| Sydney Metro (2008 proposal) | |
|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Sydney_Metro_Authority_logo_2008.svg){kind=logo} | |
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Paris_Gare_de_Lyon_M14.jpg) Paris Métro Line 14 was cited as a model for the project | |
| Overview | |
| Status | Withdrawn proposal |
| Owner | Sydney Metro Authority |
| Locale | Sydney |
| Termini | |
| Stations | 34 announced |
| Service | |
| Type | Rapid transit network |
| System | Sydney Metro |
| Services | 3 announced |
| Operator(s) | |
| Depot(s) | Rozelle (proposed) |
| History | |
| Metro Link announced | 18 March 2008[3] |
| Sydney Metro announced | October 2008 |
| Proposal withdrawn | February 2010 |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 63 km announced |
| Character | Underground |
| Track gauge | Standard gauge |
Sydney Metro was a proposed rapid transit railway network in Sydney, intended to connect the central business district (CBD) with the inner and outer city suburbs Rouse Hill, Westmead, Malabar and lower North Shore. Initially proposed in 2008 as ‘Metro Link’, the plan was modified and renamed later that year. After half a billion dollars was spent on planning, property acquisitions and a tender process, it was cancelled in 2010.[4][5]
The fate of the initial Metro proposal was tied to the fate of a plan to privatise much of the then state-owned electricity sector, a plan which would have released tens of billions of dollars in capital for investment in new infrastructure. When the privatisation plan was dramatically scaled back under pressure from the union movement, the Metro proposal was reduced to a nine-kilometre shuttle between the CBD and the inner-western suburb of Rozelle, raising questions about the project's value for money.[6]
The cycle of announcement, re-announcement and cancellation of rail projects was a familiar pattern under the Labor government that ruled New South Wales between 1995 and 2011. The short life of the Sydney Metro proposal was a significant contributing factor to Labor's rout at the 2011 state election.[7]
Although Labor's Sydney Metro proposals were not revived, an alternative rapid transit system was proposed by the O'Farrell government elected in 2011. Construction of this scheme, also known as Sydney Metro, began in 2013 and the first line opened in 2019.
- ^ At the time of cancellation, two consortia had been selected to bid to operate the metro: the Kujika consortium (Keolis, Bovis Lend Lease, Downer EDI, McConnell Dowell, Thales and Plenary Group) and Met One (Serco Bombardier Transportation, Laing O’Rourke and Hastings Management).
- ^ "Sydney Metro operator shortlist announced". Railway Gazette. 2 October 2009. Archived from the original on 8 October 2009.
- ^ Besser, Linton (31 March 2008). "Metro will be too fast to get on". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
- ^ "Failed Metro leaves $93m hole". Australian Financial Review. 4 June 2010.
- ^ Lee, Robert (2010). Transport: an Australian history. Sydney: UNSW Press.
- ^ Benson, Simon (2010). Betrayal: the underbelly of Australian Labor. Sydney: Pantera.
- ^ Clune, David (2012). "Why Labor lost". In David Clune and Rodney Smith (ed.). From Carr to Keneally: Labor in office in NSW 1995–2011. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.