The Hills, Schofields to be linked to Western Sydney Aerotropolis through new rail link
Northwest Sydney will have direct access to the Western Sydney Aerotropolis — under a new plan to continue construction of the Sydney Metro northwest from Rouse Hill through to the new airport.
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A new plan to expand the Sydney Metro northwest from Rouse Hill to Schofields, and onto Western Sydney Aerotropolis has been announced by the NSW Government.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Transport Minister Andrew Constance today promised to continue construction of the Sydney Metro northwest from Tallawong station at Rouse Hill to Schofields, St Mary’s and on to Western Sydney Airport and Aerotopolis.
“It will provide turn-up-and-go train services up to every two minutes and complement the existing Sydney Train network,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“This will connect Schofields into the North West Metro, which is opening in May this year.”
Construction of the missing link between the Sydney Metro Northwest at Rouse Hill and Schofield station will commence over the next four years, as part of a long-term transport vision according to the NSW Government.
Riverstone state Liberal MP Kevin Conolly said the linking of the North South Rail Line and Sydney Metro northwest will “connect the north-west to the job and educational opportunities the Aerotropolis will bring”.
“This new Metro route will not only connect suburbs like Rouse Hill and Schofields with more of Sydney, but will free up capacity on the existing network,” Mr Conolly said.
The announcement comes several months after a NewsLocal campaign alongside Hills Shire Mayor Michelle Byrne to see a connection from the Sydney Metro northwest to the new Western Sydney Airport.
In October, The Times and Hills Shire Councillors called for the NSW Government to plan to complete the metro link between Tallawong Station and St Mary’s providing the missing link between resident in The Hills to the Western Sydney Aerotropolis.
The plea for further integration of transport links across The Hills to Western Sydney Airport came after a council report noted a “lack of rail connectivity” between The Hills and the Western Sydney Aerotropolis.
Cr Byrne welcomed the announcement for planning to begin on an additional four Sydney Metro railway lines.
“This is very exciting news for Hills residents,” she said. “It makes sense to connect the north with the south via a direct rail link before our growing population creates more demand than can be served.
“Over the next 15 years, The Hills’ population will grow by another 100,000 people — taking our population well above 250,000.
“This vital piece of infrastructure will allow our residents to travel with ease, as well as enable them to access jobs in the south-west and to the new Western Sydney Airport.”
Cr Byrne said workers in The Hills, which is home to 20,000 businesses, would most likely use the Badgerys Creek Airport to catch a flight across Australia and the rest of the world to capitalise on the opportunities now available to them.
“I commend the NSW Government for coming to the table to begin planning for additional railway lines, particularly the North South Rail Line extension,” she said.
Blacktown Mayor and Labor MP Stephen Bali hit out and the NSW Government’s proposal, declaring there was no timeline, no budget and no plan for where the link would be built.
“I want to know how they are going to fund it, because they keep talking about value capture, which would see an extra land tax slapped on western Sydney residents to pay for our own railway line,” Cr Bali said.
“We already have to pay for our own tolls and rail lines.”
Cr Bali said during his time as president of Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC), he called for the Western Sydney Airport to be intergrated with powerhouse business parks of western Sydney.
“For Western Sydney Airport to work it needed to be connected to the four major industrial and business parks in Sydney — Erskin Park, Marsden Park, Norwest Business Park and Macquarie Business Park — we said this from day one,” he said.
“Just a week before the election the government realised they needed to fill this missing link, we needed this from the day one announcement of the Sydney Metro northwest.”
Cr Bali hit out at the NSW Government’s committment of $2 billion for the North South Rail Link, revealing Blacktown Council costed a 16km Metro from Tallawong Metro Station to St Marys train station at $12 billion.
“There is no track record of delivering major infrastructure without slugging its residents with tolls and taxes,” he said.
“Labor committed to an intergrated rail system from northwest Sydney to Western Sydney Airport from day one, so it is great that the government have finally realised it to.”
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