Remote-operated trains will be introduced across parts of Sydney, prompting questions over whether passengers will feel safe without a driver at the controls.

It contradicts a previous government statement that the trains would have drivers, and is likely to fuel tensions with unions over potential job impacts.

Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian said the rail line would be a “fully-automated rapid transit system” – the first of its kind in Australia.

Driverless trains will be monitored by controllers at a new train control centre. The government says such systems help ensure trains run on time, allow more trains to operate closer together and reduce the time needed for trains to slow down at stations, load and unload, and depart.