus services.”
In relation to the shutdowns, the Council has been advised that special event clearways, no stopping zones and bus zones will be in effect in Chatswood from 2-10 October.
