A re-elected federal Labor government will inject $1 billion into securing a rail corridor from Sydney’s south-western suburbs to the new Western Sydney airport.
The future corridors will connect Leppington, Bradfield and suburbs in the Macarthur region with the new airport in what would complete a “missing link” in the city’s rail network.
The funding would not go towards constructing a rail line but will instead be spent on securing the land and planning required to construct a new line.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told ABC Radio Sydney the investment would help complete a rail “loop” around Sydney that would connect the city with the airport.
“We want to make sure as well that we secure future rail corridors, not just between Leppington and Bradfield at the airport, but also between the Bradfield city centre and all those booming suburbs in the Macauthur region,” he said.
The timeline for the delivery of the corridor preservation work will be finalised with the NSW government.
The former federal Liberal government funded a $5.25 billion airport metro line from St Marys to Western Sydney airport in 2020, which was slated to be competed next year.
It will include two new metro stops at Orchard Hills and Luddenham and its launch will coincide with the opening of the new airport.
Mr Albanese said a joint business case was underway to investigate potentially extending that line north of St Marys.
“For so long, Sydney’s always looked towards the harbour and looked towards the CBD, what this is doing with the airport … is to have Sydney looking outwards as well as inwards,” he said.
“What you need to do is to link up the north-west, the south-west with the airport, right around into central Sydney as well.
“That’s the way that you create a dynamic, vibrant, functioning city where people can work closer to where they live.”
Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor said the Coalition would back the project if it won the next federal election, but criticised the lack of detail in Labor’s announcement.
“We are pleased to see a commitment of a billion dollars and we’ll back that commitment,” Mr Taylor said.
“There are many questions to ask [about] what the government is planning. In particular, they haven’t laid out which rail paths they’re going to be pursuing and which technologies they’re going to be using.”
Liverpool mayor criticises plan as ‘half-baked’
Western Sydney Leadership Dialouge chief executive Adam Leto said Mr Albanese’s funding commitment was a step in the right direction.
“It’s not the sole answer. It’s not the silver bullet but it lays the groundwork for a future metro track to service the growing region of the south-west,” he said.
But Liverpool City Council Mayor Ned Mannoun, who is a member of the Liberal Party, said the federal government’s plan was “half-baked”.
“We need to build these rail lines and we need to build them now,” Mr Mannoun said.
“20,000 people a year are moving into south-west Sydney. We are going to be the second biggest economy in the country because of this airport. But we have no public transport to get there.
“We need to take transport planning seriously.”
The Property Council of Australia welcomed the federal government’s announcement, saying the extension would bolster investment confidence in the region.
Western Sydney regional director Ross Grove said the future link would provide a more seamless connection for people travelling from Western Sydney airport to Liverpool.
“The South West Rail Link Extension is one of those ‘missing links’ holding back the region’s growth capacity,” he said.
“This commitment to fund corridor acquisition is the strongest signal yet that better rail connections are on the way for Western Sydney.
“Without this vital link, a rail commuter seeking to travel the 18 kilometres home to Liverpool from the new airport would have to traverse more than 55 kilometres of rail, interchanging at least twice to board services across three separate lines.”
How is this not a complete waste of money connecting an airport that will have very few flights and is 100kms+ from Sydney where business is done. Another Australian multiple $billion dollar disaster. What should have been completed was an upgrade to Canberra with a HSR between Sydney and Canberra approaching from the west and stations in Parramatta so that the entire 500kms region could be serviced and trains from Canberra to Sydney would be quicker than a metro service from the new airport.
Australia is a joke.