A heavy price to pay for the light rail revolution
EXCLUSIVE by Andrew Clennell
The Daily Telegraph
January 10, 201312:00AM
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Artist’s impression … Sydney City Council’s vision for the light rail. Source: The Daily Telegraph
NSW Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian / Pic: Justin Lloyd Source: The Daily Telegraph
THE city’s major artery, George St, will be dug up during the next state election campaign in order to build two new light rail lines at the same time.
The move by Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian comes despite initial plans to build the lines in separate stages.
The eastern suburbs light rail line to the SCG, NSW University and Randwick Racecourse was to be built first, giving the government the option of dumping the more contentious CBD line which opponents fear will cause traffic chaos. But Ms Berejiklian yesterday confirmed the line would be built from Central to Circular Quay at the same time as the one from Central to Randwick.
Work is set to begin in 2014 – the year before the next election – starting at both Circular Quay and Randwick/Kingsford.
“The government will build the entire line at the same time. It is more cost effective and less disruptive than splitting the project in two,” Ms Berejiklian said.
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“Construction will take place in stages, with streets closed in sections to minimise disruption to residents, businesses and commuters.”
Government officials are privately saying money raised from cuts to RailCorp’s heavy rail services will be used to fund the $1.6 billion light rail projects.
Is the new light rail project a good idea? Tell us below
The light rail proposal boasts it will “reduce 220 buses per hour entering the CBD in the morning peak”.
But it also cites journey times of 24 minutes from Kingsford or Randwick to Central, when it now takes bus services 19 minutes. The government also said it would take 15 minutes to get from Central to Circular Quay on the tram, when it now takes eight minutes on the train.
Deputy Opposition Leader Linda Burney said: “The O’Farrell government needs to guarantee no commuter will be forced to endure a longer trip to work as a result of its plans to cancel existing buses to make way for light rail.”
Ms Berejiklian argued light rail would have much more capacity than the train through the city and would be more reliable than buses.
“There simply won’t be the capacity for trains alone to cope with demand,” she said.
“Light rail will be much more reliable than current buses are, with 97 per cent of all services running within two to three minutes of timetable. Light rail vehicles also have a higher capacity, carrying 300 people compared to 60 on a bus.”
Ms Berejiklian would not comment on claims the light rail project would be funded from RailCorp cuts, saying: “Light rail will be funded from the transport budget, third-party contributions and a PPP arrangement.”
Under the plan, about 40 per cent of George St would be closed to traffic between Bathurst and Hunter streets.
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