Badgerys Creek airport: Six rail options but mayor says only one is ‘real’ choice

THREE rail lines — two new — between St Marys and the future Badgerys Creek airport have been flagged in a scoping paper released by the Minister for Urban Infrastructure Paul Fletcher.

Western Sydney Rail Alliance members are pushing for a rail line linking the northwest and southwest growth areas.

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THREE rail lines — two new — between St Marys and the future Badgerys Creek airport have been flagged in a scoping paper released by the Minister for Urban Infrastructure Paul Fletcher.

A rapid bus network from Penrith to Liverpool via the airport is also proposed, meaning weekday services every 10 minutes (6am to 7pm) and weekend services every 15 minutes.

But Penrith mayor Karen McKeown says there is “only one real” rail option for western Sydney: a new rail line that runs north-south across outer western Sydney.

Urban Infrastructure Minister Paul Fletcher (right) and demolition contractor Michael Antoun at the site of the future Badgerys Creek airport in August. Picture: Hollie Adams/The Australian

“Connecting western Sydney with a rail link from Marsden Park to Campbelltown via the airport will activate new employment hubs and create significantly more jobs than the airport alone,” Ms McKeown said.

She said other options, including a fast link to Parramatta and onto Sydney CBD, “shouldn’t even be considered ahead of transformative projects such as the north-south rail”.

Among the six options contained in the joint NSW/Federal Government scoping study of the rail needs for western Sydney is a new north-south airport rail link between Macarthur and Schofields via St Marys and the Penrith Education and Health precinct.

It would take 55 minutes on the fastest train to get from the airport to Sydney CBD on this line, and 35 minutes to get to Parramatta.

Another option could see suburban double-deck services start at the airport, travel to St Marys/Mt Druitt, and then run express to Blacktown, Parramatta and Sydney.

“In the long-term we’re going to need a faster rail connection to the CBD, but that’s the long term,” says Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue chairman Christopher Brown. Picture: Richard Dobson

The study also puts forward the idea of a new line from the proposed Western Sydney Airport that links with the Sydney Metro Northwest, with connections to the existing T1 Western Line at St Marys.

Best case scenario, this route gets you from the airport to Sydney CBD in 48 minutes.

“The line could run as a separate stand-alone metro-style service,” the study recommends.

Western Sydney Rail Alliance members, including Penrith Council, have been pushing for a rail line linking the northwest and southwest growth areas, from the 36km Sydney Metro Northwest at Rouse Hill station in the north, to Campbelltown in the south.

“The (new rail) line needs to pick up the Sydney Science Park, the (Badgerys Creek) airport, the (Werrington and Campbelltown) universities,” Penrith Mayor, Karen McKeown said.

Alliance chairman Christopher Brown told the Penrith Press the alliance would “pay for a big chunk of the train line through development levies”.

“To pay for this line is going to require some valuesharing methodology,” he told the Penrith Press.

“In the west we’re proud to pay to play, and all of the available land is north of the airport.

“Hence, the (north-south) corridor is an obvious choice for planners, councils, landowners and all government offices we’ve so far spoken to.”

Opposition leader Bill Shorten had promised, if elected, that his party would contribute $400 million towards building a rail link from north west to south west Sydney, taking in the proposed airport. The Australian Government has made no such promise.

Pictured is the Western Sydney Corridor Draft Concept, supplied by the Western Sydney Rail Alliance who maintain a rail connection linking Western Sydney to an airport at Badgerys Creek would deliver more than 40,000 jobs for the region.

Early figures commissioned by the alliance suggest construction of a north-south rail line, from Rouse Hill to Campbelltown, could create between 43,800 to 65,800 direct jobs, and up to 98,600 indirect jobs.

The scoping study says that by the early 2030s, the proposed airport is expected to generate $77 million a year for the western Sydney economy and $1.5 billion a year by 2063.

While the study does not specify the number of jobs created by each rail option, it does stress the importance of connecting homes to jobs.

“The first priority is to link western Sydney to Western Sydney Airport — to do anything else would be ridiculous,” Mr Brown said.

HAVE YOUR SAY

■ Communities will be able to have their say in the final decision on the passenger rail requirements for western Sydney, including other rail service ideas and funding suggestions.

■ Make a submission, via westernsydneyrail.transport.nsw.gov.au/have-your-say, by October 28.

■ Freight requirements for western Sydney are being considered as part of the planning for the Outer Sydney Orbital Corridor Preservation Study.

■ Forecasts suggest Badgerys Creek airport will cater to about 37 million annual passengers by 2050 — roughly the same number of annual passengers using Kingsford Smith Airport today — with about five million people expected to use the new airport in its first year of operation.

■ The 2015 draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the airport found the road upgrades, under the $3.6 billion Western Sydney Infrastructure Plan, would adequately support anticipated airport demand for at least a decade after opening, and that the long-term operation of the airport requires a rail connection.