Waterloo Metro Is About To Open

Waterloo Metro Station is set to open in mid-2024.

And, although the exact date hasn’t yet been announced, all indications are that it’s running close to schedule.

So what do we know about the new Metro Station, and what will it mean for local residents?

Where is Waterloo Metro station?

Waterloo Metro station is located on Raglan Street and covers the block between Cope Street and Botany Road. The station platforms are located 25 metres below ground level.

Waterloo Station will connect with bus services along Botany Road, and the development will include new pedestrian crossings on Raglan, Wellington and Cope streets, new bike parking and several new bus stops.

Above the station sits the Waterloo Metro Quarter, which is currently also under construction. It will eventually include more than 600 apartments spread between four residential towers, a new office and retail building and a public plaza.

The complex will also provide student and affordable housing, childcare, health services, shops and eateries. It is slated for completion in 2025.

How is the Sydney Metro different from existing train services?

Although the Waterloo Metro station has been strategically placed to take pressure off Redfern Station and Green Square stations, the rail line that it services will be different to existing trains.

The Metro is a technologically advanced railway, and according to the NSW Government, is “Australia’s only fully-accessible, driverless train service”.

The Metro trains are smaller, faster and more frequent than traditional services. Sydney’s new line has the capacity for a Metro train to leave every few minutes.

This means Sydney Metro has an hourly capacity of 40,000 passengers compared with 24,000 on a traditional line.

Where can you get to from Waterloo on the Metro?

The City & Southwest line that passes through Waterloo will start in Bankstown, in southwest Sydney, pass through Waterloo and the city, cross Sydney Harbour (in a brand new harbour tunnel) and then track up the North Shore to Crows Nest. From there, passengers can join the North West line that passes through Chatswood before heading northwest to Rouse Hill.

Martin Place will serve as the central hub for the City & Southwest line and the new station is so large that it has been dubbed an “underground city”.

Eventually, two other Metro lines will be added, including a West line, that passes through Five Dock on its way to Westmead, and a Sydney West Airport line that will run from St Mary’s to Sydney’s new western Aeropolis.

When the full Sydney Metro is finished, it will include 113km of track and 46 stations.

How much time will it save?

Once it’s opened, Waterloo station will dramatically cut travel time for local residents. According to the NSW Government website, passengers can expect to get to Redfern Station in two minutes, Martin Place in six minutes and Barangaroo in eight minutes.

What will it mean for the local real estate market?

New infrastructure often has a positive impact on the local real estate market, and those properties close to new transport often receive an immediate boost to their value.

We expect Waterloo to outperform the market over the coming years.

One recent study found that suburbs located along the Sydney Metro line had a median 49% increase in capital value over the past five years - 5% higher than those away from a station. It also found that proximity to a station was particularly important to younger buyers.

An earlier study, undertaken over 14 years between 2000 and 2014, also found that Sydney homes within 400 metres of a station experienced 4.5% more growth than the average. Meanwhile, those between 400 metres and 800 metres away experienced 1.3% more growth, and those between 800 metres and 1.6 kilometres away experienced 0.3% more growth.

In other words, new train stations are a great thing for property prices.

It’s not just capital value, either. Already we’re hearing about tenants actively searching for properties near the new train line - and higher demand always leads to higher rents, which is great news for investors.