The new network control facility, described as the "railway nerve centre," will be located at Green Square on the Airport Line south of the city centre, and is expected to open in 2018.

Announcing the project, NSW minister for transport and infrastructure Mr Andrew Constance said that the goal of the centre is to reduce train delays and improve passenger information. He added that international experts from London, Hong Kong and Tokyo are advising on the project to make sure it incorporates the latest technology.

"This new centre will ultimately improve train reliability for customers and when there are delays, and information will be communicated much more quickly," Constance says. "This is a massive commitment to a transformational project that will help ensure Sydney Trains can continue to improve the service it provides to customers."

Mr Howard Collins, chief executive of Sydney Trains, says outdated technology and manual response to incidents has held back the company's performance in recent years but that the new centre would allow a centralised and unified response to any incident.

"At the moment we manage the trains and tracks, respond to incidents, communicate with customers and monitor their safety from different locations and in different ways," he says. "One example is that during an incident, there are multiple phone calls made between the person reporting the incident, the person who controls the trains, another party in charge of fixing the fault and the response team in the field.

"The new centre will mean each of these parties is informed the moment the issue is reported and because they will all be in the same location, receiving more information, they can ensure the best response to get our customers moving again."