Living on the Bankstown train line means getting used to seeing the three worst words in the English language: “Train Replacement Service”.
I don’t enjoy driving. I became car reliant in this city because how else do you get from Coogee to Kirribilli, Darlinghurst to Punchbowl, Marrickville to Gladesville without sacrificing half your day? Also, I have ADHD. I find it very hard to concentrate and before being medicated I was forever having little prangs.
Public transport also means more reading time, more time in the world having minuscule connections with others, absorbing the energy of people out in the world doing things (I’m a writer, which means a lot of my time is spent alone in my home office).
Imagine the excitement then, on hearing Sydney would have a new train line that could take you from Sydenham to Central in minutes and across the bridge in a few minutes more.
In the lead-up to the launch of the Sydney Metro, much was made of the effort put into the new stations like Gadigal, Barangaroo and Victoria Cross. They’d be beautifully designed hubs, with sympathetic public art and food spots.