Seven new Sydney train stations revealed as part of the Western Sydney Metro line
Work on a new underground train line linking western Sydney to the CBD will begin next year, and now we know where some of the stations will be.
The locations of seven new Sydney stations have been revealed along the future Western Sydney Metro line.
Today, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Transport Minister Andrew Constance confirmed metro stations for the underground line, estimated to cost around $20 billion, would be built at Westmead, Parramatta, Sydney Olympic Park, North Strathfield, Burwood North, Five Dock and the Bays Precinct.
The Government is also investigating whether stations should be built at Pyrmont and Rydalmere and it is yet to determine where the new CBD station will be located.
It has also been revealed that more than 100 properties will be forcibly acquired for the line’s construction, with work to begin next year at the Bays Precinct, near Rozelle.
The State Government says the project will slash travel times between Parramatta and the CBD by 20 minutes by the time it opens to the public by 2030.
The metro would also more than double the existing rail capacity between the two major business centres, Mr Constance said.
Some 23 residential properties and around 93 business sites will be acquired in order for the project to go ahead.
“This is a project that’s underground and, you know, there’s more residential properties which we’ve had to work on with Parramatta light rail than what we have to do with this project, so it just demonstrates the power of the project,” Mr Constance told reporters in Parramatta.
He would not reveal the final cost of the project due to the need to “maintain the competitive tension” in the market.
However, the Berejiklian Government has already committed $6.4 billion to Metro West over a four-year period.
The State Government is also fast-tracking the feasibility study into building a metro station at Pyrmont, while the location for the station in the CBD is yet to be decided.
Ms Berejiklian also spoke in Parramatta today, saying the new Metro line would improve the lives of millions of people living in western Sydney.
However, Labor leader Jodi McKay said the new timeline for completion of the project represented a “major broken promise” by the Government.
“The tunnel boring machines are running a year late, the project at least two years late — and there is a massive funding black hole,” she said in a statement. “With Parramatta light rail stage two all but axed, Olympic Park will have no major transport upgrade until 2030. Areas like Melrose Park and Wentworth Point are exploding and people have moved there on faith.”
Western Sydney Business Chamber executive director David Borger said work needed to get underway as quickly as possible to expand what he described as Australia’s fastest-growing and most congested line.
“It’s absolutely critical we get this new 25km tunnel in place as soon as we can,” he said.
The Government says the ability to extend the line including beyond Westmead will be future-proofed.
With AAP