North West Metro

North West Metro
Mode	Rapid transit cancelled
Owner	Sydney Metro Authority
Connects	St James, Martin Place, Wynyard, Pyrmont, Top Ryde, Epping, Castle Hill, Hills Centre, Rouse Hill
Length	37 km
Stations	17
Key dates
2008	North West Rail Link changed to metro project and incorporated with the Anzac Line
2008	Deferred with CBD Metro to proceed instead
2010	All metros cancelled with the North West Rail Link reinstated

North West Metro was a proposal for a rail link from the north-western suburbs of Sydney, Australia to the Sydney CBD. It would have connected Rouse Hill with Epping and the Sydney CBD. The line was cancelled on 31 October 2008 by then NSW Premier Nathan Rees due to budgetary constraints.^[1]

History

The North West Metro conceptualized after the merger of two separate proposals, the North West Rail Link and the Anzac Line.

The original alignment of the NWRL; the route was later changed to bypass Cheltenham

The North West Rail Link, was originally announced in 1998 as a heavy rail line for completion in 2010. This line connected to the Epping to Chatswood railway line, to service the Macquarie Park and Chatswood employment areas, and provide a connection to the city via the lower North Shore.

Alignment of the Anzac Line

In 2007, the NSW Government floated its first metro line, the Anzac Line. This was a semi-official proposal and was described as an option being "actively explored by the government". It aimed to connect the City of Ryde and Inner West with the Eastern Suburbs.^[2]

In March 2008 the Government announced the North West Metro. This changed the NWRL from suburban heavy rail to metro, and extended the line to run all the way to the Sydney CBD using the Anzac Line plans as the basis for the section between Epping and St James. The metro took a more northerly route from Top Ryde to Epping so that it could join the North West Rail Link alignment, instead of terminating at West Ryde as in the original Anzac Line proposal. The section of the Anzac Line between St James and Malabar was proposed as the North West Metro's future extension project, the South East Metro.

Follow-up proposals

On 23 October 2008, Premier Nathan Rees announced the CBD Metro, a shortened and modified version of the North West Metro which was to run from Rozelle to Central station. It was also announced that CBD Metro may be extended to link from Rozelle Station to Epping & Macquarie Park in the future. On 31 October 2008, the Premier revealed that the North West Metro will be postponed indefinitely due to budgetary constraints,^[1] and attention shifted to the West Metro as the first extension of the CBD Metro.

Following a change of Premier, on 21 February 2010 the NSW Government revealed the cancellation of the entire Sydney Metro initiative (including CBD Metro, West Metro and North West Metro) with the return to the original North West Rail Link proposal.^[3]

Proposed route

Diagram of the North West Metro in relation to the CityRail lines; the line is marked in black

The North West Metro was to have been 37 km (23 mi) in length, with 32 km (20 mi) underground and 5 km (3.1 mi) above ground. The line was likely to have been operated without drivers. It was to run on conventional standard gauge track, similar to the existing CityRail network, but would have used single deck rolling stock in contrast to CityRail's double deck stock.^[4]

There were 17 new metro stations proposed at:

• St James - interchange with train services on the City Circle lines
• Martin Place - interchange with train services on the Eastern Suburbs and Illawarra Line
• Wynyard - interchange with train services on the City Circle, North Shore, Northern and Western Lines
• Pyrmont - with interchange with Inner West Light Rail services
• Rozelle
• Drummoyne
• Henley
• Gladesville
• Top Ryde
• Denistone East
• Epping - interchange with train services to Hornsby, Chatswood and Strathfield
• Cherrybrook - on the corner of Franklin Road and Castle Hill Road with a car park for 960 car spaces, a bus interchange, taxi stands, and kiss and ride stands
• Castle Hill - between Old Castle Hill Road and Old Northern Road with a bus interchange and taxi stands on Old Castle Hill Road, and interchange with North-West T-way services
• Hills Centre - between Carrington Road and Castle Hill Showground near the Hills Centre, with a car park for 640 car spaces, a bus interchange, taxi stands, and kiss and ride stands
• Norwest - in the suburb of Bella Vista, Sydney between Norwest Boulevard and Norwest Marketown, with a car park for 640 car spaces, a bus interchange, taxi stands, and kiss and ride stands
• Kellyville - between Burns Interchange and Balmoral Road, with a car park for 1200 car spaces, a bus interchange, taxi stands, and kiss and ride stands, and connections to the Burns Interchange North West T-way station
• Rouse Hill - an interchange for North-West T-way services

In addition to the stations, a surface facility for ventilation and emergency egress, storage and/or amenities was to have been constructed "at the midpoint of the tunnel between Epping and" Cherrybrook, to service the unusually long (6 km) tunnel between the two stations.^[5]

The metro was supposed to offer a service of one train every four to five minutes during the off peak, increasing to every three minutes during peak hours. A journey from St James to Rouse Hill was estimated to take 44 minutes, however there was debate as to whether advertised point-to-point transit times were too optimistic.^[6]

Construction was to begin in 2010 with the first section from Hills Centre to Epping to open in 2015.^[4] By 2017 all stations from Rouse Hill to St. James were due to be open.

Criticisms

The North West Metro was aimed at the car-dependent north-western suburbs.

The North West Metro has been the subject of sustained criticism by planning groups and urban transport experts.^[7] The project’s announcement meant the junking of the previously proposed Metropolitan Rail Expansion Program (MREP) that would have linked the north-west and south-west 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 estimated that up to 38% of north-west commuters would need to interchange at Epping to travel to the employment arc via the Epping to Chatswood line. Alternatively, commuters would have had 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 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."^[8]

Questions were 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 would 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 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.

Other proposed extensions

Previously there were long term plans to extend the proposed North West Metro to meet the existing Richmond branch of the Western Line near Vineyard.^[9] Additionally, under the original Anzac Line proposal, considerations are taken to extend the North West Metro with the South East Metro from St James to Malabar via UNSW and Maroubra. According to Sydney Metro Authority's publications in 2009,^[10] the North West Metro was proposed to connect with the CBD Metro and West Metro at Rozelle station. The entire metro line would have formed part of the proposed City West Line (Metro Line 1).

See also

• North West Rail Link, the new proposed rapid transit railway to the Hills District
• Rogans Hill railway line, the original railway to the Hills District
• Proposed railways in Sydney

References

External links

• Sydney Metro Authority
• SydneyLink Discussion Paper