North-West Metro Information
The North-West Metro line represents a case of “what-could-have-been” for the Australian nationals. This Metro network was proposed to connect the central business districts of Sydney with its many suburban districts along the north-west. It would have set up a connection between Epping and Sydney CBD with Rouse Hill. In 2010 Nathan Rees, the then Premier of the state of New South Wales, cancelled the project citing budgetary constraints.
The proposed route of the North-West Metro Link would have stretched for sixty-three with five kilometers above ground and the remaining working as an underground service. It was likely to be an automatic driverless service. Proposals were made for as many as thirty-four stations on the network with junctions and interchange facilities to the other rail links at many of the stations along the route. Construction would have started in 2010 and the project completed in five years’ time. By 2017, the metro service would have been operational. Had the project been established, travel time between the two terminal stations would have taken only forty-five minutes, although many people are unsure as to how far this advertised time limit was believable.
Ever since the project was proposed, the planning commission and citizens alike criticized the idea as it would have resulted in the scrapping of another pre-planned rail network. Moreover, there were concerns that the deadline was too short for the satisfactory and safe completion of the project. In the end, all of these factors, along with the issue of financial crunch led to the project being scrapped altogether and impacted a number of other Metro projects in the region.
If things had gone according to plan, the North-West metro would have been among one of the first rapid transit lines to be built in Australia. Since then a lot has changed, the Anzac line, Metrolink and Sydney Metro are just some of the well established rapid transit lines operating in Australia.
North-West Metro Map
Proposed Map of North-West Metro (in black) showing its stations.
