Western Sydney will be ‘undermined’ unless broken transport links are fixed, report demands

A new report warns the Western Sydney Airport and growth around the surrounding Bradfield city centre could be severely hindered without better public transport links.

• Why Western Sydney could miss out on 500k jobs

Major western Sydney projects like the new city of Bradfield and its airport will be undermined if more public transport links aren’t built to support them, a new report warns.

Among the key issues highlighted in the Centre for Western Sydney’s landmark Unlimited Potential report is the disjointed public transport around the region, with the centre’s executive director Professor Andy Marks saying the next generation of infrastructure needs to be committed to now.

“Western Sydney transport is the story of broken links and missed connections,” he said.

The report states while the new Westmead Health and Innovation Precinct will be connected to heavy rail, light rail and road, other sites are not.

“The new airport will be served to the north by a St Marys Metro link, yet this link does not close the arc further north by connecting (to) Tallawong (Metro),” the report says.

“To the south of the airport no link at all has been committed to connect Campbelltown by rail or (a) suitable roads network.”

Professor Andy Marks, Executive Director, Centre for Western Sydney speaking at the 2024 Future Western Sydney event at Rosehill Gardens. Picture: Richard Dobson

The centre’s report says those gaps “substantially undermines the potential economic uplift of the airport, Bradfield, and developments for Campbelltown and surrounds”.

The 2023-2024 NSW budget committed funding for business cases in the region, including a potential rail link between St Marys and Tallawong – which are both terminus stations for their respective Metro lines.

That line would travel through Schofields and Marsden Park.

Closing the metro gap is a key priority, according to the report. Picture: Supplied.

Another business case is investigating a rail connection between Bradfield and Leppington or Glenfield, as well as another line between Bradfield and Campbelltown within the Macarthur region.

Prof Marks said the time had come for commitments to be made.

“Why as a priority wouldn’t you close the link between St Marys and Tallawong?” he said.

“Why would you not continue that link on down to Macarthur? If western Sydney is the fastest growing region in Australia, the Macarthur is the fastest growing region in western Sydney – to not even have that on your timeline as a link for your future transport, that’s madness.”

Prof Marks said the lack of commitment to the projects in western Sydney highlighted the inequity in funding between the region and the city of Sydney, pointing to the Metro City line from Chatswood to Sydenham which opened in August to rave reviews.

lack of transport could hinder the growth of the new airport and surrounding precincts, the report warns. .

“It’s great to hear about people in Chatswood popping down to Marrickville for a craft brew, but we’re talking about people in western Sydney trying to get to job opportunities which aren’t even on the government’s time frame,” he said.

“We can’t wait for government any longer.”

The call for the new transport links comes as the NSW Government works through a glut of major infrastructure projects soaking up resources in the region.

The new Western Sydney Airport Metro – which will run between St Marys and Bradfield – is set to open in 2026 alongside the new airport.

Metro West, running from Parramatta to the Sydney CBD, is forecast to open in 2032, while the Parramatta Light Rail is set to finally open later this year.

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