Former NSW Rail Executive Dick Day believes that the NSW Metro lines will not assist in commuter travel times, despite the $63 billion expenditure.
Writing a paper for Sydney University, Day says there is little rationale for the commitment to large-scale rail projects, including the future St Marys to Western Sydney Airport line, expecting people to travel to the airfield via car.
“Sydney’s proposed metro projects represents very poor use of what were once considered scarce public funds,” he writes.
“The willingness to commit public money to such poorly conceived projects raises disturbing questions about financial governance within NSW.”
Day is quick to point out that numbers on trains have not yet reached pre-pandemic levels and that the financial outlay does not justify the potential result. Single-deck trains along the metro lines could also result in delayed travel time, due to excessive amounts of commuters.
Despite the government’s commitment to establish a line from the Sydney CBD to Parramatta, Day says commuters from the outer west would not utilise the line given that the line services one CBD station.
“There has been an unprecedented rush by the government to lock in the construction of these projects despite a very poor understanding of their costs and benefits. This has taken place at a time when commuting patterns have shifted considerably following COVID-19.”
A line between the new airport and St Maarys to the Metro Northwest line at Tallawong was slammed by Day, as it would be established in an area of low demand. The government says that the line will cater for future residents of the area when housing lots increase.
Day has spoken against the government’s plans for the Metro project, fearing the Metro City and Southwest line beneath the harbour would only weaken an already busy network back in 2017.
To read the paper in full, click here.
