iscover
Western Sydney International Airport (WSI) says it will have “contingency plans” in place if its metro line is not ready by the time it opens late next year.
Speaking to Australian Aviation, WSI CEO Simon Hickey said passengers should be able to easily reach St Marys from the airport and vice versa with or without the metro. It comes as works proceed on the platforms for the metro station outside the terminal.
This content is available exclusively to Australian Aviation members.
A monthly membership is only $5.99 or save with our annual plans.
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
“Certainly we’re looking at the timing of the opening of the metro, and depending on where that lands, if it’s not on time when we open, we’ll certainly have contingency plans in place that will ensure that people can get to and from St Marys on a regular basis with very easy travel,” said Hickey, adding that the road connections to the airport are taking shape.
“We’ve got a brand new motorway, the M12, that’s due to open next year before we open, and that looks in really good shape. That’s a key entry point for us.
“We’ve already upgraded The Northern Road, which provides great connectivity to and around the airport, including from the cargo precinct, so that’s already in place. Elizabeth Drive’s being upgraded, Mamre Road’s being upgraded. There’s a lot of upgrades happening on the road network.
“We’ll start the buses to some of the major centres from next year.”
His comments come as NSW Premier Chris Minns has admitted concerns about the opening date for the metro, which could be pushed back into 2027 due to a dispute with the Parklife Metro consortium, as reported in The Sydney Morning Herald.
“Those commercial arrangements will be worked out. I’m not going to front-run or speculate on those negotiations,” he said.
“If we miss [the opening date], it won’t be by an astronomical amount.”
The airport terminal metro station will have 10-metre-wide platforms, the largest on the entire Sydney Metro network, with 60-tonne cranes being used to lower precast concrete segments into the ground for assembly. These works are expected to take around 25 days.
Bradfield Station’s platforms are already complete, with Airport Business Park and Orchard Hills stations to see works next. Tracklaying for the $10.5 billion project, which is jointly funded by the Commonwealth and NSW governments, began in April.
According to federal Transport Minister Catherine King, the platform works are an important milestone for the “key gateway for airport passengers, workers and residents across Greater Western Sydney”.
“Western Sydney International will be Australia’s most technologically advanced airport, so it’s apt that it will be served by a fast, frequent and high-tech driverless Metro,” she said.
“Sydney’s new airport has been talked about for decades, and soon it will be a reality. Sydney’s new airport will have room to expand as demand for flights grows over the coming decades. This metro will play an important role in linking growing suburbs to their new airport.”
Her state counterpart, John Graham, said the aim is for a smooth transit experience.
“The airport terminal station will be among the busiest on the line and play a major role in the success of our city’s new international airport,” he said.
“We are making sure that every design feature is tailored to a smooth journey from air to rail.
“Bradfield and the airport precinct will grow rapidly around this world-class infrastructure, providing the employment growth close to home that the millions of people in Western Sydney deserve.”
The NSW government in January showcased a mock-up of one of the cars on the airport metro. Its 12 trains will feature wider aisles for luggage as well as other features like digital displays of flight information and will be capable of moving 7,740 passengers in each direction per hour.
The state and federal governments have also committed $195 million to a joint business case for future rail extensions in Sydney’s west.
Want to see more stories from trusted news sources?
Make Australian Aviation a preferred news source on Google.
Click here to add Australian Aviation as a preferred news source.
[email protected]
says:Still wondering if over time, there will be a train/metro connection directly from Central without having to change on your way to WSI.
As I understand it right now. Trying to reach WSI by train/metro if travelling from North or South of Sydney, it will require at least 2 changes along the way.
Is that really passanger friendly and convenient?