• 33km extension of M4 to airport
• Buses in CBD to go underground
• Light rail from Central to University of NSW
• No light rail in city
• No second rail crossing
• Tale of two plans
• Reaction to the plan

The O’Farrell government said today it would set aside $1.8 billion for the WestConnex motorway to run from Parramatta to Sydney Airport.

The 33-kilometre extension of the M4 in Sydney’s west, which will connect with another M5 East tunnel, were the major projects in a $30 billion infrastructure plan for the state released this morning.

This afternoon, the NSW Premier, Barry O’Farrell, said he would back the project.

“Even though times are tough, we recognise the need to invest in economic infrastructure to help boost productivity and create jobs,” Mr O’Farrell said.

“We said we would start work on one of Sydney’s missing motorway links in this term of government and WestConnex is that project,” he said.

“Today I can announce the next important phase in this project – the immediate establishment of the Sydney Motorways Project Office, within Roads and Maritime Services, which will be responsible for the detailed work required to make this road a reality.

The Infrastructure NSW plan, called “First Things First”, also proposes a motorway connection between the F3 and M2 motorways in northern Sydney to be built in the next five years.

The plan, released by Infrastructure NSW chairman Nick Greiner and chief executive Paul Broad at a press conference this morning, would require $20 billion in government funding in the next 20 years. Another $10 billion can be raised in tolls, the plan suggests.

The combined M4 and M5 extensions, dubbed WestConnex, are said to cost $10 billion, with just $2.5 billion in government funding.

The plan also proposes pushing buses underground in Sydney’s CBD to clear road space.

This would hinge on new underground interchanges at Wynyard and Town Hall stations, to be built within five to 10 years.

The plan rejects the idea of a second rail crossing for Sydney Harbour, as proposed in a separate plan developed by Transport for NSW.

The report recommends light rail from Central to the University of NSW, but not in the city centre.

It says the next train line to be built could be an extension of the eastern suburbs line to Randwick and Maroubra.

The chairman of Infrastructure NSW said he hoped the community would regard the report as “independent of the politics of both sides, of the bureaucracy and of the various interest groups”.

Mr Greiner said he hoped people would see the plan as “coherent” and “practical”.

“The last thing the average person in NSW [wants] is another theoretical exercise that has no likelihood of being achieved.”

He said that he hoped that “people see it as a step towards good things happening in infrastructure in NSW.”

The Infrastructure NSW plan proposes that $10 billion of the estimated $30 billion cost of the projects be funded through user charges.

The project proposes tolling on motorways but only on new and upgraded roads.

It also supports the idea of “value capture” to impose new taxes on properties that will benefit by being close to newly built infrastructure.

The report also proposes the government consider public private partnerships, including so-called “availability PPPs” where the risk is carried by the taxpayer, not the private sector.

Tale of two plans

The Infrastructure NSW report departs, in a number of respects, from a separate master plan released last month by Transport for NSW.

The Infrastructure NSW report is meant to be independent advice, which the government is free to accept or reject.

It remains unclear how the O’Farrell government will weigh the differences in the two reports.

The major difference between the two documents is that the Transport for NSW report argues that a second rail crossing for Sydney Harbour is needed within the next 20 years to add capacity to the city’s train system.

But the Infrastructure NSW report argues this project would deliver little benefit for great expense.

Instead, it says Sydney’s train capacity could be increased by converting to single-deck trains.

The two reports also depart on the question of light rail in the CBD. Transport for NSW is pushing the project, but today’s report warns against it.

Mr Greiner said it could constipate the city and that light rail had a dubious record as a mass transport option.

The report says: “A high capacity light rail service on George Street is likely to be incompatible with a high quality pedestration boulevard, and the negative impacts on bus passengers from inner suburbs may be considerable.”

– with Sean Nicholls