Mayor calls for Macarthur stop on fast rail line to address government ‘neglect’ of region

A Sydney mayor is pushing for the federal government to have a bullet train stop built in a fast growing region, saying he is fed up with the region being overlooked.

Surging population growth in Sydney’s southwest has sparked calls for Campbelltown to be added to a future high speed rail line on Australia’s east coast with a local mayor saying he’s fed up with the region being overlooked in favour of other parts of Sydney.

Campbelltown Mayor Darcy Lound is leading calls for the federal government to have a bullet train stop built in the fast growing Macarthur region as part of planning work for the future fast rail network.

Plans to build an east coast fast rail line date back more than 50 years but have taken recent steps forward after the government committed $500m towards planning the initial stage between Newcastle to Sydney.

The government has established a High Speed Rail Authority with the long-term vision of having the line extend from Sydney to Brisbane and Melbourne.

Mr Lound said Sydney’s southwest was a “logical place” for a station to be added and could held drive a jobs boom for the region.

Campbelltown Mayor Darcy Lound.

“There should be an interchange at Campbelltown as the southern gateway to metropolitan Sydney,” he said.

“It would enable future connections to the Western Sydney Airport and the Illawarra and we want to make sure we’re part of the network.”

Mr Lound said the region was often overlooked in favour of other parts of Sydney such as Parramatta and the city’s CBD.

Millions of dollars has already been committed to planning work on the line.

He is also calling for Campbelltown to be added to the new Western Sydney Airport metro line which is currently under construction but does not extend to the Macarthur region.

“We feel as though our residents are continually locked out of accessing economic impacts when it comes to major infrastructure projects,” he said.

“We’ve been overlooked. At the end of the day the Macarthur region has a population of about 380,000 people and that will grow to 600,000 residents in 10 years’ time.

Mr Lound believes the new airport metro line should also extend to the Macarthur region.

“We need to have the investment in the area to support that growth.”

Campbelltown is not the only council jostling for a fast rail line station with Parramatta Council also lobbying for a station to be built in the suburb.

The High Speed Rail Authority says current work on the line is focused on geotechnical exploration on the first stage of the project between Newcastle and Sydney which will determine rail tunnel depths and “geological complexities”.

Campbelltown Council – in a submission to the Federal Government – said a station in Campbeltown would address years of neglect in investment in public transport infrastructure.

“Not only does this leave our city centre congested, it makes the population more dependent on private vehicles to access jobs healthcare education and services,” the council stated.