By Jacob Saulwick
A new train station will be built at Barangaroo, the state government will announce in Tuesday's budget.
The idea of a Barangaroo station forming part of the planned new "metro" rail line through central Sydney had previously been listed only as a possibility under early plans for the line.
Barangaroo station plans: NSW Treasurer Gladys Berejiklian.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer
But it is understood Treasurer Gladys Berejiklian will commit the government to building the Barangaroo station, likely to cost around half a billion dollars.
Premier Mike Baird's government says it will use money raised from the privatisation of electricity assets to build a new rail line from Chatswood in the city's north to Sydenham in the inner south, between 2017 and 2024.
The planned new station at Barangaroo.
The line will connect the north-west rail link – now called Sydney Metro Northwest – at Chatswood to the existing Bankstown Line at Sydenham, to be called Sydney Metro Southwest.
Premier Baird had mooted the idea of a Barangaroo station under the scheme, as well as other possible stations at Artarmon Industrial Estate, Sydney University and Waterloo.
New stations would definitely be built at St Leonards-Crows Nest and Victoria Cross north of the harbour, as well as Martin Place, Pitt Street and Central in the city, the government said.
The Barangaroo station, to be confirmed in Tuesday's budget, would probably need to be built at the northern end of the development, a walk away from commercial office towers currently being built at the southern end of Barangaroo.
That is because the train line would need the space to swing east to Martin Place. A Martin Place connection would be a crucial interchange point, allowing commuters from the eastern suburbs to transfer to the new line.
Fairfax Media reported on Sunday that Sydney University was pushing for a station near the current Seymour Centre theatre.
If the government opted for this alignment, it would create pressure for the construction of another station near Newtown, because there would be a gap of about five kilometres between the Sydney University station and Sydenham.
The new rail line is also almost certain to include a spur towards Neutral Bay and The Spit, though this extension may not be built for years later.
Sydney University's director of campus infrastructure services, Greg Robinson, estimated the cost of building a new rail station at $400 million to $500 million, though costs would be lower if the government did not have to buy the land, he said.