Commuters are being urged to plan ahead with the rail line between Epping and Chatswood about to go offline.

It will close on Sunday for seven months to allow for the final construction phase of the Metro North West.

The construction will see the tracks converted to carry single-decker metro trains.

Given the Epping to Chatswood line only opened in 2009, Steve Price is questioning how much thought and planning really went into the project.

Transport Minister Andrew Constance says it’s due to the faults in the previous Labor government’s rail construction.

“What’s telling about that project is that Labor at the time promised to build it from Chatswood to Parramatta, and guess what, they only built half a line and at double the cost.

“Because of their error, we’re now having to covert it to a single-decker train.”

The Transport Minister says the new trains will be able to carry close to 46,000 passengers per hour, while the existing trains can only carry 24,000.

Ahead of the construction, he’s urging commuters to plan their trips well before they need to leave.

Mr Constance also tells Steve they’ll run replacement buses and more express train services on the T1 northern line.

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