Slower than the Notre-Dame rebuild: When will Parramatta’s light rail open?
It was nine years ago this week that western Sydney was given the news: after years of unprecedented housing growth and more strains on public transport resources, Parramatta would get its own light rail.
The crucial new link – running from Westmead, through the blossoming Parramatta CBD and on to Carlingford and Sydney Olympic Park – would allow thousands of new homes to be built around its path and transform dying industrial zones into thriving urban precincts.
The new light rail route has been tested for almost a year.Credit: Kate Geraghty
And, then-transport minister Andrew Constance hoped, it would open by 2023.
It’s almost 2025, but there is no start date in sight, and commuters, residents and workers are running out of patience.
“We shouldn’t be treated like second-class citizens,” said City of Parramatta Mayor Martin Zaiter, who is pushing the state government to provide an expected timeline of operations.
The Liberal mayor said the government has stonewalled his requests for information about the project’s progress.
“We’re heading into one of the busiest hospitality seasons; why don’t we have it yet? What really irritates me is there’s been no communication whatsoever with the residents and businesses impacted by this … It’s just not good enough to remain silent.”
Notre-Dame Cathedral was rebuilt from a flaming pile of rubble in less time than Parramatta’s light rail has taken to be built and tested.
Why is it taking so long?
Power, pandemic and pay problems
Trams returned to the tracks at the weekend for testing after an electrical wire fell on a light-rail vehicle during trials, forcing the system offline for almost a fortnight.
That episode – first reported by Seven News – has caused fresh delays, with Transport for NSW scrambling to locate replacement parts for the overhead wiring system.
Power systems on the Spanish-made light-rail vehicles have proved a constant challenge.
Like the Sydney CBD and eastern suburbs light-rail tracks, Parramatta’s trams mostly rely on power from overhead wiring. In the city, when trams do not have wiring from above, they are electrified from below. In Parramatta, batteries are the backup – but some trams have run out of power while using batteries around Parramatta Square and Westmead Hospital.
Issues with Opal card readers, discovered in August this year, also extended delays that began with the pandemic and continued with record rainfall in 2022.
David Babineau, the bus and tram divisional secretary of the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU), believes Parramatta’s light rail will not open until mid-2025 because much of the testing conducted over the past year will have to be redone.
A fridge magnet delivered to residents early in the construction process. Credit: Facebook
“What you’re testing has to be what is going to be used,” he said. “Because they’re turning around and replacing a lot of it [following the wire collapse], you can’t turn around and say [earlier testing] was valid because the testing wasn’t done with components currently installed.”
The union is also negotiating with the government over the enterprise agreement for drivers, which Babineau said was affected by the volatile relationship between the RTBU and the government.
‘What a joke’
In October, a car and a tram crashed, and Transport for NSW posted about it on Facebook. Frustrated with the extended delays, Parramatta restaurant owner Peter Zaidan fired back.
“As a business owner on this light-rail path, I am both disgusted and fed up with the constant issues we are experiencing from not just delays but the poor construction and design of these outdoor seating [abominations],” he wrote, sharing a video of a street shelter his restaurant rented from the consortium responsible for the project. “What a joke!”
The government has sought to assuage such concerns by attempting to lure customers to venues around the tracks. In recent months, it has published a restaurant guide, held free meal competitions and organised community days to raise awareness of the testing.
But it wasn’t enough for Zaidan: “No responsibility or ownership is taken by Parramatta light rail for any of the problems,” he complained. “It’s always someone else’s fault!”
A Transport for NSW spokesperson acknowledged the frustrations with the delays, but said the agency was “committed to making sure that Parramatta light rail is safe and reliable before it opens to passengers”.
“Transport continues to work closely with the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator to obtain the necessary approvals for passenger services,” they said.
Early in the project, the agency delivered fridge magnets to local homes featuring a sparkling light-rail vehicle below the phrase “Opening 2023”. That date has long passed, but some residents say they have kept them on their fridges as a reminder of what was once promised.
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