By Matt O'Sullivan
Strathfield in Sydney's inner west has missed out on a link to a $3.5 billion light rail line after the state government opted to extend the second stage to suburbs north of the Parramatta River before ending it at the Olympic Park precinct.
The "preferred route" for the second stage of the line runs from Rydalmere through Ermington, Melrose Park before crossing the Parramatta River and passing through Wentworth Point and on to Olympic Park.
The government said the 9-kilometre second stage could comprise up to 12 stops but has yet to reveal where they will be located or what the project will cost.
It led to Labor and business groups demanding the government match the release of its preferred route with a funding commitment.
The preferred routes for the Parramatta light rail.
So far, the government has committed only $1 billion for a project that has been estimated to cost more than $3.5 billion, and was originally planned to be built in one fell swoop.
Transport Minister Andrew Constance said the final cost of the second stage would not be known until a competitive tender process was completed and contracts signed by 2019.
"I'm not going to speculate around costings – I've got the responsibility of getting that business case right, then going to market and then getting a final costing when we sign up to contract," he said.
Mr Constance said he was hopeful construction on the second stage would start before 2020.
Construction of the first stage of the line is due to start in the middle of next year.
"We want to have the benefits of having it linked to the Olympic Park precinct ... and through to Carter Street where there is a very significant housing development," he said.
Construction on the first stage of the line that stretches from Westmead to Carlingford via Parramatta's CBD and Camellia is due to start in the middle of next year and take as long as five years. Trams are scheduled to start running in 2023 along the first stage of the route, which will feature 16 stops.
Transport Minister Andrew Constance was hopeful construction on the second stage would start before 2020.Credit: Louise Kennerley
The government originally planned for the line to extend as far east as Strathfield.
But Mr Constance said Strathfield already had a heavy rail link and was part of planning for a metro rail line between Sydney's CBD and Parramatta via the Bays Precinct near Rozelle and Olympic Park.
Labor leader Luke Foley said the government was without the funds to pay for a project that was years away from completion.
"My fear is that under this lot you will never see light rail through Olympic Park and the suburbs around here. There is no concrete plan and there's no funding," he said.
He also accused the government of breaking a promise to extend the light rail line from Olympic Park to Strathfield.
David Borger, western Sydney director of the NSW Business Chamber, said Olympic Park had suffered from a heavy rail train connection that "doesn't work well".
"We can't leave [residents and businesses] stranded on the edge of the Parramatta River ... with densities like New York with no way to get in or out – that's why we need light rail," he said.
"This is a far better route than the one previously proposed because it picks up people, has the chance to renew a public housing estate and there's an opportunity to renew an industrial estate and to bridge the river."
About a dozen homes will need to be compulsorily acquired for the second stage, in addition to more than 40 homes and businesses along the 12-kilometre first stage.
The government has left open the possibility that the light rail line could cross the Parramatta River from South Street at Rydalmere and run along the south side of the waterway before connecting to the first stage at Camellia.
The 45-metre light rail vehicles that will operate on the line will be longer than the 30-metre trams on the inner west line from Central Station to Dulwich Hill.