Anthony Albanese commits $1bn for rail link from new airport to Leppington, Macarthur

Anthony Albanese has committed a billion dollars to connect residents in Sydney’s southwest to the new Western Sydney airport by rail, but his pledge has been met with a mix of suspicion and praise.

• $16 million war chest for Western Sydney airport

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s pledge to funnel a billion dollars into a rail link between southwest Sydney and the new Western Sydney airport has been met with a mix of suspicion and praise as the election looms.

Local leaders took aim at Mr Albanese after he announced the selective, timely funding splash at the 2025 Airport City Summit at Warwick Farm on Thursday morning.

Liverpool City Mayor Ned Mannoun said the man who inspired the aerotropolis namesake, Dr John Bradfield, would “be turning in his grave” if he knew “half of Sydney” was not connected to the airport.

Mr Mannoun said the $1bn funding splash still fails to connect Fifteenth Avenue to Bradfield city, leaving Liverpool residents with “half-baked” promises.

“Anyone who has seen Fifteenth Avenue we’ll see it is an absolute mess. When the airport opens. It’s only going to get worse,” he said.

“You’re going to have thousands of people who are going to work at the airport all driving their cars, the airport is going to become a sea of parking lots, they have no way of getting there.

The new Western Sydney Airport.

“(Dr John) Bradfield will be turning in his grave knowing that half of Sydney can’t get there.”

Independent Fowler MP Dai Le was not invited to the event but did not take the snub personally, even though her Labor rival Tu Le was given a personal shoutout by Mr Albanese at the event.

Instead, Ms Le accused the Albanese government of making a last-minute gold rush.

“As we can see from the announcement, this is not about the people of Western Sydney, it’s about an election,” Ms Le said.

“This rail corridor will not happen for decades, so this rush to announce is disingenuous.

Ms Le said the $1bn rail link corridor will also miss her electorate, raising further concerns about project cherry-picking ahead of the election.

“The families of Fowler have once again been bypassed by this Labor Government, figuratively and literally,” she said.

State and federal governments have been facing calls to close the loop of the Sydney Metro by adding connections linking the western Sydney aerotropolis to the growth regions of northwest and southwest Sydney.

The Prime Minister has promised $1bn to southwest Sydney voters to go towards buying land corridors for the creation of a rail connection between the Bradfield Aerotropolis, Leppington and Macarthur.

An artist’s impression of Western Sydney’s Metro.

The Daily Telegraph campaigned for more rail connections in western and southwestern Sydney, going as far back as the Berejiklian government.

The cash splash comes as Labor looks to sand bag key seats in the southwest that are facing an election assault from independents and Liberals.

Macarthur and Werriwa, both held by Labor, are key seats in the region with Labor strategists particularly concerned about Anne Stanley’s chances in Werriwa.

Werriwa is held on a 5.3 per cent margin after electoral redistributions while Macarthur is held on 9.8 per cent by Dr Mike Freelander.

How Western Sydney Airport is coming along.

But both seats rank as some of the highest electorates in the country for household stress — putting them at a greater risk of swinging at the polls despite comfortable margins.

Mr Albanese said he has been a “long-term supporter” of expanding the rail line past Bradfield.

Whether the connections are heavy rail or a Metroi light rail will depend on the outcome of a business case, currently being undertaken by the NSW government.

“I am pleased to announce that a re-elected Albanese Government will …(be) investing $1 billion to preserve land corridors to facilitate the building of future rail extensions from Bradfield to Leppington and Macarthur,” he said.

“This is the next practical step in safeguarding the future and ensuring we are well-positioned to deliver the infrastructure communities across southwest Sydney need.”

Artist renders of Bradfield City Centre development.

Currently the Metro runs from Tallawong in Sydney’s northwest to the city and beyond to Sydenham.

Services from Sydenham to Bankstown were due to begin this year but have now been delayed until 2026 due to ongoing industrial action.

Nine train stations along the T3 train line were shut last September to transform the heavy rail line to a Metro extension.

The Metro West line from the CBD to Westmead is under construction and due to open in 2032, while the Western Sydney Airport line from Bradfield to St Marys has also been hit by delays.

The NSW government had pledged the Western Sydney Airport Metro would open in time for the aerotropolis’ first flights in 2026, but the new line to the international airport is now expected to open by April 2027 at the earliest.

The Daily Telegraph has been campaigning on the rail links.

The Telegraph raised concerns about the aerotropolis becoming a ghost city.

The airport extension is being jointly funded by the state and federal government.

Mr Albanese said the “other missing piece” of the rail network was a connection closing the loop from St Marys back to Tallawong — taking in the growth areas of Marsden Park and Schofields as the potential two stops on the way.

“This is the bridge between the northwest and the southwest – two of the largest, growing and unconnected parts of the city,” he said.

“Completing the project would allow connections with local job opportunities in the Blacktown area and further afield to Norwest and Macquarie Park.

“These connections are critical to Western Sydney’s economic and employment growth, and work is now underway on a business case for the Tallawong to St Mary’s link, which the NSW Government is funding.”

Tear Sheets from The Daily Telegraph on the Metro train to the new Western Sydney Airport.

The PM was facing calls to close the “loop” with more rail connection.

The NSW Government committed funding for a business case for a future rail or Metro link between St Marys and Tallawong and is undertaking a joint business case with the federal government for a link between Bradfield, Leppington and Macarthur, where corridors would now be preserved.

Earlier on Wednesday, Liverpool Mayor Ned Mannoun called for the rail network to be extended to the south of the airport, claiming current public transport links are “lopsided” and favour the future airport’s north side.

“Only six kilometres of rail will mean the difference between success and failure for the airport,” Mayor Mannoun said.

“A short length of track from Leppington to the airport provides the missing link in the Sydney public transport network, linking the Sydney Metro Western Sydney Airport line to the T2 and T5 Train network.”

He said a new southwest rail link would provide access to the airport from key areas such as Campbelltown, Cabramatta, Revesby and Liverpool.

“Without a direct rail or Metro link, access to the airport will remain strangled, especially for those in Southwestern Sydney and beyond,” he said.

Originally published as Anthony Albanese commits $1bn for rail link from new airport to Leppington, Macarthur