WSI will have free buses during wait for metro opening

The announcement comes as tracklaying has hit 70 per cent completion on WSI’s metro line after beginning last April, with station construction reaching “key milestones”, while the toll-free M12 motorway that will link the airport to the rest of Sydney’s motorways will open in coming months.

“These services will offer an additional, essential transport connection for workers and passengers using Sydney’s new 24-hour international gateway, and complement the toll-free M12, ride share, taxis, tour buses and other private transfer services available, all of which will be supported by more than 6,000 car spaces at our precinct,” WSI chief executive Simon Hickey said.

“We will continue to work with Transport for NSW to deliver the best transport options for our passengers that keep pace with the airport’s anticipated growth in demand over the years ahead.

“Critical transport investments can truly connect the west to the west and the west to the rest for the first time and deliver transformational economic opportunities that will benefit all of Sydney.”

The free buses will complement permanent bus services linking the airport to Penrith, Leppington, Liverpool, Campbelltown and Mount Druitt, which will run from 5am to 10pm seven days a week on 30-minute schedules beginning before WSI’s opening.

In a statement, NSW Transport Minister John Graham said it is “important to have connectivity to our public transport network from the moment the first bit of airline rubber hits the tarmac”.

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“Free interim buses will give passengers and airline operators the certainty that an onwards journey on public transport is in place alongside the new M12 motorway for road access, taxis and rideshare, as we complete the equally transformational metro line between the airport and St Marys,” he said.

“At Western Sydney International Airport, we are building a world-class metro that will allow this airport and this part of Western Sydney to develop rapidly over the coming years and decades.

“While the free, interim buses will phase out when the metro opens, the new bus services between the airport and Penrith, Oran Park, Campbelltown, Liverpool, Mount Druitt and Leppington will be a permanent upgrade for public transport.”

The announcement of the bus service is a tacit admission that the metro, which was slated to open later this year alongside WSI, will not be completed on time. Speaking to Australian Aviation last year, Hickey said the airport was planning for such a contingency.

“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.”

The NSW government last year 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.