#rail

The first Sydney Metro Southwest train left Bankstown at 4.31 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 30 (Sydney time), completing the conversion of the 130-year-old T3 Bankstown heavy-rail line to a driverless metro, Rail Express reports. More than 18,000 people rode it on day one. Passengers can now travel 66 km from Bankstown through the CBD to Tallawong in about 80 minutes without changing.

Trains run every four minutes at weekday peaks, every five minutes at other weekday times and every ten minutes in the evenings and at weekends, and the NSW Government says the line has 50% more capacity. Infrastructure Magazine lists time savings such as Marrickville to Gadigal in 12 minutes (16 faster) and Bankstown to Macquarie University in 54 minutes (25 faster). The Public Transport Association's Lauren Streifer pointed to eleven upgraded, fully accessible stations. Two-thirds of Sydney's 46 metro stations are now complete.

Instead of the old T3 line, ride straight through: Punchbowl to Barangaroo is now 32 minutes, 24 minutes faster.

A Renfe AVE train from Madrid to Seville struck the rear of a stationary Iryo train near Urda, in Toledo province, on Wednesday morning, derailing two carriages. The regional government put the toll at 68 on Wednesday, with about 80 injured, Al Jazeera reports; the BBC reported 69 dead by Thursday. The Renfe train carried 397 passengers, the Iryo train 147.

Transport Minister Óscar Puente said the LZB control system failed around 8:30 a.m. along a 63 km stretch, and the Atocha control centre then let the Renfe train resume "normally," which he called "inexplicable." Leaked recordings published by El País and RTVE, described by the BBC, appear to show the driver being told to proceed at normal speed. Spain declared three days of mourning (Oct. 29-31). It follows a January crash on the same line, involving the same operators, that killed 46.

Rail infrastructure operator ADIF suspended high-speed services between Madrid and Andalusia, El País reported. Instead of assuming normal service on the Madrid–Seville route, travellers should check Renfe's and Iryo's notices before setting out.

City Thameslink in central London will close from Monday, May 17, 2027, until late December 2027 so Network Rail can replace all ten of its ageing escalators, ianVisits reports. Thameslink trains will keep running but won't stop there.

Escalator failures have plagued the station, made worse by flood damage. Network Rail says a full closure is the safest and quickest option and meets safety requirements a partial closure could not. "This is not a decision we have taken lightly," said Lucy McAuliffe, Sussex route director.

Instead of walking to busy Farringdon, Network Rail recommends that all City Thameslink passengers use Blackfriars during the closure.

Etihad Rail's Dubai station, Al Yalayis next to Jumeirah Golf Estates, opened on September 30, linking Dubai to Abu Dhabi by passenger train. Condé Nast Traveler's writer reports the trip to Mohamed bin Zayed City takes 1 hour 4 minutes at an average of about 200 km/h, through industrial zones, farmland and desert, and that a planned high-speed service will cut it to 35 minutes. Ten passenger stations are due to open by the end of March 2027.