Sydney Metro reopening offers hope to local businesses
Small businesses along Sydney’s Southwest Metro line are counting on the reopening of the Sydenham to Bankstown extension to bring customers back after more…
Businesses hoping salvation Sydney's Southwest Metro reopening is approaching after more than two years of construction disruption along the route. The Sydenham to Bankstown extension is due to open on Friday, with its first passenger service set to depart Bankstown Station early that morning.
The return of rail services could bring customers back to shops that say replacement buses and reduced foot traffic hurt trade. The line’s opening comes more than a year later than initially forecast, after the conversion of the 130-year-old T3 Bankstown line forced commuters onto replacement buses.
The reopening affects 10 stations between Marrickville and Bankstown. Work included upgraded tracks and corridors, along with automatic platform doors.
Relief, but no certainty.
At Marrickville, vintage shop owner Talia Gill has been weighing whether to close Casablanca, near the station. When the station shut in 2024, commuters and people visiting the popular food hub had to travel through Sydenham. Foot traffic on Illawarra Road fell sharply, according to Gill.
Within a month, she had to let almost 10 staff go. Some offered to keep working without pay, she said.
“They all rallied around me and said, 'We'll work for free, let's all save Casablanca', but it really became apparent that, you know, I was not going to be able to,” Gill told ABC News.
She said losing staff had been painful, particularly because the shop was a new business. Gill has kept it open despite doubts about whether doing so made business sense.
“This is the last hope,” she said, describing the station’s reopening as a possible “salvation” for the shop.
Sydney businesses hope metro brings customers back
The disruption was expected to last 12 months, but industrial action and the technical challenge of fitting modern metro infrastructure to curved platforms built for the old rail line pushed the timeline to more than twice as long.
Neighbouring business owner Nora Lee, who runs Vanessa's Hair Design, said customer numbers had fallen.
“We lost 40 per cent of our customers this year,” Lee said. She is hoping to see whether the new service changes the flow of customers to the area.
Gill said the opening also brought anxiety. She and other businesses have waited for the line to return, but she does not know whether that will be enough to revive trade.
“We've waited for this moment for so long and it's exciting,” she said. “But it's also like, shit, what if it doesn't turn around our business?”
For local traders, the practical test begins when passengers start using the stations again: whether easier access translates into people stopping at nearby shops. The construction period has already led to staff cuts and prolonged uncertainty for businesses on Illawarra Road.
Transport Minister John Graham and Canterbury representative Sophie Cotsis acknowledged the patience of business owners and their staff. The NSW government said improved public spaces along the corridor were intended to make connections between stations more welcoming.
A shared walking, running and cycling route called the MetroWay is also planned alongside the line. The 13.8-kilometre path remains in the procurement stage.
For commuters, the reopening means an end to the replacement buses that have carried passengers during the conversion. For shopkeepers, the first service leaving Bankstown Station early on Friday will mark the start of a different wait: whether customers return.
Source: abc.net.au
