Passenger Rail

NSW budget fully funds Sydney Metro

Mike Baird - Sardaka

Sydney Metro will be fully funded thanks to an $11 billion commitment in Tuesday’s NSW budget, premier Mike Baird announced on Monday.

Baird announced a day ahead of time the state’s budget would include $5.8 billion to complete the Northwest portion of the new Sydney Metro line, and a further $6.2 billion to build the Sydney Metro City & Southwest extension, which will take the line under the harbour, through the city and beyond.

“Today is another red-letter day for public transport in Sydney,” the premier said.

“When this government says it will build something we get on and build it.

“Today’s announcement means we have the billions of dollars set aside to deliver this transformational project for NSW.”

Baird framed the announcement with the good news the tunnels for Sydney Metro Northwest had been handed over 10 months early for railway tracks to be installed and for new metro stations built.

Sydney Metro Northwest will run from the city’s northwest suburbs to Epping. It will then extend through the existing Epping-Chatswood train line, which will be converted to the same metro standard in 2017.

The City & Southwest portion of the project will see a new line built to extend from Chatswood, through North Sydney, under the harbour and through the CBD, before meeting the existing line at Sydenham.

The Sydenham to Bankstown line will then also be converted to metro standard, creating a continuous line between the northwest and Bankstown, through the city.

$1.3 billion will be spent in 2016/17 to continue work on the Metro Northwest.

$1.4 billion will also be spent in 2016/17 on the Metro City & Southwest line.

“Every day there’s major leaps forward with Sydney Metro and the exciting part is we’re only just getting started,” transport minister Andrew Constance said.