Metro West rail needed to create Gladys Berejiklian’s ‘30-minute city’

A NEW Metro West train line is the only way the state government can achieve its dream of turning Sydney into a “30-minute city”, where it takes locals just half an hour to get to their jobs.

A NEW Metro West train line is the only way the state government can achieve its dream of turning Sydney into a “30-minute city”, where it takes locals just half an hour to get to their jobs.

A Western Sydney University report warns the “three-city concept” promoted by the government and Greater Sydney Commissioner Lucy Turnbull will only be achievable if mass public transport infrastructure is built in the region.

The paper also predicts Western Sydney will become less “car-dominated” in the next two decades, as new “on demand” public transport replaces the need for everyone to own their own vehicle.

Plans for the Sydney Metro Northwest rail line, which is currently being built, show how a Metro West could look. Picture: Transport for NSW

In turn, this will lead to the rise of the “night-time” economy as smarter transport will end the idea of rush hour.

The report is being released as part of a series of Catalyst West forums being held by the University this month to explore what Sydney will look like in the next 20 years.

GPT Group development director Paul Walker, who will present the transport green paper, said the Metro West train line would be the only way Sydney would be able to achieve the 30-minute concept — where everyone lives within half an hour of their workplace.

Sydney Metro trains will help connect the city’s east and west — but more are needed.

The plan for Bella Vista Station, on the Metro Northwest line. Picture: Transport for NSW

Under the Greater Sydney Commission’s signature policy of the “30-minute city”, Sydney is reimagined as three cities — the “Eastern Harbour City”, the “Central Parramatta River City” and a “Western City” around the new airport.

“The idea behind the 30-minute city is, if jobs are evenly dispersed across the city, most residents will have access to employment and services within 30 minutes using public transport,” Mr Walker said.

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Mr Walker said the goal of a 30-minute city was admirable in a modern economy — where people “are not able to change their housing and community network as easily as their job”.

He said the only way to achieve the 30-minute city ideal would be to invest in a Metro West as a high-speed railway line connecting Parramatta and the CBD.

Laying track at Rouse Hill for Sydney Metro Northwest.

Mr Walker said that Parramatta should also be established as the “true centre” of Western Sydney.

Western Sydney University assistant vice-chancellor Dr Andy Marks said that the upcoming Catalyst West forums were all about the Western Sydney region taking charge of its own destiny rather than just being seen as a “political battleground” or “worse, a region in deficit”.