Category Archives: Infrastructure

Sydney’s new light rail: not the world’s most expensive after all

Posted on 29 June, 2015 by Alex

With a total construction cost of $2.1 billion, Sydney’s planned CBD and Eastern Suburbs Light Rail (CESLR), it is not surprising that the project has been dubbed as the world’s most expensive light rail line. As my series of articles on … Continue reading →

Posted in Infrastructure, Public Transport, Sydney metro area, Transport | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

Sydney Metro: where to, south (and north) of the Harbour?

Posted on 25 June, 2015 by Alex

Barangaroo and the Other Proposed Stations While the 2015 NSW budget released earlier this week has confirmed that an additional station will be built as part of the planned Sydney Metro at Barangaroo to service new commercial and residential development there, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Growth, Infrastructure, Planning, Public Transport, Sydney metro area, Transport, Uncategorized, Western Sydney | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

A tale of three light rail lines (and two to come) – clarification on CESLR travel times

Posted on 23 June, 2015 by Alex

A response to the final article in my three part series on Australia’s new light rail systems raised some issues regarding the travel times for Sydney’s planned CBD and South East Light Rail (CSELR) project. I had stated in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Infrastructure, Public Transport, Transport | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

A tale of three light rail lines (and two to come) – part 3: performance, expansion and concluding comments

Posted on 16 June, 2015 by Alex

What are the key performance characteristics of Australia’s current and planned light rail systems and what are the prospects for their future expansion, as well as for the development of new lines and systems? This is the focus of this … Continue reading →

Posted in Growth, Infrastructure, Public Transport, Sydney metro area, Transport | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

A tale of three light rail lines (and two to come) – part 2: technical features and construction costs

Posted on 11 June, 2015 by Alex

This is the second in a series of articles regarding the recent growth of interest in light rail in Australian cities which has led to the extension of lines in Adelaide and Sydney, the development of a completely new line … Continue reading →

Posted in Infrastructure, Public Transport, Sydney metro area, Transport | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

A tale of three light rail lines (and two to come) – part 1

Posted on 1 June, 2015 by Alex

Australian cities have come relatively late to the light rail revival which spread across the globe in the latter decades of the 20th century, but lately they seem to be making up for lost ground. There are now three substantially new or … Continue reading →

Posted in Growth, Infrastructure, Public Transport, Sydney metro area, Transport | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

NSW State Election 2015: what are the major parties promising to do about transport?

Posted on 23 March, 2015 by Alex

I thought it would be useful to summarise what the major parties – The Liberals/Nationals, Labor and the Greens – are promising in relation to transport in relation to the upcoming NSW state election. The following is drawn from a … Continue reading →

Posted in Governance, Infrastructure, Planning, Sydney metro area, Transport, Western Sydney | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Sydney’s light rail project part 3 – trying to do too much?

Posted on 22 March, 2015 by Alex

In my last couple of posts I talked about some of the changes to Sydney’s CBD and South East Light Rail (CSELR) project contained in the Modifications Report (MR) which was released late last year as well as the implications of one … Continue reading →

Posted in Infrastructure, Public Transport, Sydney metro area, Transport | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

CBD and South East Light Rail part 2: what is the cost of going wire-free?

Posted on 22 January, 2015 by Alex

After my recent post on the CBD and South East Light Rail (CSELR) the final $2.1 billion cost was revealed with the signing of the contract for the project in December last year. The half-billion dollar increase from the government’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Infrastructure, Public Transport, Transport, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

CBD and South East Light Rail – modifications, implications and complications

Posted on 8 December, 2014 by Alex

Recent reports regarding modifications to Sydney’s CBD and South East Light Rail (CSELR)project have highlighted two aspects announced by the NSW Minister for Transport – the move to longer trams and the removal of the World Square stop. These are contained in the CSELR Modifications … Continue reading →

Posted in Infrastructure, Public Transport, Sydney metro area, Transport | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments