Wary Labor cuts lines on Metro vision but backs ‘loop’ for western Sydney

NSW Labor will commit to just two of four Metro extensions promised by the Perrottet government, amid uncertainty around costs for the mega-project.

Two new Metro lines would be built connecting Sydney’s western suburbs to one another under Labor’s vision for the region, but two other extensions proposed by the Perrottet Government are set to be dumped, the party has announced.

Labor will prioritise building new Metro extensions linking the aerotropolis to Glenfield via Leppington and the Macarthur region, as well as building a new Metro connecting Tallawong to St Marys, as part of their election promises for western Sydney.

The NSW Coalition pledged earlier this month to pump $260 million into creating final business cases for those two lines, as well as two additional ones – a Metro linking Westmead to the new Western Sydney Airport, and a line connecting Glenfield to Bankstown.

But Labor will only pursue two of those four, with Opposition leader Chris Minns on Sunday saying it would explore building the link between the new airport and Glenfield and Macarthur in partnership with the federal government, while pumping an extra $40m into the final business case for the Tallawong to St Marys link.

Sydney Metro's new trains for the City & Southwest line. The future of an extension of the Metro between Sydenham and Bankstown remains under a funding cloud. Picture: Supplied by NSW Government

Mr Minns said the two links Labor had committed to would build a public transport “loop” for Sydney.

“We can’t have a situation where the fastest growing suburbs in the entire state are in communities with access to toll roads, but with no long term plan when it comes to public transport. This is about closing the loop in a responsible way,” he said.

Mr Minns also pressured the government to reveal if they’d continue with upgrading the Sydenham to Bankstown line from regular train services to Metro, following last year’s revelations the line had blown out by $6 billion in costs.

Premier Dominic Perrottet on Sunday insisted “We are completely committed to the Southwest Metro”, firing back that “the first projects to go” would be the Metro lines if Labor wins next month’s election.