Western Sydney mayors Khal Asfour and Ned Mannoun demand Southwest Metro go ahead

Western Sydney mayors have urged Chris Minns to finish the Southwest Metro, despite ‘significant disruptions’ for commuters, and an $8bn cost blowout. TAKE OUR POLL

Western Sydney mayors have urged Chris Minns not to back down on finishing the Southwest Metro as the Premier conceded completing the project would involve “significant disruptions”.

Mr Minns on Thursday announced an independent review of the entire Sydney Metro network, as it was revealed that upgrading the heavy rail between Sydenham and Bankstown could result in a 15-month shutdown.

The Premier and Transport Minister Jo Haylen will push for an interim review to be completed by June, aimed at identifying how the network could be finished amid cost blowouts and delays.

The Daily Telegraph yesterday revealed tens of thousands of passengers who travel on the busy T3 line could be forced onto replacement buses for the 13km stretch between Sydenham and Bankstown to allow for the construction work.

The forecasted budget for the project has also blown out by another $2bn, with a total bill $8bn above earlier projections.

Khal Asfour (top, l to r), Chris Minns and Ned Mannoun have all warned there will be ‘significant disruptions’ to commuters while the Southwest Metro is built.

But Liverpool Mayor Ned Mannoun, who has thousands of constituents who use the T3 line to get to the city, said cancelling the project would “condemn the people of southwest Sydney to a lifetime of traffic”.

Mr Mannoun said of the 15-month proposed shutdown: “We can’t have progress without some inconvenience. If we adopted this attitude (to construction), we’d only have a four-lane Harbour Bridge,” he said.

Canterbury-Bankstown Mayor Khal Asfour — whose council area spans the majority of the southwest line — said he was “surprised and angry” at the cost blowout and lengthy shutdown, but said the project must go ahead.

“Whilst the government decision to conduct a review is expected, I will be actively working to ensure the completion of the Metro line to Bankstown,” he said.

“This project is too far down the track to be turning back now.”

Mr Minns said the review was part of “assembling a team to resuscitate and put back on track” the Metro projects.

“I don’t pretend it will be easy, in fact the road ahead will be difficult,” he said.

He said the review would also explore options like adding more stations along the Metro West linking Parramatta and the CBD.

The Premier added he thought it was unlikely the review would recommend dumping the Southwest Metro because weekend work was already under way and contracts were in place for its construction.

He said he was “determined to deliver on the projects that we promised in the election campaign”, including the Southwest Metro, and he was hopeful it could be done without shutting parts of the track down for more than a year.

“Our initial briefings from Metro is that there are other ways of delivering on that project that don’t involve a 15-month shutdown.

“But I’ve got to be honest, they’re not disruption free. They involve significant disruptions,” Mr Minns said.

Bankstown resident Gina Chen (pictured above, in poll) said having to catch a bus instead of a train into the city “wouldn’t be ideal”.

“I’m a student so I use the train all the time,” she said.

Guilherma Costo and James Kim, who were catching the train at Bankstown on Thursday, said they would both struggle if the line was closed for more than a year.

“I use the train here a fair bit so 15 months without them wouldn’t be good,” Mr Costo said.

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Originally published as Western Sydney mayors Khal Asfour and Ned Mannoun demand Southwest Metro go ahead