Sydney Metro West - Concept and Stage 1 (major civil construction between Westmead and The Bays)

I support the project, however there are significant omissions in the EIS in relation to the construction of the Five Dock Station that need to be addressed and mitigated, prior to the granting of approval.

Please refer to the attached submission.

As the only Strategic Centre between the Sydney CBD and Parramatta, Burwood Council wholeheartedly supports the naming of the station as Burwood North and the connectivity opportunities and ‘dual node’ result the Burwood North Metro Station presents to the existing Burwood Train Station one kilometre to the south along Burwood Road.

Sydney Business Chamber supports the project and provides comments in relation to the location of Stations.

Please see attached

Please see attachment letter

DPI Fisheries submits no comment.

Please see attached submission regarding safety concerns about our site, leased from Transport for NSW.

Dear Project Officer,

I am taking this opportunity to write a submission in regards to the Sydney Metro West project currently on exhibition.

While the government should be given credit for continuing to propose and deliver key infrastructure, this must be balanced with the potential impact to the existing community, residents and infrastructure.

My review of the exhibition documents indicates that between sections 31 and 34 the proposed rail tunnel corridor appears to be horizontally aligned exceedingly close to the existing Westconnex road ramp tunnels from Concord Road.

Given that the Metro West is still in the planning phase, this would be the ideal opportunity to review and re consider the proposed alignment in order to increase the horizontal setback distance from the westconnex road ramp tunnels to ensure safety and appropriate clearances from existing core infrastructure.

I have attached a marked up plan showing this as Alternate Alignment 1.

Another possible alternative would be to review the Metro West station link with the existing North Strathfield station, and investigate shifting the metro station north by approximately 75m-100m to reduce the curvature of the metro corridor between sections 29 and 34.

I have attached marked up plans showing this as Alternative Alignment 2.

Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to your review and response.

Regards

To whom it may concern,

Please find attached a submission for the Sydney West Metro.

I support this project, but would request some changes. Please see my attached submission.

Crown Lands has the following comments for this proposal:-

A land status investigation on Stage 1 of the Westmead Metro proposal shows that the proposed works will impact Crown land: Lots 2,3,4,5,6, DP 1116474 - (Reserve at Clyde). It is understood that compulsory acquisition for these lots has already been identified.

Any Crown land affected by the proposal should be compulsorily acquired using the provisions of the Land Acquisition (Just Terms) Compensation Act 1991.

To Whom It May Concern,

I am writing concerning the proposed Metro West rail project. I am in support of the project and it is exciting to finally see more rail infrastructure brought to the West. But I would also like to see the Metro West project being built for the West. It is sad to see the missed potential when there are only 2 stations in the West in a project called Metro West. I am not an engineer or urban planner, however, as a resident of Western Sydney I do have some suggestions going forward.

Parramatta Station
Instead of going Southwest from Westmead station, this alignment goes directly East with a station located North of the Parramatta River, near the North Parramatta McDonalds. This has some advantages, as it captures more commuters within the 1km radius (red circle), extending up to North Parramatta where there are significant medium and high density housing, further increasing the suitability of a metro station there. It is also only ~300m from the Bankwest Stadium and would create a strong CBD core bordered by the Parramatta station on the south, and the Metro station on the North.

Rydalmere Station
Having an alignment going directly West means that a major loop going north then south can be avoided to reach Rydalmere, which was the main reason why Rydalmere Metro station was cancelled originally (https://www.sydneymetro.info/article/strategic-station-options-pyrmont-and-rydalmere-update). Instead a straighter alignment is possible and it will link the existing university and potential residential/commercial development in the future.

Camellia Station
Located near sites of heavy industries of the past, putting a station here can transform the landscape of the area into a liveable residential area, similar to Wentworth Point. At the very least, there should be a station box to earmark for a station in the future.

Newington Station
This will service the existing town centre and the medium housing nearby. There should also be a station box excavated for a future station if it isn’t possible now.

By building these stations, it creates a 1km radius commuter catchment where customers are within close proximity of rapid transit. Connecting more customers to transit should always be a higher priority than aiming to connect Westmead to City whilst skipping over vast portions of Sydney’s suburbs, resulting in lost potential.

1. Please build the Rydalmere station. It was left out due to the rail alignment requiring extra tunnelling resulting in a business case that did not stack up. It would be nice to see a metro line that is focused more on the locals as the purpose of the project is to connect the communities. Western Sydney University is in the region, whilst the old industrial area holds potential to be developed along the water front. In addition, the future Rydalmere light rail station also holds potential to be an interchange for the metro. Though building this station may result in a slightly longer journey time of more than 20 minutes, this does not outweigh the opportunity that will revitalise and re-centre Sydney's growth towards the West. Please reconsider.

2. Please build the Pyrmont station. Having a station so close to the CBD when there is a hub of economic and social activity is a no-brainer. Again, it will be silly to see the missed potential if Pyrmont was not connected to the metro line.

3. Reconsider other metro stations. Having only 7 confirmed stations along a 24km route is quite unheard of especially when this is compared around the world. Most metro lines have stations in 1-2km intervals which better serves the local population. I know the planners want to achieve a sub-20 minute journey time, but if that involves bypassing some of the fastest growing regions and most needed infrastructure in Sydney, then what's the point? The metro line becomes more similar to a suburban line that aims to get to the destination faster rather than connecting to the masses. Even adding a couple more stations at Silverwater/Camellia (potential to develop industrial land) or Lilyfield/Leichhardt North (vibrant inner west areas) offers the opportunity to develop and engage with the community. The Silverwater/Camellia station offers significant urban renewal potential whilst not deviating from the Metro alignment (see figure 1 attached, courtesy of https://jedsetter.com/). The Lilyfield/Leichhardt North station offers the opportunity to connect to existing medium density neighbourhoods whilst also not deviating significantly from the Metro alignment (see figure 2 attached, courtesy of https://jedsetter.com/). It is strange to see 7km long gaps between Parramatta and Olympic Park, and 5km gap between Five Dock and Bays. At the very least please future proof key locations so they can be excavated in the future.

4. Extending the Metro West to the East. A true world-class metro system needs to have interchanges with other metro stations and not to just the suburban network to allow quick transfers. The Metro West does not seem to have any interchange or integration with the rest of the Metro. Is there a possibility to link it with the Eastern Suburbs line and turn it into an East-West CBD link? This will allow one continuous line across the CBD whilst having a Metro interchange with one of the CBD Metro stations (possibly Martin Place station), complemented by the North-South Metro line and suburban lines. Another option is for the line to turn South after the CBD station and be linked towards Zetland. This has potential to connect to the Eastern Suburbs from Surry Hills, Zetland, Kingsford and Eastgardens. This will also allow the Metro line to have interchanges in the CBD.

5. Extending the Metro West to Western Sydney Airport. This is a more long term ambition, but providing an airport line with airport-specific trains direct from one of Sydney's fastest growing regions- Parramatta, to the future airport seems to be a better option than having to take a massive loop to Leppington or St Mary's, both of which are quite suburban or undeveloped areas. This should be the priority rail link to the airport, instead of the loop around the Greater West farmland.


I know that what I have written is quite wishful thinking and the amount of financing required for this will be astronomical. However, even if one of these ideas were taken into account, I believe that it will unlock the potential for Sydney and Sydney's West for generations to come. Some heavy investment now may be required, but this will allow Sydney's public transport infrastructure catch up and unveil Sydney as a global and modern city.

All I wanted to say was that I support the build of a Pyrmont Station because I would use it. If there is no Pyrmont Station, then I would not likely use Metro West.

Redaction of personal information on 1/11/22.