These Sydney metro rail extensions have been pushed out to the 2040s – if they go ahead

Construction of multibillion-dollar extensions of metro rail lines in Sydney’s west is not planned to start until 2040, even if the Minns government commits to funding the mega-projects.

A day after western Sydney mayors urged new rail projects to be fast-tracked, a report by the state’s infrastructure agency puts a date of 2040 on construction of potential extensions to the 11ドル billion metro line to Western Sydney Airport.

The long lead time for possible rail extensions in western Sydney comes as the government confirmed that the troubled conversion of the T3 heavy rail line between Sydenham and Bankstown to metro train standards will not be completed until 2026. It is later than previous plans for it to open to passengers as early as this September.

Infrastructure NSW’s 2040 construction timeline for rail extensions in the city’s west prompted opposition transport spokeswoman Natalie Ward to accuse the government of kicking the "can down the road while putting a handbrake" on Sydney’s future.

"Labor has made it clear – they will never build new public transport under this government," she said.

Transport Minister John Graham said the public appetite for metro rail projects was clear, but they were expensive, and the government had to work through them responsibly. "We have been clearing capital headroom in the budget to be able to allow future investments to happen," he said.

The state and federal governments are jointly spending about 100ドル million on a business case into rail extensions from the new city of Bradfield to Glenfield, as well as to Campbelltown and Macarthur.

The state is also developing a business case for a metro extension between St Marys and Tallawong, where it would connect to the existing M1 metro line.

A confidential review of Sydney’s metro projects has previously proposed completing an extension of the airport metro line from Bradfield to "Bradfield South" by 2032 at a cost of 2ドル.3 billion, as well as a heavy rail line from Leppington to Bradfield South by 2033 for 4ドル.6 billion.

Under the review’s scenarios, they would be followed by a northern extension of the airport metro line from St Marys to Schofields by 2037, costing 9ドル.6 billion, and on to Tallawong by 2039 for a further 3ドル.2 billion.

The government’s immediate priority is completing the Bankstown line’s conversion, which it says has been delayed due to industrial action by rail workers disrupting 130 days of work on the project.

Graham said a specific date next year for the opening would depend on testing of driverless trains along the line over coming months.

"I wouldn’t expect a 12-month delay. But we are confirming today the opening in 2026," he said. "This is a very complex project. We’ve seen significant impacts, including from industrial action."

The Rail, Tram and Bus Union NSW secretary Toby Warnes accused the government of using rail workers as a scapegoat for the project’s delays, saying they were "sick of being treated like a political football".

The government committed up to an extra 1ドル.1 billion in late 2023 to complete the troubled conversion, which pushed the price tag for the entire metro line between Chatswood and Bankstown via the CBD to 21ドル.6 billion. That was up from an original forecast of 12ドル billion when the project was announced last decade.

Treasurer Daniel Mookhey declined to reveal the cost of the latest delay during a budget estimates hearing on Wednesday despite saying his agency had modelled the impact.

"I’m not going to tell you," he said in response to questions from the opposition. "It’s commercial in confidence, and we’re working through a whole variety of different issues."

Mookhey said it was "premature to reach a conclusion" on the blowout, saying Sydney Metro was "mitigating it and doing a lot to mitigate it".

Sydney Metro chief executive Peter Regan said there "certainly will be an impact" on the project’s cost, although the agency had some contingencies in place. "We haven’t worked out the full impact – we’re working that through as we progress now into testing," he said.

Since the heavy rail line was closed for final conversion works last September, replacement buses have been shuttling up to 60,000 commuters each day between Bankstown and Sydenham.

News of the delays to the Bankstown line conversion come after it emerged that the 11ドル billion metro line to Western Sydney Airport is set to open in 2027, up to six months later than planned.

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