Skip to main content

Thales brings metro expertise to Australia

Thales has been selected to provide the central control and communication systems for Sydney Metro Northwest, the first fully-automated metro rail system in Australia, which opens in the first half of 2019 with a train every four minutes in the peak. Thales will deliver both systems to the Northwest Rapid Transit consortium (NRT) as a key supplier to NRT’s systems joint venture. With an approximate value of US$5.5 billion, Sydney Metro Northwest is the first stage of Sydney Metro, which aims to deliver a
November 20, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
596 Thales has been selected to provide the central control and communication systems for Sydney Metro Northwest, the first fully-automated metro rail system in Australia, which opens in the first half of 2019 with a train every four minutes in the peak. Thales will deliver both systems to the Northwest Rapid Transit consortium (NRT) as a key supplier to NRT’s systems joint venture.

With an approximate value of US$5.5 billion, Sydney Metro Northwest is the first stage of Sydney Metro, which aims to deliver a new standalone 36 km metro rail system for Sydney, including eight new railway stations, upgrade of five existing stations and 4,000 commuter car parking spaces.

The New South Wales Government plans to extend the from the end of Sydney Metro Northwest, under Sydney Harbour, through new underground stations in the CBD and southwest to Bankstown.

The central control system will ensure seamless rail operations, including real-time control mechanisms and data for various diverse systems, while providing a holistic view of the entire network. The communication system will connect the public address, the passenger information systems, the CCTV and digital information boards, to a centralised system allowing a fully integrated approach to information management.

Related Content

  • May 21, 2025
    Bringing AI into ITS: Artificial realities
    AI can have a positive transformative effect on transportation safety and efficiency – but if you want creativity you still need a person, says Huawei
  • May 9, 2019
    Switching Atlanta onto MaaS
    It’s easy to talk about MaaS in the abstract – but MaaS isn’t going to work if it’s just a theory. Colin Sowman speaks to one woman about the practical benefits - and difficulties - of getting out of her car and switching to public transit in Atlanta, Georgia One of the first goals of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) inventor Sampo Hietanen is that MaaS should persuade households they don’t need a second car. This is starting to happen - even in the car-dominated US. Last year, authorities in the state of Ge
  • April 23, 2024
    Minneapolis-St. Paul’s Go-To gets the Cubic touch
    Contactless fare system is centrepiece of upgrade to transit ticketing in the Twin Cities
  • April 13, 2016
    Alstom chooses GMV for Sydney’s new light rail system
    Technology company GMV has been chosen by Alstom to supply an advanced fleet management system with in-station passenger information for the new light rail system being built by the ALTRAC consortium of Alstom, rail operator Transdev, Acciona and Capella in Sydney, Australia. Alstom is responsible for the integrated tramway system for the 12 kilometre line, including the design, delivery and commissioning of 30 coupled Citadis X05 trams It will also provide the power supply equipment, including APS gr