A potential route for the new light rail line across Greater Parramatta has been established and released this week
The preferred 12 kilometre route from Westmead to Carlingford has 14 stops along the way.
Stage one of the new network connects the major health precinct at Westmead to three campuses of Western Sydney University, Parramatta CBD, and the new Western Sydney Stadium.
New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian joined Transport and Infrastructure Minister Andrew Constance to unveil the preferred route for the first stage of Parramatta Light Rail, to join Westmead to Parramatta and Carlingford via Camellia.
“We’ve done the important planning work and are pleased we can unveil the preferred route and proposed stops, which we will now refine in consultation with the community,” she says.
Constance says the proposed 16 accessible stops will operate services from early morning to late at night, every seven-and-a-half minutes throughout the day.
“Customers won’t have to wait long for a service, they’ll tap on with Opal and board with ease and comfort,” Mr Constance said.
“There’ll also be extra services for special events and we are planning for the system as a whole to be capable of carrying 10,000 people an hour.”
Planning work for stage two of the project, from Camellia to Strathfield via Sydney Olympic Park, is being developed in collaboration with Sydney Metro West. Stage two planning work is expected to be finalised by the end of 2017.
Parramatta MP Geoff Lee says the new light rail line will bring in a new wave of investors to strengthen and revitalise city centres.
“I have worked tirelessly to get the best for the people of Parramatta and I am delighted that the community is now another step closer to having its very own light rail service,” he says.
The NSW Government has allocated $1 billion to the project from the Restart NSW and Rebuilding NSW funds.
“The Government has always said this was an initial down payment for the line, with further funds to be secured from sources including value sharing,” Constance explains.
Work is continuing to progress the final business case, which will be further advanced once the stop locations are confirmed following this next phase of community consultation.
Submission are now sought to help shape how the light rail line and infrastructure will look. This round of community consultation will contribute towards finalising the Environment Impact Statement (EIS) before it is placed on public exhibition around July this year.