<span class="" id="parent-fieldname-description"> NSW premier Mike Baird has renewed his push for a rail crossing under Sydney Harbour, during a tour of the North West Rail Link construction site with Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi. </span> <p>Baird said the extension of the NWRL to include a $6bn underground harbour crossing would improve the project’s cost-benefit analysis.<br /><br />Currently set to deliver customers from Sydney’s northwest to an interchange at Chatswood, Baird believes the NWRL project should extend all the way to the city via the new link, meaning passengers would not have to get out and change at Chatswood.<br /><br />State minister for transport Gladys Berejiklian also voiced her support for extending the NWRL system to include the second harbour crossing.<br /><br />“The NSW Government has made it clear that if we receive a mandate next March, the Rapid Transit network will be fast-tracked under Sydney Harbour through the CBD and west to Bankstown,” Berejiklian said, “unblocking major bottlenecks in the city and allowing up to 60% more trains every hour across the train network.”<br /><br />Berejiklian and Baird toured the construction site of the NWRL’s skytrain and Kellyville station on Monday, and were joined by Renzi, and Italy’s ambassador to Australia Pier Francesco Zazo.<br /><br />Italian-based consortium Salini Impregilo is in charge of building the $340 million skytrain for NWRL.<br /><br />The contract includes the 4km skytrain between Bella Vista and Rouse Hill, a 270m cable-stayed rail bridge over Windsor Road and a further 2km of associated civil construction works and railway embankments.<br /><br />The skytrain will have an average height of 9m, and will be 13m high at Kellyville.<br /><br />Along with works on the skytrain, three tunnel boring machines are working on digging the massive tunnels for the project. 13 construction sites are currently in action along the planned route.<br /><br />Berejiklian said as well as getting a first look at the final design of the skytrain columns, she was pleased to release the new designs for Kellyville station – one of the eight stations set to be built for the NWRL.<br /><br />“Kellyville station will be built on the elevated skytrain, compete with state-of-the-art platform screen doors, lifts and 1200 new commuter car parking spaces for customers,” Berejiklian said.<br /><br />“Rapid transit will transform the way of life for people in the north west and it’s fantastic that residents are able to see the features and designs of their local stations taking shape.”</p>
