The new light rail network will ferry passengers from Chatswood in the city’s north to Sydenham in the inner west, via Central Station.
This will include stops at new stations such as Crows Nest, Victoria Cross, Barangaroo, Martin Place, Pitt Street and Waterloo, which will mostly be located underground.
The metro line will even cross underneath the harbour between Victoria Cross and Barangaroo.
The new trial will simulate the network’s full timetable before taking on passengers, fulfilling a requirement of 11,000 hours of testing along the network.
Staff will also replicate responses to emergency scenarios such as evacuations and stopped trains.
The state government says commuters will have “record travel times” during peak hour, including from Martin Place to Waterloo in six minutes, Sydenham to Macquarie University in 33 minutes, and Central to Chatswood in 15 minutes.
“These metro lines are part of a city shaping public transport project that will support more housing for a generation of young people who have been locked out of homes for too long,” Premier Chris Minns said.
“If we are going to address the housing crisis, we have to build homes near public transport like this and that’s exactly what we’re doing.”
The next stage of the project will see metro services extend from Sydenham to Bankstown.
This will force the shutdown of the T3 Bankstown line for the 12-month conversion.
The government has promised a “comprehensive” transport plan for those affected, including alternative bus and rail services.
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And the metro project reaching out to the Western Sydney Airport is also ongoing, with major tunnelling now completed.
Trackwork will form the next stage.
“It is an exciting time for this great city as Metro is introduced in the heart of the CBD, to the west and greater west, contributing to the biggest transformation in public transport Sydney has ever seen,” Transport Minister Jo Haylen said.