Western Sydney Airport: Calls to fast-track rail links from Liverpool and Campbelltown
While Sydney’s northwest will benefit from a new metro link to the future Western Sydney Airport, the city’s southwest will need to rely on rapid bus services to get there, prompting calls to fast-track rail links.
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Residents in Sydney’s southwest say they have been left behind when it comes to public transport links to the Western Sydney Airport, with calls to fast-track rail links from Liverpool and Campbelltown to the Badgerys Creek site.
Community campaigner Michael Andjelkovic has launched a petition calling on the NSW Government to extend the South West Link from Leppington to the airport in time for its opening in 2026.
The government recently announced the exact locations for the new Sydney Metro to Western Sydney Airport project, which will include St Marys, Orchard Hills, Luddenham, the Western Sydney Aerotropolis and two stations at the airport.
While it was welcome news for Sydney’s northwest, Mr Andjelkovic said the city’s southwest had been left behind again and would have to wait years for rail connections to the airport.
“Now we know where the stations are going to be between the airport and St Marys, however, residents of southwest Sydney are still being denied easy access to the new Western Sydney Airport. Why?” he said.
He says connecting the existing heavy rail link to the airport precinct made sense.
“It provides continuity of the existing South West rail link. It will provide also more (commuter) carparking spaces … that would at least provide some futureproofing with the population growth that’s coming with the development (in the southwest),” Mr Andjelkovic said.
The government has prioritised the Metro from St Marys and rapid bus services as short-term public transport connections to the airport and aerotropolis.
Under the Western Sydney City Deal, it has also committed to protecting corridors for future rail connections in Sydney’s west including a South West Rail Link to connect Leppington to the airport via an interchange at the aerotropolis.
A Transport for NSW spokesman said the preferred rapid bus routes were yet to be determined.
“The rapid bus routes are proposed to be operational by 2026 for the opening of Western Sydney International Airport and Aerotropolis as per the Western Sydney City Deal commitment,” the spokesman said.
“Route selection will be undertaken in close collaboration with Local Government, community and stakeholders in western Sydney.”
A detailed business case, which will include details on service provision and infrastructure improvements, will be completed in late 2021 for the government to consider.