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Parramatta light rail opening delayed again after discovery of faulty joints

Trams moving along line in opposite directions on a quiet city street.

The $2.9-billion light rail line was meant to start taking passengers at the end of 2023.  (Supplied)

In short:

An electrical wire fell onto a tram during a test of the new Parramatta light rail line two weeks ago.

Testing has been halted while faulty components in the overhead wiring system are replaced.

What's next?

Transport Minister Jo Haylen says the latest delays are "frustrating" and that it is not clear when the long-awaited service will open.

The opening of the Parramatta light rail has been pushed back to next year after an electrical wire fell onto a tram and revealed equipment defects across the network.

Trams have become a familiar sight in Parramatta, Camelia and Cumberland since testing of the line connecting Westmead and Carlingford began in December last year.

At that stage Parramatta commuters were promised they would be able to use the trams from mid-2024, but 12 months later Transport Minister Jo Haylen told ABC Radio Sydney there was still no date for the opening.

"I know this is frustrating," she said.

"We've had some real challenges on that project."

Testing has been halted for at least 10 days since the problem in the overhead wiring system was discovered.

"The wiring above fell down and we have now discovered that there was a bad batch of fastening joints," Ms Haylen said.

"Of course, we need this to be absolutely safe … we don't want to put passengers at risk, we don't want to use them as guinea pigs as we bring this service in, so unfortunately we don't have a date at this stage."

An audit found about half of the fastening joints used along the network were faulty.

A Transport for NSW spokesperson said all replacement components had been sourced and work to replace the defective parts was underway.

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Union predicts lengthy wait

The Rail, Tram and Bus Union's NSW tram division secretary David Babineau said if it was not safe for staff to operate there was no way passengers would be allowed on any time soon.

"If you've got trams running by mid-next year, you'd be doing well," Mr Babineau said.

In early August,Transport for NSW said the light rail would be taking passengers within a few weeks.

Later that month Ms Haylen was forced to delay the opening because of "kinks in the system" that needed to be "ironed out".

Other issues found during the testing process included braking problems and a risk of collision on a shared section of track.

At that point there was still hope for a pre-Christmas opening but that is out of the question after the latest incident.

Stage 1 of the $2.9-billion Parramatta Light Rail will connect Sydney's north-west (Carlingford) to its west (Westmead) via Parramatta's CBD and feature 16 stops, including the hospital precinct, stadium, museum and university.

The state government estimates about 28,000 people will use the light rail system every day by 2026.

The government has committed $2b to start building the second stage of the Parramatta light rail, which will add another 10 kilometres of track to extend it to Sydney Olympic Park.

Construction on a bridge over Parramatta River will begin in 2025, but no completion date for stage 2 has been set.