Here is a video with an explanation of why metro evolved and why Australian cities don't have them.
I will elaborate. When they started to build underground in those old cities, surface trains were still steam hauled and except for a single line in London, the underground lines were all electric right from the start.
So these electric underground lines had to be separate from mainlines with trips on these trains limited to something like 10km. There would be stops every kilometre or so and most peak period passengers would stand. And it seems they ran trains frequently right from the beginning.
The video mentions the problem that metro was designed to solve and how late developers were able to avoid it.
The centre of Sydney did develop before there was a railway through it and before there was a railway to Circular Quay, and there was a need for a tunnel to get trains through the centre and to Circular Quay. The Eastern suburbs also developed before the only railway so far in those suburbs.
But the Sydney suburban was electrified before any of these and therefore could be extended underground. There was no need for a separate, incompatible network of underground lines.
The video even shows a bit of the A.B.C fact check but towards the end is inaccurate about what Melbourne and Sydney are doing as Sydney is indeed implementing a separate metro. But the Northwest rail link was indeed planned as a proper rail link, part of the existing network.
But in no other Australian city is this even being considered. The Sydney one is even being built out into suburbia, with short haul trains meant for short haul stop start runs but with suburban station spacings and covering suburban distances.
So these electric underground lines had to be separate from mainlines with trips on these trains limited to something like 10km. There would be stops every kilometre or so and most peak period passengers would stand. And it seems they ran trains frequently right from the beginning.
The video mentions the problem that metro was designed to solve and how late developers were able to avoid it.
The centre of Sydney did develop before there was a railway through it and before there was a railway to Circular Quay, and there was a need for a tunnel to get trains through the centre and to Circular Quay. The Eastern suburbs also developed before the only railway so far in those suburbs.
But the Sydney suburban was electrified before any of these and therefore could be extended underground. There was no need for a separate, incompatible network of underground lines.
The video even shows a bit of the A.B.C fact check but towards the end is inaccurate about what Melbourne and Sydney are doing as Sydney is indeed implementing a separate metro. But the Northwest rail link was indeed planned as a proper rail link, part of the existing network.
But in no other Australian city is this even being considered. The Sydney one is even being built out into suburbia, with short haul trains meant for short haul stop start runs but with suburban station spacings and covering suburban distances.