Sydney Metro chief executive Peter Regan has left the top job at the agency after about five years, leaving the Minns government to search for a replacement at a pivotal moment in the construction of the city’s train mega-projects.
Regan, who earned more than $600,000 a year, had his last full day in the role on Thursday at the government agency charged with overseeing the city’s metro rail projects, leaving to take up a job in the private sector. Sydney Metro staff were notified on Friday.
Sydney Metro executive Hugh Lawson, who was project director for the city and south-west sections of the M1 metro line, has been named acting chief executive, while the agency’s board will shortly start the recruitment process for a permanent boss.
Regan took the reins at Sydney Metro in April 2021 from Jon Lamonte and oversaw the completion and opening almost two years ago of the city section of the $30 billion M1 line, running between Chatswood and Sydenham.
The government confirmed that Regan had stepped down after 15 years of public service “to take up a new opportunity outside of government”. He worked in senior roles at NSW Treasury and was on the executive board of Transport for NSW before joining Sydney Metro.
Transport Minister John Graham said Sydney Metro had been delivering city-shaping infrastructure under Regan’s leadership that would benefit generations to come.
“I want to thank Peter for his dedication to Sydney Metro, its people, the safety of the workforce and the unique role the metro system now plays in the city’s public transport network,” he said in a statement.
In his last email to staff on Friday, Regan said the opening of the M1 line’s city section was a “once-in-a-lifetime achievement”, and he was eagerly waiting to see the public reaction when other lines were completed.
“I have been a public servant for 15 years, and in all that time nothing has been more challenging or rewarding than my time here at Metro,” he wrote.
Regan’s exit comes as the government is embroiled in a major dispute with the builders of a 23-kilometre metro rail line to Sydney’s new international airport, which threatens to delay its completion until December next year and blow out its cost by up to $2.2 billion.
Late last year, the government also confirmed that the Metro West rail project between Parramatta and the CBD was forecast to blow out by as much as $3.7 billion, to $29 billion.
Compounding the financial woes, the cost of completing the final stretch between Sydenham and Bankstown of the M1 metro line has increased the cost of what was formerly known as the Metro City and Southwest project to as much as $23 billion, from a previous forecast of $21.6 billion, and more than double original estimates.
The final stage of the M1 is due to open to passengers in the second half of the year, two years later than originally planned.
Like Transport for NSW, Sydney Metro has been culling its white-collar workforce in a bid to meet government targets. The restructure at the metro agency has largely been completed for senior roles, and is now focused on lower levels of the workforce.
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Matt O’Sullivan is transport and infrastructure editor at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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