Region. Underground metro to north-west

Residents of north-western Sydney could have an underground metro line from the CBD without the metro system taking up a critical heavy rail corridor beneath central Sydney, government documents show. The metro to Castle Hill and Rouse Hill would start at St James station, which is less crowded than Central, Town Hall and Wynyard stations, and follow an east-west alignment via Martin Place, then on to Wynyard, Pyrmont, Rozelle and beyond. The details are contained in the Metro Link plan of March last year and pushed by the former premier Morris Iemma. But instead the Sydney Metro Authority has claimed the vital corridor under Pitt Street for its controversial seven-kilometre, $5.3 billion City Metro between Central and Rozelle, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.