As Premier Chris Minns stirred conjecture he is about to scrap or delay the $25 billion Metro West line,the government affirmed it would begin work on the light rail extension during this term of parliament,as Minns vowed in January.
Stage one of the Parramatta light rail links Westmead and Carlingford.Brook Mitchell
“The Minns Labor government’s election commitments regarding Parramatta light rail stage 2 have not changed,” a spokesperson for Transport Minister Jo Haylen said on Wednesday.
However,the project is part of a broader review of NSW’s $115 billion infrastructure pipeline,led by former Roads and Maritime Services boss Ken Kanofski,which will inform the October budget.
Asked what would happen if the Kanofski review urged restraint on the project,the spokesperson said:“The Kanofski review’s purpose is to align the infrastructure pipeline with the government’s strategic priorities.”
The first stage of Parramatta’s light rail line,from Westmead to Carlingford via Camellia,is close to completion. The second stage,a 10-kilometre route from Camellia to Olympic Park,was due to start construction next year.
Haylen’s office would not provide an expected completion date for stage two of the light rail,nor the total price tag – which was never revealed or budgeted by the previous government. Transport for NSW previously said the line could open in 2031,based on a start date of 2024 or 2025.
Sources connected to the previous government,who did not want to be identified because they were not sure if the information was confidential,said stage two was expected to cost about $2.5 billion to $3 billion.
The Coalition allocated $620 million toward the project in 2022 but did not commit to its full construction. In January,Minns,Haylen and four Labor candidates stood beside the Parramatta River to pledge an additional $200 million and promise Labor would “complete” the project.
“You need to make sure that the infrastructure is in place to cope with the massive increase in population.”
NSW Premier Chris Minns
Minns condemned the Liberals for promising the project 15 times since 2014,saying it was vital infrastructure for an area that was predicted to grow by 127,000 residents over the next 15 years.
“It is going to be the fastest growing part of the entire state,” Minns said.
“When you put that many people into a community like this,you need to make sure that the infrastructure is in place to cope with the massive increase in population.”
Located in the key seat of Parramatta,which Labor seized with a 15 per cent swing in March,stage two of the light rail project survived – along with several other large projects that had been announced but not funded.
The then premier,Dominic Perrottet,said he pushed on with the light rail rather than the Northern Beaches Tunnel because “there’s going to be much greater growth in western Sydney than there is in the northern beaches”.
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