Category Archives: Western Sydney

Meet REM: Sydney Metro’s Canadian twin

Posted on 4 February, 2020 by Alex

A fully automated metro system over 65 kilometres long is under staged construction in a major city and is expected to be fully open by the early 2020s. Using technology supplied by European rail company Alstom and trains manufactured in … Continue reading →

Posted in metro, Public Transport, Sydney Metro, Western Sydney | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Sydney Metro Observations

Posted on 6 June, 2019 by Alex

Last week I joined the thousands of people who tried out the new Sydney Metro Northwest. I was going to say half-million people, but the total patronage for the first week of operation of over 546,000 obviously includes return and … Continue reading →

Posted in metro, Public Transport, Rail, Sydney metro area, Transport, Western Sydney | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Update: Sydney West Metro station plans firm in NSW election refresh

Posted on 6 March, 2019 by Alex

It’s always easy to know when there’s an election on the way in Australia, especially in NSW, as all parties commit to new projects big and small. Top of the list are new infrastructure projects – hospitals, roads, and, increasingly, … Continue reading →

Posted in metro, Planning, Public Transport, Rail, Sydney metro area, Transport, Western Sydney | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Sydney Metro West geotech digging reveals potential stations – including a new “super Central”

Posted on 26 February, 2019 by Alex

In 2018 I published a series of articles speculating on the likely route and station locations for the proposed Sydney West Metro. In the final article I concentrated on the CBD, commenting that geotechnical investigations for the project may provide … Continue reading →

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

A tale of two metros: London Crossrail and Sydney Metro compared

Posted on 30 June, 2018 by Alex

As readers of this blog will know I have written extensively (and often critically) about the Sydney Metro. In July 2016 I published a series of articles comparing four major Australasian CBD rail projects – Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. … Continue reading →

Posted in Public Transport, Sydney metro area, Western Sydney | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Sydney Metro’s commercialised future

Posted on 17 May, 2018 by Alex

What if the NSW government set up a new state-owned business corporation and handed it sweeping powers that duplicated those of several established authorities, including the power to prepare strategic plans, buy, develop and sell land, run other businesses (including bus services) and, incidentally, … Continue reading →

Posted in Infrastructure, Planning, Public Transport, Sydney metro area, Western Sydney | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Labor’s different track on the Sydney Metro – part 2: possibilities and practicalities

Posted on 15 May, 2018 by Alex

In my last article I looked at the broader political and policy perspectives of NSW Opposition Leader Luke Foley’s recent announcement that if Labor wins the 2019 State election it will “accelerate the construction” of the Sydney Metro West line, scrapping current Government … Continue reading →

Posted in Public Transport, Sydney metro area, Western Sydney | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Labor’s different track on the Sydney Metro – part 1: politics and priorities

Posted on 7 May, 2018 by Alex

Recently the NSW Opposition Leader Luke Foley announced that if Labor wins the 2019 State election it will “accelerate the construction” of the Sydney Metro West line and scrap current government plans to convert the Bankstown to Sydenham rail line to form part of … Continue reading →

Posted in Public Transport, Western Sydney | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Sydney Metro West’s slow unveiling

Posted on 26 April, 2018 by Alex

The State Government’s continued gradual unveiling of station options for the Sydney Metro West line between Parramatta and the Sydney CBD is slowly revealing the final route, suggesting a middle path between a high-speed line and a traditional frequent-stopping metro. While … Continue reading →

Posted in Infrastructure, Public Transport, Sydney metro area, Western Sydney | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Sydney Metro – a better option?

Posted on 31 January, 2018 by Alex

After spending a large part of 2017 writing about transport issues and in particular the Government’s metro strategy, I had hoped to start 2018 on a different note. Retired transport bureaucrat and planner Dr Dick Day’s thoughtful opinion piece on … Continue reading →

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