NSW premier Ms Gladys Berejiklian said construction will begin next year, starting at the Bays Precinct, to prepare the site for major tunnelling works.
Estimates put the cost of the partially-funded project at between $A 18bn ($US 12.3bn) and $A 20bn with the NSW government so far allocating $A 6.4bn in future budget projections.
The locations of the seven proposed metro stations have been confirmed as Westmead, Parramatta, Sydney Olympic Park, North Strathfield, Burwood North, Five Dock and the Bays Precinct. The NSW government will also fast-track work to investigate the feasibility of building a metro station in Pyrmont while also assessing potential locations for a station under the Sydney city centre, delivering an interchange between heavy rail, light rail and the metro.
NSW minister for transport, Mr Andrew Constance, said the project team has been talking to communities along the alignment since 2016.
“Western Sydney Metro will more than double the existing rail capacity between Greater Parramatta and the Sydney CBD and slash travel times between Parramatta and the Sydney CBD to around 20 minutes,” Constance says.
The Sydney Trains T1 Western and T9 Northern heavy rail lines that currently serve Paramatta with a 26 minute journey time to Sydney are expected to reach capacity within the next decade.
The NSW government says it has started a global search for suppliers capable of building the more than 50km of tunnels that will be required for the project, which will be built completely underground.
The line is expected to open in 2030.
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