Former head of Transport NSW slams decision to run trams along George Street

PLANNING genius John Bradfield who shaped modern Sydney would “turn in his grave” if he saw the transport “catastrophes” unfolding in the city today, one of the state’s former top bureaucrats says.

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PLANNING genius John Bradfield would “turn in his grave” if he saw the transport “catastrophes” unfolding in Sydney today, one of NSW’s former top bureaucrats says.

John Lee, who headed the Department of Premier and Cabinet and Transport for NSW, has slammed the decision to run trams along George Street as “ill conceived, rushed, late and over budget”.

“It is the government’s biggest mistake and Bradfield would be horrified,” Mr Lee will tell a conference of 400 transport leaders in Sydney today.

John Lee has described the project as “ill conceived, rushed, late and over budget”.

He said John Bradfield would be “turning in his grave”. Picture: Supplied

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The former transport tsar who has also run the Roosters and Rabbitohs rugby league clubs, told The Daily Telegraph ­yesterday light rail should never have been considered for ­George St when trains already ran underneath the city.

“Bradfield would have pointed out that directly under George St sits loads of wires and utility cables and a little thing called the City Circle,” he said.

“Heavy railway delivers up to 40,000 people an hour — trams are lucky to deliver one quarter of that. This has been a very expensive exercise for very little good outcome.”

Mr Lee said light rail should never have been considered for George St as trains deliver more people than trams. Picture: Flavio Brancaleone

It is 75 years since the death of Bradfield, who planned the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the electrification of the railways and the design and construction of the City Circle underground.

Mr Lee said Bradfield would not have supported a plan to turn his underground tunnels beneath Hyde Park into bars, night clubs and retail shops.

A better idea would be to use the tunnels to “put the buses underground”.