{"id":378527,"date":"2026-03-01T21:53:59","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T11:53:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=378527"},"modified":"2026-03-01T21:54:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T11:54:00","slug":"labors-northern-suburbs-rail-line-promise-labelled-overhyped","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=378527","title":{"rendered":"Labor\u2019s northern suburbs rail line promise labelled \u2018overhyped\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The latest pre-election announcement from the state Labor party would see it reserve land to link the existing rail network further north, where much of Adelaide\u2019s new housing stock is set to be built<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It plan, if elected, would involve a 33 km-long mass transit corridor running from Dry Creek, winding through Waterloo Corner and Riverlea, and finishing at Two Wells.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Labor party expects more than 113,000 new dwellings to be built in the northern suburbs to house 250,000 people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Securing the corridor would preserve the area for rail infrastructure, but further planning work and investigation would now occur to refine options, Labor said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe will not make the mistakes of past governments by not delivering infrastructure at the same rate of housing growth,\u201d Labor\u2019s housing spokesperson Nick Champion said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plan was slammed by Greens MLC Robert Simms, who labelled the announcement as an \u201coverhyped planning exercise that falls well short of the genuine rail investment that SA needs\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile the preservation of land for future infrastructure can be sensible long-term planning, today\u2019s announcement delivers no funding, no timeline, and no commitment to actually build rail,\u201d Simms said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInstead, it simply begins a bureaucratic process to reserve a corridor, something that could take years before any construction decision is even considered.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simms was concerned the northern suburbs could be facing a repeat of \u201cthe planning disaster of Mount Barker, where residents have been left to languish without a passenger rail link connecting them to the city and suburbs\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf the government is serious about busting congestion and supporting liveability, it must invest in actual rail infrastructure with funded timelines,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Critics have blasted Labor\u2019s latest announcement on northern suburbs public transport.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":378529,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[273,47],"tags":[265,7527],"class_list":["post-378527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australia","category-rail-news","tag-adelaide","tag-south-australia"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t