Celebrating Sydney Metro milestone – full length north-south rail now needed for west

Wednesday, 4 December 2024

Penrith City Council has celebrated the milestone completion of more than 3.2 kilometres of elevated viaducts for the Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport line.

 The viaducts over the Warragamba pipeline, Blaxland Creek, and Luddenham Road form part of the 23km metro line connecting St Marys to the airport and Bradfield. The journey between St Marys to the new international airport will take passengers just 15 minutes, when it opens.

“We applaud this critical milestone for the Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport line,” Penrith Mayor Cr Todd Carney said.

“The metro has the capacity to carry 7,740 passengers per hour in each direction. That will unlock economic and community benefits for the Penrith local government area.”

However, with the opening of Western Sydney International Airport and Sydney Metro in sight, Cr Carney said that attention must now shift to what’s next.   

“Penrith City Council has advocated for some time for full length north-south rail and other enabling infrastructure, to fully support the economic trajectory of all of Western Sydney,” Cr Carney said.

Cr Carney, also Chair of The Parks, said this is also the number one advocacy priority for Western Sydney councils.

The Parks is an alliance of leaders from eight local government areas who in 2018 partnered with the Australian and New South Wales Governments to deliver the Western Sydney City Deal. The alliance includes the Councils of the Blue Mountains, Camden, Campbelltown, Fairfield, Hawkesbury, Liverpool, Penrith and Wollondilly – covering two-thirds of the Greater Sydney area.  

The Western Sydney City Deal is a 20-year agreement to unlock opportunities in education, business and employment for Western Sydney and its people.

“Full length north-south rail was the flagship commitment for the future of Western Sydney,” Cr Carney said. “Now as Chair of The Parks, I intend to continue to work as hard as I can to see this come to fruition.   

“Western Sydney is super-charged by the unprecedented investment in infrastructure, the development of new and renewed communities and economic hubs, and of course the evolution of the Western Sydney Aerotropolis.
“The metro line needs to be fully connected to enable a thriving community that can access the opportunities of growth and change, and ultimately for Western Sydney to fulfil its economic role in NSW and Australia.”

For the southern corridor, the Australian and NSW Governments have jointly committed $100 million to complete a business case which will consider a Metro connection between Bradfield and Campbelltown/Macarthur, and Metro and heavy rail options for a connection between Bradfield and Leppington/Glenfield.

For the north, the NSW Government has committed $40 million for developing a business case for a potential future Metro connection between St Marys and Tallawong.

“It will of course take time to complete the north-south rail connection end to end. But the productivity, liveability and sustainability of Western Sydney depend on it,” Cr Carney said.

“We now need Government commitment to delivery, and a firm timeframe for completion.

I urge our colleagues in other levels of Government to urgently complete the business cases, in consultation with local councils and The Parks, to determine the next stages, and get on with construction.” 

Information contained within this news release was correct as at Wednesday, 4 December 2024.