It’s been nearly eight months since the Macquarie University train station closed to accommodate an upgrade to Australia’s first fully automated Metro driverless trains. With stations between Epping and Chatswood reopening on Sunday 26 May, students, staff and visitors can once again access the University and Macquarie Park by train.

An important change for Macquarie is the addition of eight new stations in Sydney’s north west that were previously without a train network. According to Transport for NSW, the following stations are less than 30 minutes’ travel time to Macquarie:

Station	Time to Macquarie University Station (approximate)
Tallawong	26min, 37min to Chatswood
Rouse Hill	24min
Kellyville	22min
Bella Vista	19min
Northwest	17min
Hills Showground	15min
Castle Hill	13min
Cherrybrook	10min
Epping	4min

Metro: need to know

• Opal fares apply, there is no extra cost travel on Metro compared with Sydney Trains fares
• No timetables – just turn up and go for trains every 5min in the peak and every 10min off-peak
• One Metro train can hold up to 1,100 people
• Parking – there are 1,000 car spaces at Tallawong, 1,360 at Kellyville, 800 at Bella Vista, 600 at Hills Showground and 400 at Cherrybrook.
• At stations without parking, a greater emphasis is placed on pedestrian safety, with motorists monitored closely, especially during peak hours
• For more information, including trip planning, visit the Metro website

Bus news

• North West Night Bus will replace Metro trains after 9:25pm (Tallawong) and 10:10pm (Chatswood) for the next six months
• Since the Metro opening, over 1,500 additional weekly services have been added to the timetable
• Improvements have been made to the bus network in Sydney’s north west for easy access to the new metro stations
• M2 services will remain unchanged during this first stage

Flexible work arrangements after 26 May

As a general rule, flexible work arrangements that were put in place specifically to assist Macquarie University staff manage their commute during the station closure, are expected to revert to business-as-usual work arrangements now that the station has reopened. However, if both staff member and manager feel that such arrangements worked well for the individual and the work area and would like to continue these arrangements, they are encouraged to discuss.

Flexible work arrangements that were put in place for reasons other than the station closure are not impacted by the station reopening.

For more information on flexible work at Macquarie University, see Flexible Work Policy and Procedure, Information for Staff and Information for Managers.