Patronage on Sydney's train network has surged over the past year, placing greater urgency on plans for public transport such as a new metro line between Sydney's CBD and Parramatta. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer The surge in demand places greater urgency on plans for public transport such as a new metro line between Sydney's CBD and Parramatta. Olympic Park and the Bays Precinct around Rozelle will be among up to 12 stations on the proposed line, which leaked government documents have estimated will cost up to $20 billion. The T2, the second-busiest line which comprises airport, inner west and services to the south, rose by almost 14 per cent year-on-year. The T4 (Eastern Suburbs and Illawarra​) and the T3 (Bankstown) both recorded increases of about 10 per cent. Geoffrey Clifton, a senior lecturer in transport management at Sydney University, said the figures showed that Sydney risked reaching a "gap in capacity" on its rail network sooner than forecast. "There is absolutely the risk of overcrowding. We have already seen an increase in capacity and that is translating into more people using the service," he said.

The increase in passengers raises the likelihood of overcrowding during peak hours and the government plans to add 300 train services a week on the two main rail lines, the T1 and T2. Credit:Nick Moir The state's Auditor-General recently warned that Sydney's trains will increasingly struggle to run on time unless "sustained and substantial investment" is made in the existing heavy rail network. Rail patronage growth has been outstripping both the government's forecasts and the rail system's capacity to cope. Last week the government announced plans to add 300 train services a week on the two main rail lines between western parts of Sydney and the CBD – the T1 and the T2 – from November, when a new timetable for the network is rolled out. "It is going to alleviate some of the overcrowding, but it will encourage even more people to use public transport – we certainly seem to be in a growth cycle," Dr Clifton said. "A lot of that extra capacity will be soaked up more quickly than expected." While highlighting the pressures of a fast-growing population, Dr Clifton said the statistics showed that the public transport system was improving and giving people greater confidence to travel on it.

"The places people are moving into are well served by public transport such as Olympic Park, Strathfield and Burwood," he said. Transport Minister Andrew Constance told a business gathering on Wednesday that the government expected a 21 per cent surge in patronage on Sydney's trains in the next three years. "If you want to know what keeps me awake at night, [it is] dealing with that 100-year-old network, trying to get a metro train built and then at the same time spending $1.5 billion to get 24 brand new Waratah trains," he said. Mr Constance said the proposed Sydney West Metro line from the CBD to Parramatta simply had to be built because extra trains would not be able to be put on the T1 and T2 lines by 2031.

"We are looking to try to deliver a train that will travel between Parramatta and the CBD in well under 20 minutes," he told a Committee for Economic Development of Australia luncheon. Of the other 10 busiest lines on the network, trips on the Blue Mountains line rose by 16.9 per cent, the T5 Cumberland 17.8 per cent, the South Coast 15.1 per cent, the Southern Highlands 19.8 per cent and Central Coast-Newcastle 9.9 per cent. The latest figures from Opal data give a better insight into passenger demand on Sydney's train lines than previous measures. While regarded as relatively minor, the magnitude of the increase over the year might be slightly higher because the last paper-based tickets did not cease to be accepted until August 1 last year. Under the government's timetable, the proposed metro line from the CBD to Parramatta will be built next decade and operational in the second half of the 2020s.

Loading It will link to the $20 billion metro railway under construction. Its first stage, from Sydney's north-west to Chatswood, is due for completion in 2019. The second stage will continue on to the CBD, Sydenham, and on the existing Bankstown line, and should open in 2023.