Leaked Rail Plans Envision Massive Expansion Across Sydney

Leaked documents from Transport for NSW reveal potential significant medium-term expansion of Sydney’s rail system. The plans cross most regions of the city, including inner suburbs in the east and south.

Proposals would see the T5 Cumberland Line extended both ways to reach Epping and the new settlement of Bradfield, and would extend the Western Sydney Airport Metro line to Campbelltown whilst joining it with the M1 line at Tallawong. These changes would give the network a more circular appearance.

Another major proposal is for a line from Westmead Hospital to Kogarah via existing stations at Parramatta, Granville, Sefton, Birrong, Yagoona, Bankstown and Kingsgrove.

The Eastern Suburbs would be served by an extension of the Sydney Metro West line from Hunter Street to Randwick via Zetland.

T8 South Line trains would be diverted to run via Sydenham, whilst the T2 Leppington & Inner West Line would be extended to Revesby via the airport. Electric services would be extended to the Wollondilly Shire, beyond metropolitan Sydney.

Other leaked documents reveal the urgency of upgrades to the suburban system, with passenger capacity around Parramatta forecast to be exhausted by the decade’s end.

Plans have not yet been approved

Some of the works were proposed to be completed in this decade, but others were slated for completion in the 2030s or beyond.

That is despite cost-weary premier Chris Minns indicating an end to the era of Sydney transportation megaprojects, which characterised the Liberal governments of the 2010s. In August, Minns said that “no one should be under any illusion that right now, we’re at full capacity when it comes to what’s deliverable and what’s buildable in New South Wales today.”

Transport for NSW told the City Hub that the draft plans have not been approved by the government, and that none of the proposed new lines have yet been costed.

“It is the role of Transport for NSW to develop long-term plans for a growing city like Sydney to ensure the public transport system grows and evolves with the city,” a spokesperson said. 

Some of the proposals are subject to ongoing business cases.

Randwick council “welcomes” transport investment

Randwick City Council mayor Dylan Parker said that the council “welcomes additional investment in mass public transport in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs.”

“We’ve said for many years that transport in this area is limited and in need of improvement. The idea of extending metro or heavy rail has been around for many years, but until there are concrete plans in place and a financial commitment from the state or federal government, any talk is simply speculation.”

“We will continue to work cooperatively with Transport for NSW to improve current transport including light rail and buses.”

A Kingsford resident told this masthead that a metro extension to the area would be a major windfall. “Although we have the light rail, it does take significantly longer to get to the east from the north or city than it does city to north.”

Projects would “improve the reliability” of Sydney Trains

Mathew Hounsell, a transport researcher at the University of Technology, said that the leaked plans “would improve the reliability and customer service of Sydney Trains.”

“Some changes like segregating the Inner West line could start next month – it just needs a new timetable. A timetable change could have the southern line providing faster services to the city, with evening and weekend services stopping at St Peters for those travelling to Newtown.”

“An eastern extension of the Western Metro from Hunter Street would increase the patronage and public benefits from the metro. It is important that the route chosen improves connections and has enough stations to serve the most people.”

Hounsell added that the Randwick metro extension proposal was a significant improvement on “terrible” earlier plans for one via northern Newtown. However, he thinks that it could be done better.

“The metro would do more good heading to Kingsford and Maroubra. Randwick would be better served by finishing the Eastern Suburbs Railway, and improving the light rail for far less money.”

He is critical of previous Commonwealth and state Labor governments, whom he said “cancelled their last railway improvement plan and poured those billions into pink batts and tax cuts.”