Badgerys Creek Airport won’t fly without a rail link, research shows

SYDNEY is set to join third world cities Islamabad and Khartoum as the only global destinations building major airports without a planned rail link at Badgerys Creek.

SYDNEY is set to join third world cities Islamabad in Pakistan and Khartoum in Sudan as the only global destinations building major airports without a planned rail link.

The short-sightedness of building the new Western Sydney Airport at Badgerys Creek without a fast-rail connection has sparked warnings of an economic “catastrophe” from business and community leaders.

Research conducted by the Committee for Sydney found that of 10 international airports now being developed overseas, only Khartoum and Islamabad had no planned rail link.

Cities making sure their new airports are connected by high-speed rail include Beijing, New York, Berlin, Mexico City, Qatar and Istanbul.

Of the 17 existing world airports comparable in size and passenger numbers to those anticipated for Badgerys Creek, each one has rail connections completed or in planning, the research shows.

The federal government is providing most of the $3.6 billion to upgrade roads to the airport ahead of its expected opening in 2025.

The airport design will include the capacity to enable up to two train stations to be built in the years after the facility is opened and a rail corridor is expected to be preserved.

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NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance has said he expected international travellers will be looking for a “turn up and go” high frequency train service to get them into central Sydney, “no ifs, no buts”.

But political squabbling over who pays for it seems inevitable, with federal Infrastructure Minister Warren Truss’ office saying his government had made it clear “from day one” that passenger rail is a matter for the state.

Khartoum ... this is how people are forced to get to the airport.

Supporters of the Western Sydney Airport project said Badgerys Creek was in danger of becoming a potential “white elephant” and a gateway to nowhere without a rail link.

They want to prevent Badgerys Creek from becoming another Avalon, the Victorian airport that has struggled since opening 20 years ago without a rail link.

The Victorian government is now considering “retro-fitting” a rail link to Melbourne at far greater expense.

Committee for Sydney chief executive Tim Williams said the design of Badgerys Creek required the sort of foresight shown by Sydney Harbour Bridge engineer John Bradfield almost a century ago.

“There was no demand in the 1920s for the number of car lanes he planned for, but he had foresight and ambition,” Dr Williams said.

“We need the same spirit when planning for our global city’s next ­airport. With Badgerys, let’s do a Bradfield.”

Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils president Tony Hadchiti said: “It would be a catastrophe if that airport goes in without rail. Let’s get it right from day one.”

Tourism and Transport Forum Australia chief Margy Osmond said: “The federal and NSW governments are in denial when it comes to rail.”

Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue chairman Christopher Brown called for a rail service linking Badgerys not only to the CBD but also to Liverpool and Penrith.

Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has backed the need for a rail link to Badgerys but wants the airport to operate under an economically ­debilitating curfew.

People buy cattle at a makeshift cattle market set up for the Eid al-Adha in Islamabad, Pakistan / Picture: AP

THE PLANE FACTS: FACILITIES AT NEW AIRPORTS

NEW INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS WITHOUT RAIL:

1. Sydney, Badgerys Creek, Australia. 60 kms from CBD. Work to start next year. Due for completion around 2025. Initially one runway handling five million passengers a year, similar in size to Gold Coast, doubling in five years to the size of Adelaide. Long term plan for two runways handling 82 million passengers by 2060.

2. Khartoum, Sudan. 40 kms from city centre, expecting seven million passengers.

3. Islamabad, Pakistan. Under construction 20 kms from city. Due to open in late 2016.

NEW INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS WITH RAIL:

1. Beijing’s second airport, Daxing, China. Cost $13 billion. Construction started 2014, due to finish by 2020. Designed for 72 million passengers. A 37km high-speed rail line will connect the airport to Beijing South railway station. Journey time 30 minutes.

2. Istanbul, Turkey. Due for completion in 2018. Will handle 150 million passengers. A subway will connect the airport to the city’s metro station. Journey time 26

minutes.

3. New York, LaGuardia, USA. Being replaced in its entirety to become the city’s largest airport. Construction beginning in 2016, expected to end in 2018. An AirTrain route will connect to the city’s existing subway and rail networks.

4. Hamad, Qatar. Opened in 2014 and already handling 28 million travellers, with a high-speed rail link slated as the next development.

5. Nanjing Lukou, China. Transferred its operations to a new terminal in July, 2014. Directly linked with the new 36km Nanjing Metro S1 line, with six intermediate stations.

6. Al Maktoum, United Arab Emirates. Opened near Dubai in 2010. Full completion due by 2027, with 220 million passengers. Two dedicated rail lines to be built linking the new airport to the city centre and to Dubai’s existing international airport.

7. Berlin, Germany. Under construction and due to open 2016. Railway to city centre already built. Will be connected to multiple German cities and to neighbouring countries. Half of all passengers at new Brandenburg airport expected to use the rail system.

8. Mexico City, Mexico. Still in planning stages but two light rail metro lines linking to city centre already announced. Expected to serve 50 million passengers.

* Source: Committee for Sydney

BADGERYS IS JUST ONE PIECE OF THE JIGSAW

Doug Conway

An rtist's impression of Sydney Science Park / Picture: Supplied

SYDNEY’S new $2.4 billion airport at Badgerys Creek will not become a “silver bullet” for economic growth unless a sweeping vision is embraced now to generate new export-focused industries and jobs, economists warn.

“The airport can be a great enabler to growth, but we’ve got to look beyond it,” Deloitte Access Economics partner Theo Psychogios said.

He said strong political and business leadership was needed to lay the foundations for a special business enterprise zone to generate new industries, create 50,000 jobs and spawn a thriving “city within a city” of one million people by 2050.

One such centre is the planned $5 billion Sydney Science Park on 280ha at nearby Luddenham.

The Badgerys “aerotropolis” could also deliver a massive boost to the number of Asian tourists visiting Australia and drive increased exports in industries such as engineering, manufacturing, biotech, health, logistics, defence and food processing. “Visiting Sydney is now on the must-do lists of Asia’s growing middle classes, particularly in China and India,” Mr Psychogios, author of Deloitte’s Shaping Future Cities report, said.

“A large proportion visit family and friends already living in Western Sydney, so the easier that is the more Australia’s backyard will become Asia’s backyard.”

David Hensher, foundation director of Sydney University’s Institute of Transport and Logistic Studies, said long-term planning should be finalised soon to ensure major developments that would benefit from being close to an international airport were in place by the time of its opening around 2025.

“The airport is just a component. We need the full jigsaw puzzle to create a vibrant sub-society that is interconnected with Sydney’s CBD,” he said.

An rtist's impression of Sydney Science Park / Picture: Supplied