Region. Planning on tunnel for Western Express

A new 5-kilometre priority tunnel, known as the City Relief Line, is proposed to be constructed from Eveleigh to Wynyard, separating western services from inner city trains, as part of the Western Express service from Penrith and Richmond to the Sydney CBD. Funds have been allocated from the 2010-11 Budget for Transport NSW to commence the planning process and assess the design and alignment options. This project is in the early design and planning phase.

Region. Express trains from the west

The Western Express Project, comprising trains from Richmond, Penrith, Blacktown and Parramatta, will see the Main West tracks, which currently terminate at Central, extended via new track from Eveleigh into new underground platforms at Redfern, Railway Square (near Central), City West (near Town Hall) and Wynyard, leading to more and faster trains from Western Sydney; eight new platforms, each long enough to accommodate 12 car trains, will be constructed between Redfern and Wynyard. Trains will initially be 10 cars long, with capacity for future growth Ultimately more than 5000 extra seats from Parramatta will be provide in the peak hour. Travel time between Parramatta and the Sydney CBD will be cut by five minutes and by 10 minutes from Penrith to the Sydney CBD, according to the New Metropolitan Transport Plan.

Region. Express rail service to Sydney CBD

The Premier’s Plan – the Metropolitan Transport Plan: Connecting the City of Cities – includes: the $4.5 billion Western Express CityRail Service – a separate dedicated rail track to slash travelling times from the region to the city, achieving faster and more frequent services, with a goal of up to 50 per cent more services and 17 per cent more passengers on the CityRail network, on an average weekday. Also, a five-kilometre tunnel from Eveleigh, near Redfern, to Wynyard, would allow the express services a faster run in to the city. Travelling time improvement to Wynard: Springwood 17 minutes, Richmond 15 minutes, Penrith 9 minutes and Parramatta 6 minutes The express service would not begin construction until 2015. No one in the government could say when it would be completed.