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Diagram of the North West Metro in relation to other CityRail lines. The line is marked in black.

The North West Metro (previously the North West Rail Link and Anzac Line) was a short-lived proposal for a metro line from the northwestern suburbs of Sydney, Australia to the Sydney CBD. This project was part of NSW State Government's larger SydneyLink initiative and would have connected Epping with Rouse Hill and the Sydney CBD.

The line was part of the Metropolitan Rail Expansion Program (MREP). Before the change to a metro line, the MREP previously included the South West Rail Link, North West Rail Link and the CBD Rail Link. The MREP was intended to provide links between the major new growth and employment areas of the metropolitan region. With the combination of the North West Rail Link and the Anzac Line, the North West Metro would serve the growing population in north west Sydney and provide public transport connections to a number of important centres including Epping, Top Ryde, Pyrmont, and the Sydney CBD.

On October 23, 2008, Premier Nathan Rees annouced the CBD Metro, a shortened version of the North West Metro which runs from Rozelle to Central stations, was submitted to Infrastructure Australia for funding. It was also announced that North West Metro may be extended from Rozelle Station in the future if the CBD Metro was built. On October 31, 2008, the Premier revealed that the North West Metro will be postponed indefinitely due to budgetary constraints.[1]

Proposed Route

The North West Metro was to have been 37 kilometres in length, with 32 kilometres underground and 5 kilometres above ground. The line was likely to have been operated without drivers. The North West Metro would have incorporate the alignment and stations previously proposed by the North West Rail Link but included the additional benefits of directly linking the North West with Gladesville, Drummoyne, Pyrmont and the CBD.

There was proposed to be 17 new metro stations at:

In addition to the stations, a surface facility for ventilation and emergency egress, storage and/or amenities [2] was to have been constructed "at the midpoint of the tunnel between Epping and" Cherrybrook[3], to service the unusually long (6km) tunnel between the two stations. Although (according to planning documents[4]), "a location for this facility has not been finally determined and is subject to further design, planning and assessment", according to a SydneyLink map of the proposed Metro route the midpoint between the two stations lies in the Cheltenham/Beecroft area, within the bushland precinct known as "Chilworth Reserve".[5]

According to the State Government press release announcing the North West Metro project, the new Euro-style metro will offer a rail service of one train every four to five minutes (three minutes during peak hours). However, there is debate[6] whether advertised point-to-point transit times may be too optimistic. It will run on conventional standard gauge track, similar to the existing CityRail network. It is proposed to run single deck rolling stock along the route of the proposed North West Metro.[7] The new metro stations will provide connections with existing CityRail network at St. James, Martin Place, Wynyard and Epping stations.

History

Diagram of the original North West Rail Link as part of the MREP. The line is marked in black.
The North West Rail Link is aimed at the car-dependent north west suburbs

The North West Rail Link was originally announced in 1998 as a heavy rail line for completion in 2010, in 2006 the schedule was revised for completion in 2017. On 20 November, 2006, the government announced a staged plan for the North West Rail Line with train services to Castle Hill and Hills Centre in 2015, two years ahead of the original timing of 2017. On 18 March, 2008 the Government changed the project to a metro line and expanded the line to run all the way to the Sydney CBD via the suburbs of Ryde, Gladesville, Drummoyne and Pyrmont. The section from Hills Centre to Epping will be completed by 2015, and the entire line from Rouse Hill to the city by 2017.[8][9]

The original North West Rail Link was planned to be 22 kilometres in length, consisting of a 16 kilometre section in tunnel from Epping to the proposed Burns Road Station, followed by a 4 kilometre section above ground from Burns Road Station to Rouse Hill. A train stabling facility was proposed at the north west of Rouse Hill Town Centre. The NWRL was to connect with the Epping to Chatswood Rail Link through a direct tunnel between Epping and Franklin Road stations, although an original proposal connected with the existing Northern Line north of Cheltenham.[10] The direct route was to use the stub tunnels originally built for the deferred Parramatta Rail Link between Parramatta and Epping.[10] New stub tunnels for the Parramatta Rail Link were to be constructed so that if the Parramatta line were completed, trains from Parramatta would have also been able to link into the Epping-Chatswood Line.[10]

Original proposed station at Castle Hill.

Six new stations were proposed under the original plan to be constructed at:

The line was set to open in two stages, with the first stage from Epping to Hills Centre completed by 2015 (originally set for 2017). The second stage from Hills Centre to Rouse Hill was due by 2017. It was proposed that the original NWRL would offer an off peak rail service of four trains per hour, with six to eight trains per hour in peak periods and is expected to carry six to eight million passengers per year.

Anzac Line

Alignment for the original Anzac Line.

The section between Epping and St. James of the North West Metro was originally part of the Anzac Line proposed by the NSW State Government. It aimed to connect the City of Ryde and inner west with the eastern suburbs.[11]

The line would be in tunnel, starting at West Ryde station on the Northern Line and travelling beneath Victoria Road through Top Ryde, Gladesville, Drummoyne, Rozelle and Pyrmont . The line would then pass through existing city stations at Wynyard, Martin Place and St. James, before heading south beneath Anzac Parade to Moore Park, the University of New South Wales in Kensington, Maroubra Junction and Malabar.[12]

The Anzac Line followed the alignment of former tram lines connecting Ryde and La Perouse to the Sydney CBD. Plans for an Eastern Suburbs line, drawn up in 1967, included stations at UNSW and Anzac Parade, Kingsford. A review of the project completed in 1976 determined that the line should instead terminate at Bondi Junction.

The idea resurfaced as part of Ron Christie's 2001 Long-term Strategic Plan for Rail. A map included in the report shows a "River Metro" line starting at Sydenham and connecting Mascot, Eastlakes, Kingsford, the University of New South Wales, Randwick Racecourse, and then Fox Studios, Paddington and Taylor Square with the city at St. James. From there the line progresses to Chifley Square and Wynyard; then on to Pyrmont, Glebe Island, Balmain, Drummoyne, Hunters Hill, Gladesville, Ryde, West Ryde, Ermington, Silverwater Road, Rydalmere, Camellia and Parramatta.[13]

In the North West Metro, instead of terminating at West Ryde, the line continued from Top Ryde and joined on to Epping and further to the north-west. The section between St. James and Malabar of the Anzac Line was to have been part of the North West Metro's future extension project South East Metro.

Possible future extension

Previously there were long term plans to extend the proposed heavy-rail North West Rail Link to meet the existing Richmond branch of the Western Line near Vineyard. A similar extension for the North West Metro is also currently under consideration.[14] Additionally, under the original Anzac Line proposal (now part of SydneyLink), considerations are taken to extend the North West Metro with the South East Metro from St. James to Malabar via UNSW and Maroubra. However, the location of both alignments are not finalised and further investigation and studies are required to be undertaken. The investigations would be subject to a separate environmental assessments.

Criticisms

Since the announcement of the project by the NSW Government, the North West Metro has been the subject of sustained criticism by planning groups and urban transport experts.[15] The project’s announcement meant the junking of the previously proposed Metropolitan Rail Expansion Program (MREP) that would have linked the northwest and southwest areas of Sydney, which have long been delegated for absorbing future population growth, with a direct rail line to the commercial and employment corridor encompassing Macquarie Park, Chatswood, St Leonards, North Sydney, CBD and Sydney Airport. The now defunct CBD Rail Link, which would have provided for a second crossing of Sydney Harbour and up to four new City Rail stations within the city, would also have brought faster, more reliable services to every reach of the existing network by easing capacity on the severely congested City Circle, in particular Town Hall and Wynyard stations.

The government estimates that up to 38 per cent of north-west commuters will need to interchange at Epping to travel to the employment arc via the Epping to Chatswood line. As the North West Rail Link has been scrapped, this line is unlikely to be allocated a sufficient number of services to carry the expect 11,400 people per hour that will be interchanging in this way. Alternatively, commuters will have to interchange to the north-shore line, having reached already congested Wynyard Station, in order to reach their final destination on the north shore. The Planning Institute of Australia has called for the project to be reconsidered in light of these structural flaws, saying "The Epping to Rouse Hill leg should be retained as a heavy rail corridor that is part of the City Rail network," the institute says. "This [would] provide a strong direct rail link between the north-western parts of Sydney and major employment locations on the northern side of Sydney Harbour."[16]

Questions have been raised regarding the deadlines for completion of the North West Metro. Documents tabled in the NSW parliament indicate that in order to meet the 2017 commencement date, land acquisitions for the project would have to be completed no later than 2009, even though the route of the project will not be finalised until 2010. Accordingly, a senior Treasury official, Dr David Thorp, labelled the 2010 date for construction to begin as 'a push to achieve'.

The Property Council of Australia has called for the project to be reconsidered in light of its implications for the trouble-prone CityRail network, particularly the need to service the Macquarie Park corridor, which was catered for under the Metropolitan Rail Expansion Program by city-bound services from the North West Rail Link. Moreover, it criticises the prospect of forced interchange by commuters at already congested Wynyard and Town Hall stations given that the original plan included a second rail link through the city centre and up to four new stations that would have relieved pressure on the existing city circle.

See also

References

  1. ^ Benson, S. Northwest Metro rail link officially shelved Daily Telegraph, 31 October 2008.
  2. ^ http://www.tidc.nsw.gov.au/Documents/1155_PPRVol1.pdf Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation, North West Rail Link, Preferred Project report, Volume 1, May 2007, s.7.7.1, document page 73 (Adobe Page 81)
  3. ^ Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation, North West Rail Link, Preferred project report, Volume 1, May 2007, s.7.7.1, document page 73 (Adobe Page 81)
  4. ^ http://www.tidc.nsw.gov.au/Documents/1155_PPRVol1.pdf Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation, North West Rail Link, Preferred Project report, Volume 1, May 2007, s.7.7.1, document page 73 (Adobe Page 81)
  5. ^ http://www.sydlink.com.au/site/page.cfm?u=27 SydneyLink, The Future Of Sydney's Transport
  6. ^ "Metro will be too fast to get on", Sydney Morning Herald, Monday, March 31, 2008
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference pressrelease was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Smith, Alexandra, "$12bn metro rail plan", Sydney Morning Herald, 18 March, 2008. Accessed 18 March, 2008.
  9. ^ Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation: North West Metro Project Profile
  10. ^ a b c New South Wales Government, TIDC North West Rail Link - Preferred Project Report Volume 1 May 2007. Accessed 18 March, 2008.
  11. ^ "Council can see an end to gridlock", The Glebe, 2007-09-19{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  12. ^ Besser, Linton, "Going underground", Sydney Morning Herald, 14 September, 2007, p. 1.
  13. ^ Christie, Ron (June 2001), Long-term Strategic Plan for Rail: Greater Sydney metropolitan region{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  14. ^ North West Metro Stakeholder Engagement Briefing and Consultation Forum Outcomes Report. 2008-08-15
  15. ^ Metro throws planning on its head, Sydney Morning Herald, 7th May 2008.
  16. ^ Position Statement on SydneyLink Proposal, Planning Institute of Australia, NSW. Accessed 27 May 2008.
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