Metro Transport Sydney

Metro Transport Sydney (MTS) was the owner of the now-demolished Sydney Monorail and the former owner of the Inner West Light Rail in Sydney, New South Wales. Established in 2001, it replaced the Sydney Light Rail Company (SLRC), the previous owner of the light rail, and CGEA Transport Sydney, the previous owner of the monorail.[1][2] It was bought by the New South Wales Government in 2012.[3] The Metro Transport Sydney brand was discontinued from 1 July 2013, and the SLRC and Metro Transport Sydney were deregistered later that month.[1][2]

Not to be confused with Metro Trains Sydney.
This article is about the former owner of the Sydney light rail and monorail. For Sydney's metro train system, see Sydney Metro.
Metro Transport Sydney
IndustryTransport
PredecessorSydney Light Rail Company
CGEA Transport Sydney
TNT Transit Systems
Founded1994 (Sydney Light Rail Company)[1]
1998 (CGEA Transport Sydney)[2]
2001 (Metro Transport Sydney)
DefunctJuly 2013[2]
Headquarters
Sydney
,
Australia
ProductsPublic transport
OwnerAustralia Infrastructure Fund
Utility Trust of Australia
Colonial First State
DivisionsSydney Monorail
Metro Light Rail
Websitewww.metrotransport.com.au/index.php/

Metro Transport Sydney contracted the day-to-day operations of the monorail and light rail to Veolia Transport Sydney, a subsidiary of Veolia Transdev, who operated them since 1998. After the government takeover of Metro Transport Sydney, Veolia Transport Sydney remained as the operator of monorail and light rail. Veolia Transport Sydney later renamed to Transdev Sydney on 1 July 2013.[4] The monorail was also shut down on the same day.

Assets

Until the government takeover in 2012, Metro Transport Sydney owned:

  • Sydney Monorail, originally known as Metro Monorail in early MTS years, closed on 30 June 2013.
  • Metro Light Rail, the light rail line now known as the Inner West Light Rail or Dulwich Hill Line.
Metro Light Rail logo

Both Metro Monorail and Metro Light Rail had similar logos to Metro Transport Sydney, with all of them bearing the letter "M", but with the right leg of the letter containing a different word (either "Transport", "Light Rail" or "Monorail"). After the Metro Monorail was rebranded Sydney Monorail, the "M" logo was replaced with a logo of a monorail vehicle.

Metro Transport Sydney advocated for a light rail extension to Circular Quay between the late 1990s and the late 2000s, but did not gain state government support.[5][6] After a change of state government in the 2011 state election, this extension has been built as part of the separate CBD and South East Light Rail, with the CBD section to Circular Quay completed in December 2019.

History

Sydney Light Rail Company

In March 1994, the Sydney Light Rail Company (SLRC) was formed. It was owned by Australian Infrastructure Fund (39%), Utility Trust of Australia (39%) and Legal & General (22%)[7][8] and was awarded a 30-year concession to operate the Sydney Light Rail (SLR) system until February 2028 when ownership would pass to the State Government.[9] The contract gave the company significant control over the commercial arrangements relating to future extensions or interconnecting lines.[10] SLRC contracted operation of the line to TNT Transit Systems, which also owned the Sydney Monorail.[10]

Acquisition of the monorail

After TNT was purchased by PTT in January 1997 and merged to form TNT Post Group in 1998, TNT decided to dispose of its businesses not centered on mail and logistics services, including the Sydney monorail.[11] SLRC formed a joint venture with CGEA Transport named CGEA Transport Sydney to purchase TNT Transit Systems and TNT Harbourlink on 10 August 1998. The share composition of the joint venture were CGEA Transport (51%) and SLRC (49%, with 19% Australian Infrastructure Fund, 19% Utility Trust of Australia and 11% Legal & General).[8] This purchase resulted in:

  • CGEA Transport taking control of the operation of the monorail as the new owner of the monorail[12]
  • CGEA Transport being awarded the light rail operation contract by the SLRC as the owner of the incumbent operator TNT Transit Systems. SLRC remains the owner of the light rail.

As a result, the operations of both the light rail and the monorail came under the same company (CGEA).

In early 2001, Connex (renamed from CGEA Transport in 1999) sold its share of the monorail to the constituents of SLRC, bringing the monorail and light rail under the common ownership of Australian Infrastructure Fund, Utility Trust of Australia and Legal & General.[13] Due to SLRC and CGEA Transport Sydney having the same shareholders, they were subsequently combined to form Metro Transport Sydney. It continued to contract day-to-day operations of the monorail and light rail to Connex,[14][13] rebranded Veolia Transport Sydney in 2006.[15]

By 2005, Metro Transport Sydney was owned by three companies: Australia Infrastructure Fund, Utility Trust of Australia and Colonial First State.[16]

Government ownership

Transport for NSW, the transport agency of the Government of New South Wales, established the "MTS Holding Company" on 12 March 2012.[3] It purchased Metro Transport Sydney and its subsidiaries on 23 March 2012 for $19.8 million, which brought the company under the control of Transport for NSW and the government.[17] The purchase removed the contractual restrictions on expanding the light rail network and allowed the government to dismantle the monorail, assisting its plans to redevelop the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre.[18][19] The monorail was shut down on 30 June 2013.[20]

Cessation of the Metro Transport brand

The day after the monorail was shut down, on 1 July 2013, the Metro Transport Sydney brand, along with its subsidiary Metro Light Rail, was phased out as part of a broader rebranding and reorganisation of public transport services in New South Wales. [21] The light rail was also placed under direct control of the government. Both SLRC and Metro Transport Sydney Pty Ltd were deregistered on 17 July 2013.[1][2]

The process of shutting down Metro Transport Sydney and transferring assets to Transport for NSW was completed in September 2014 with the deregistration of MTS Holding Company.[22][23]

  • Variotram with SLR livery and branding at the then-new Fish Market station in 1997
  • Variotram with SLR livery and branding approaching Haymarket (now Paddy's Market)
  • Variotram with Metro branding at Capitol Square
  • Variotram with Metro branding at Star City station (now The Star)
  • Variotram with Metro branding at the tunnel entrance near Glebe
  • Metro branding at the entrance to Lilyfield station
  • The monorail over Pitt Street
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References
  1. "Historical details for ABN 62 064 062 933". ABN Lookup. Archived from the original on 6 April 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  2. "Historical details for ABN 57 082 564 510". ABN Lookup. Archived from the original on 6 April 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  3. "NSW Auditor-General's Report to Parliament (Volume Eight 2012)". NSW Auditor-General. 2012. Archived from the original on 3 February 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  4. "Light rail in Sydney". Transdev. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  5. "Nominated Loan Council Allocations For 1998–99". The Australian Treasury Website. 7 May 1998. Archived from the original on 6 April 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  6. "Government defies logic on Light Rail issue". 22 May 2006. Archived from the original on 8 October 2006. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  7. "Sydney's new light rail system" Railway Digest September 1997 page 14
  8. "Stock Exchange Announcement". Hastings. 11 August 1998. Archived from the original on 10 July 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  9. "Sydney Light Rail Extension – Stage 1 Inner West Extension Product Definition Report" (PDF). Transport NSW. July 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2014.
  10. Mills, Gordon (1997). "Light Rail in Sydney: Some Privatisation Lessons" (PDF). Agenda. 4 (4): 433–444. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 October 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  11. "TNT Annual Report 1998 - Non-core business". TNT. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  12. "Technical Details (Metro Monorail)" (PDF). Metro Light Rail. 2000. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2004. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  13. "Overview of Connex Worldwide and in Australia". Metro Light Rail. Archived from the original on 25 April 2003. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  14. "About Us". Sydney Monorail. Archived from the original on 3 March 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  15. "New South Wales". Veolia Transport Australia. Archived from the original on 21 October 2009. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  16. "Technical Details (Metro Monorail)" (PDF). Metro Transport Sydney. 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 January 2005. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  17. Cosgriff, Stuart; Griffiths, Emily (5 July 2012). "Light rail strategy for Sydney". Clayton Utz Insights. Clayton Utz. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  18. Campion, Vikki (23 March 2012). "Last stop for Sydney Monorail". The Daily Telegraph.
  19. Tan, Gillian (23 March 2012). "Australian Infrastructure Fund sells Metro Transport stake". The Australian (from The Wall Street Journal).
  20. van den Broeke, Leigh (1 July 2013). "Sydney monorail makes its last loop after 25 years of service". The Daily Telegraph.
  21. Saulwick, Jacob (18 April 2013). "All together now: Sydney's public transport united under one 'brand'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  22. "Transport for NSW 2013/14 Annual Report" (PDF). Transport for NSW. pp. 329, 344. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  23. "Historical details for ABN 94 156 211 906". ABN Lookup. Archived from the original on 6 April 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
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