Bankstown “Interchange”: a Case Study in Failed Transport Planning

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As Sydney’s public transport network undergoes its biggest transformation in decades with the rollout of the Sydney Metro, one would expect the integration between existing train lines and the new driverless Metro to be seamless, efficient, and commuter-friendly.

Unfortunately, Bankstown Station - a key interchange between the Sydney Trains T6 (former T3 Bankstown Line) and the new Metro City & Southwest Line - has become a symbol of everything that can go wrong when infrastructure is built without genuine integration.

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Despite the fanfare, the newly constructed interchange at Bankstown is not an interchange in any meaningful sense. Instead, it is a fractured, weather-exposed, multi-step journey that leaves commuters to fend for themselves.

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A Disjointed Interchange by Design

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Rather than unifying the existing Sydney Trains station with the new Metro platforms, the current design at Bankstown has created two separate and disconnected facilities—the West Bankstown station (Sydney Trains) and the East Bankstown station (Sydney Metro).

Between them lies a large, open-air pedestrian plaza. While the exact distance has not been officially disclosed, media reports have estimated that some commuters will walk up to 400 metres to change between the two modes. And they’ll do so without shelter, protection, or ease of movement.

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This isn’t just poor planning - it’s an avoidable failure. In a climate prone to summer heat, thunderstorms, and cold winter rain, a completely uncovered transfer path is not just uncomfortable - it’s hostile to elderly commuters, people with disabilities, and those carrying luggage or pushing prams.

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Tap Off, Walk, Tap On – A Fare System Disconnect

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Adding insult to injury, Bankstown commuters must tap off their Opal card when exiting Sydney Trains, cross the plaza, and tap on again at Sydney Metro. This is because the two services are treated as separate networks, despite being funded and operated under the same state government.

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This is the antithesis of modern transport planning. A functional interchange should offer fare integration, or at the very least, a time-based transfer window that avoids penalising commuters with extra fares or broken trip records. What exists at Bankstown is a bureaucratic gap embedded in physical space - and commuters pay the price.

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Platform “Upgrade” Without Shelter

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The problems aren’t limited to the plaza. The recently extended western end of the Bankstown Sydney Trains platform—constructed during Metro works—is completely exposed to the elements. No canopy, no awning, no weather protection.

It’s a baffling oversight in a project with billions in funding. If a basic platform roof can’t be included in an “upgrade,” one has to wonder what commuter needs were considered at all.

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Good Interchanges: What Bankstown Should Have Been

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The failures at Bankstown are especially stark when compared to examples of good interchange design—some of which exist right here in Sydney:

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• Chatswood Station connects Sydney Trains and Sydney Metro on a shared concourse, with no need to exit the network or walk long distances. You move easily between platforms using escalators or lifts within the same fare-paid area.

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• Epping Station, another successful metro-train interchange, allows commuters to change between Metro and suburban services via internal walkways and concourses, again without tapping off.

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• Central Station, despite its age, has been upgraded with the new Metro platforms linked by underground concourses and escalators that keep all modes within reach. When completed, it will become a true intermodal hub for suburban, metro, and intercity services.

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• Even Strathfield, Lidcombe, and Glenfield - though older - offer direct, covered cross-platform transfers between different lines without forcing passengers to exit one station and walk into another.

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Why then was Bankstown—a critical interchange in the southwest—designed with such disregard for best practice?

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This is a Failure of Integrated Planning

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The issue here is not technical feasibility. It’s a failure of integrated planning and inter-agency coordination. The Metro project has delivered shiny new platforms and upgraded infrastructure, but it has utterly failed to integrate with the existing Sydney Trains system in a user-centric way.

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Instead of a unified, weatherproof, fare-integrated interchange, we’ve been given a disconnected plaza, duplicated barriers, and additional commuter burdens.

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Bankstown should have been an opportunity to showcase a best-in-class interchange for Western Sydney. Instead, it has become a cautionary tale of how building infrastructure without human-centred design results in a station that looks impressive on paper but fails where it matters most—real-world usability.

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What Needs to Change

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It’s not too late to fix some of these issues. The NSW Government and Sydney Metro must:

1. Construct a fully covered, weather-protected walkway between West and East Bankstown stations.

2. Introduce a seamless fare transfer window between train and metro services to prevent extra charges.

3. Add shelter to the newly extended train platforms and upgrade wayfinding for accessibility.

4. Re-evaluate intermodal design standards so this mistake is not repeated at future Metro such as Parramatta.

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Conclusion: Bankstown Deserves Better

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Bankstown is not a fringe suburb—it is a growing regional centre, serving thousands of daily commuters, workers, students, and families. These residents deserve infrastructure that respects their time, mobility, and dignity.

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What exists today at Bankstown Station is a case study in failed integration and a wake-up call for future infrastructure planning. Sydney cannot afford to keep designing “interchanges” that disconnect systems, expose commuters to the elements, and charge them for the privilege.

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Bankstown deserves better—and so does every commuter across NSW.

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For more information, please contact the Sydenham to Bankstown Alliance (SBA).

Website: www.sydbankalliance.com

Email: sydballiance@hotmail.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/sydenhambankstownalliance