User:MrHarper/Sandbox/Proposed railways in Sydney

Various railway lines have been proposed for Sydney, Australia, including both proposed heavy rail extensions to the existing network, and more recently propsoals for metro style lines.

Bradfield railway scheme, 1920s

Bradfield had a grand vision for Sydney's railway system that has only been partly fulfilled. After joining the New South Wales Public Works Department in 1891, he submitted a report in 1915 calling for the electrification of the suburban railways, a city underground railway and the Harbour Bridge. World War 1 lead to the collapse of all three proposals, and it was not until 1922 that the Bridge Bill passed through Parliament, and 1923 until the first sod was turned on the city railway.

Bradfield's concept called for the construction of a network of underground city railway lines in association with the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and a new rail terminal, Central. A larger network of lines was proposed for the western, eastern and southern suburbs however most of these lines remained concepts only and have never been constructed. The Depression, and later World War 2, along with the growth of the motor car lead to passenger numbers in Bradfield's plan being grossly overestimated. Parts of the city underground were constructed and exist as the present day City Circle, with small sections built for the additional proposed city lines such as additional platforms at Wynyard and St James stations which have never been used for heavy rail transport. The underground city loop was constructed originally as a stub line to St James, and the line through Town Hall and Wynyard to the Harbour Bridge. It was not until 1955 that the loop was completed by the construction of Circular Quay station. A line to the eastern suburbs was eventually built, but along a different alignment to that envisaged by Bradfield, who proposed a line along Oxford Street.

The original railway network for the Sydney CBD planned by John Bradfield

Eastern Suburbs Railway, 1960-70s

See also :Eastern Suburbs railway line, Sydney

In 1967, the NSW government recommenced construction on the dormant Eastern Suburbs line that had been partly constructed and had laid dormant since 1952. The original proposal was for a line to Kingsford via Bondi Junction, Randwick and the University of New South Wales. In 1976, the project was curtailed to Bondi Junction, and the full line to Kingsford was not constructed.

Action for Transport 2010, 1998

In 1998, the NSW governmemt released a position paper on various road and public transport projescts to be delivered before 2010. The rail projects envisaged were:

• the Airport Line, already under construction at the time and completed in 2000
• an extension of the Eastern Suburbs line to Bondi beach, to be completed by 2002
• the Parramatta Rail Link between Parramatta and Chatswood by 2006 (the Epping to Chatswood section presently nearing completion)
• a Hornsby to Newcastle High Speed Rail line to have started by 2010
• a North West Rail Link between Epping and Castle Hill by 2010
• a Sutherland to Wollongong High Speed Rail by 2010
• a Hurstville to Strathfield railway line to start by 2010 and be completed in 2014
• a Liverpool 'Y Link' to start by 2010

Of these proposals, only the ones already under construction or advanced planning (the Airport line and the Epping- Chatswood section of the Parramatta Rail Link) are or will be completed. Most of the proposed roads and motorways outlined in the same paper have been constructed however.

Bondi Beach railway, 1996-7

In 1996, the NSW government proposed a privately funded extension of the Eastern Suburbs railway from Bondi Junction to Bondi Beach. The final proposed version of the line would have seen a single track extension ending in a station under Bondi Beach park, with a premium (extra $2.50 proposed) added to ticket prices. The Bondi Beach Railway Company, owned by Lend Lease Infrastructure and the Macquarie Bank, proposed to build and maintain the railway at a cost of $197 million and to operate it for a 30-year term. The proposal met with fierce opposition from local residents who were concerned with the loss of parkland, fare premium, and little potential use by residents. After a degree of planning and gaining Federal Government backing, the proposal was dropped in 1999.

Christie proposals, 2002

In 2002, former CityRail chairman Ron Christie released a report, the "Long-term strategic plan for rail", which outlined the critical infrastructure that would need to be built between then and 2050 to ensure the long-term survival and operation of the CityRail network. Christie's report suggested that several "metro" lines should be built to service new areas and to relieve capacity on existing lines.

Metropolitan Rail Expansion Programme, 2005

On 15 June 2005, NSW Premier Bob Carr shortly before his resignation announced an $8 billion Metropolitan Rail Expansion Project (MREP). The MREP consisted on three new rail connections: a North West Rail Link from Cheltenham to Rouse Hill, a South West Line between Glenfield and Leppington in Sydney's South West and a new CBD railway line between Redfern and Chatswood. It would also have included duplicated tracks between St Leonards and Chatswood on the North Shore line. In 2006, Premier Morris Iemma placed planning buffers along two potential corridors in the CBD (the MetroWest and MetroPitt routes) to secure future accessibility. Developers who want to excavate deeper than two metres within a 25-metre buffer zone of the corridors will need to seek RailCorp's approval.

In 2008, the North West rail line was superseded by the proposed North West Metro (see below), and it with the concept of further Metro lines, it seems unlikely that the proposed CBD rail line will be built. Only the South West rail line now seems possible, however its future may also be uncertain.

Metro Proposals, 2008

In early 2008, the NSW State government announced plans to build a metro line between the North West suburbs of Sydney and the CBD. Known as the North West Metro, the line would have superseded the North West Line which was to built as part of the Metropolitan Rail Expansion Programme, and included a new section between Epping and the CBD via Gladesville, approximately along the course of Victoria Road. Contraversial from the start, construction is by no means certain and the NSW Premier Nathan Rees has refused to rule the line in or out.

Since the announcement of the North West Metro, the State Government has announced proposals for a metro line through the Inner Western suburbs of Sydney (to be known as the West Metro), and the potential for a South East Metro. The latter was previously proposed in September 2007, as the 'Anzac Line' due to the proposed route of the line along Anzac Parade.

It remains to be seen whether any of these metro proposals will come to fruition.