06 April 2011
Todays decision by the NSW Governments to get moving on the North-West rail line will strengthen Sydneys capacity to absorb population growth and respond to demographic change, according to the Urban Taskforce. The NSW Government today announced that a project team has been established to accelerate work on the line. The 23-kilometre line will take passengers from Rouse Hill, Castle Hill and the Norwest Business Park to and from the city.
The Urban Taskforces chief executive, Aaron Gadiel, said the North West has been identified as the location of 169,000 new homes, including 87,000 homes in greenfield areas.
The North West has an important role to play in Sydneys future, Mr Gadiel said.
Sydney has been stagnating over the last eight years, partly because of a lack of public urban infrastructure investment.
Since Bob Carr announced plans to build the North West rail link in 2005, Sydney has grown by 8 per cent – from 4.2 to 4.6 million people.
Yet we havent seen sufficient public investment in Sydneys rail and road networks.
Mr Gadiel said that the North West rail line would provide an opportunity for new suburbs to access the citys public transport system.
This strong investment in rail will increase Sydneys capacity to deliver housing in line with needs of a growing population and changing demographics, he said.
Mr Gadiel said NSW Government was correct to prioritise the North-West rail line ahead of the Parramatta to Epping rail link.
While both projects have a lot to offer Sydney, the North West rail link clearly has a greater role to play in easing Sydneys sense of congestion.
We urge the Federal Government to join with the state government to help Sydney get this important piece infrastructure as soon as possible.
The Urban Taskforce is a property development industry group, representing Australias most prominent property developers and equity financiers.
