Dear Commuter,
Thank you for supporting the Restore Inner West Line & Save T3 Bankstown Line community action group in the campaign to bring back our trains. We have much news to share with the Inner West, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland, Fairfield, and Liverpool LGAs.
T2 Inner West Line & Leppington Line
Our calls for the urgent restoration of the City to Liverpool via Regents Park train (former Inner West Line service) have been featured by ABC News as part of the focus on south-west Sydney.
We have recently written to Transport Minister Andrew Constance requesting more community involvement with timetable development for rail services in the West of Bankstown area.
The fight to ensure that Birrong and Yagoona Station have direct train services to Central remains a high priority along with ensuring that stations in the West of Bankstown area remain open as part of the updated NSW Future Transport Strategy 2056. Birrong and Yagoona do not currently appear to be included in the Future Transport Strategy with the (new) line between Parramatta and Bankstown making an interchange at Chester Hill.
Merrylands to Canley Vale commuters also appear to be losing a direct train to City via Granville with all commuters forced to interchange at Parramatta once the Future Transport Strategy is implemented. We oppose cuts to train services in Cumberland and Fairfield LGA, and support calls from south-west residents for the T5 Cumberland Line to be a service between Richmond and Macarthur.
T3 Bankstown Line
We are disappointed that Sydney Metro has broken its promise to not close the T3 Bankstown Line during the July school holidays. From 28 June to 11 July, buses replace trains between Bankstown and Sydenham. Commuters from Bankstown, Punchbowl, Wiley Park and Belmore will also be bused to the T8 Airport and South Line for trains to City.
Despite ample capacity, Transport for NSW is refusing to provide a direct Bankstown to City via Regents Park train (as done previously) during the closure of the Sydenham to Bankstown line. Commuters between Liverpool and Sefton travelling to Bankstown will also disappointingly have to interchange at Regents Park Station.
We have lodged a submission with Sydney Metro regarding Bankstown Station Design and Precinct Plan including expressing our disappointment with the continued secrecy surrounding the final walking distance (reported earlier to be up to 450m) between Sydney Trains and Sydney Metro platforms.
Many residents along the Sydenham to Bankstown corridor have also contacted us expressing concern about the lack of community consultation with the design and construction of Sydney Metro services buildings. We believe that construction should be suspended until the final design and submissions received for each the services buildings are made public.
Parliamentary Inquiry
We welcome the NSW Upper House Inquiry into Acquisition of land in relation to major transport projects. It is important to investigate NSW Government's relationship with property developers along the Sydney Metro Southwest: Sydenham to Bankstown corridor.
We urge the Inquiry to examine how property developers known deceptively as "Locals for Metro Southwest" received an exclusive video from Transport Minister Andrew Constance and had a meeting in Premier Gladys Berejiklian's boardroom.
The proposed extension of Sydney Metro Southwest from Bankstown to Liverpool will also result in the acquisition and demolition of the Bankstown Arts Centre as the NSW Government has ruled out building an underground Bankstown Station.
Submissions for the Inquiry close on Friday 2 July.
Stop Over-Development and Save Our Railway
Our Future Transport Survey is still accepting submissions and suggestions for public transport needs in the West of Bankstown area. Thank you to everyone who has had their say!
The Stop Hyper-Development in Campsie group will be holding a Community Meeting on Sunday 25 July from 2pm - 3:30pm at the Orion Centre in response to Canterbury-Bankstown Council's recently announced Master Plans.
Thank you for your continued support. Please contact regarding public transport and community matters affecting suburbs along the Inner West Line, Bankstown Line and surrounding areas.