Current Premier thanks former Premier for actually doing all the work (Metro edition)

It’s official: the Sydney Metro City Line opened yesterday morning, and the hubbub is alive and well. 10 years on and over $21bn of taxpayer money later, and we can finally get from North Sydney to the CBD 3 minutes faster than usual. Huzzah!

In other good news, the state experienced what might just be a political first in yesterday’s inaugural presentation. NSW Premier Chris Minns went out of his way to thank his predecessor, Gladys Berejiklian, for being the mastermind behind the development. Am I dreaming? Is it April 1st? Or did one politician really just give another politician credit for their work?

The new Metro line, which connects Chatswood to Sydenham in a meagre 22 minute commute, is intended to completely transform Greater Sydney’s way of moving around. It comes as the second installation since 2019, when the Tallawong to Chatswood line launched.

The new Metro stations are:

• Chatswood
• Crows Nest
• Victoria Cross
• Barangaroo
• Martin Place
• Gadial
• Central
• Waterloo Sydenham

While the project cost $10bn more than originally anticipated, credit must be given where it’s due. The metro travels up to 100km an hour, and when travelling across more expansive distances, this saves a significant portion of travel time for commuters. With trains running every four minutes during peak periods, the new line is also bound to take significant pressure off existing infrastructure bottlenecks that Sydney public transport has been currently experiencing.

In its first few months of operation we can only expect there to be teething issues. Nevertheless, just over 24-hours of its public operation and people are leaving glowing reviews. Maybe Minns should have taken the credit on this one.