7NEWS understands the opening date for the long-awaited Sydney Metro City service has been delayed ahead of its anticipated opening this week.
The service has been postponed by at least a week, just days before commuters were due to hop on board.
The Office of National Rail Safety Regulator confirmed to 7NEWS it had not signed off on the safety checks required for the metro to begin operating as planned on August 4.
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Thousands of commuters will have their travel time cut when the new underground stations are opened at Crows Nest, Victoria Cross, Barangaroo, Martin Place, Gadigal and Waterloo.
New metro platforms have also been built at Central and Sydenham.
Transport Minister Jo Haylen on Tuesday confirmed passengers would have to wait “a little longer” for the service to be delivered.
“Our processes needed a little more time,” she said.
Once the service is open, passengers will be able to travel from Victoria Cross in North Sydney to Barangaroo in three minutes, four minutes between Martin Place and Central, and get from Sydenham to Chatswood in 22 minutes.
During peak periods, trains will run every four minutes in both directions, and initially every seven minutes in the inter-peak.
This will eventually increase to every five minutes during inter-peak times on weekdays and every 10 during off-peak and weekends.
The next stage of the project will extend services from Sydenham to Bankstown, meaning the T3 Bankstown Line will shut later this year for up to 12 months to complete the works.
More to come…