North West. Concern over link's tunnels

When tunnels for the North West Rail Link are finished in just over four years, they will have an internal diameter of about 6.1 metres, too small for the type of trains used in Sydney, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. The Transport Minister, Gladys Berejiklian, said the decision to bore smaller tunnels was not about saving money. But the commitment to smaller tunnels has sparked fears among some transport planners that, for the sake of a few centimetres on either side, the government could be forever locking off transport options. This is because the size of the tunnels may not affect only the type of trains that use the North West Rail Link.

Region. Objection to relocation

The president of the Western Sydney regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC), Clr Alison McLaren has slammed the proposal to close the state government’s Office of the Hawkesbury Nepean (OHN), in Penrith, and relocate it back to the NSW Office of Water, in the Sydney CBD. “This would be a backward step which would be bad for the river and bad for the local community. “The whole idea of the Office of the Hawkesbury-Nepean (OHN) was to ensure a co-ordinated approach to improving the health of the Hawkesbury-Nepean River system,” she said.

Penrith. $1.5 billion investment

Paul Brennan, chairman, of the Penrith Business Alliance (PBA), said there was over $1.5 billion of proposed health, research, education and housing projects on the drawing boards of more than 20 different investors looking at the Penrith Health and Education Precinct (PHEP). He said this type of investment, now supported with improved planning by council, would help realise the potential to create thousands of jobs envisaged for the PHEP over the next decade. “It is great to see council support the PHEP vision by progressing the zonings around the hospital to support private investment in medical and health related,” said Greg Allchin, chairman, of the PBA’s PHEP Advisory Group.