Enlarged from the following source: Bissett, K. "$5bn transport link to the future". The Daily Telegraph, November 24: 4.
The Berejiklian Government has delivered the Metro North West Rail Line to the people of Sydney and has quickly been embraced by the people of Sydney and also has given the people of the booming North West its own rail line.
This week, I look back at when the first proposal for a rail line to serve the North West was mooted.
It was in 1998 when Labor was in power, led by Bob "the builder" Carr and Carl Scully was Transport Minister.
In November of that year,
Action for Transport 2010 was released, providing a decade long plan for the delivery of transport infrastructure across Sydney covering all modes of transport.
With rail, the ambitious plan included a rail line running from Chatswood to Parramatta (via Epping), another line running from Hurstville to Strathfield, extension of the Eastern Suburbs line to Bondi Beach, a Y link at Casula and upgrades to the intercity lines running between Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong.
There were also plans for a branch line to run from Epping to Castle Hill with new stations at Castle Hill and West Pennant Hills. Completion was anticipated for 2010. Question to ask - Would trains run via the northern line or would they proceed to Chatswood and then the city (like how the Sydney Metro will evolve into).
That would make the delivery of heavy rail to Castle Hill a decade late under the 1998 plan!!!
Source: Bissett, K. "$5bn transport link to the future". The Daily Telegraph, November 24: 4.
