The West of Bankstown area community thanks Transport for NSW for announcing the restoration of the (former) T2 Inner West Line’s Liverpool to City via Regents Park train with regular passenger services to recommence in 2024 using currently available Sydney Trains Network infrastructure.
While we are delighted that the NSW Government has adopted part of the NSW Legislative Council Inquiry into Sydenham to Bankstown line conversion (2019) recommendation that direct trains from the West of Bankstown area to City via Lidcombe (Inner West) be restored, serious concerns remain for the long-term future of Birrong and Yagoona Station.
Birrong and Yagoona are at risk of being shut down as the NSW Government plans for the Future Trasport Strategy 2056 including a new Parramatta to Kogarah via Bankstown line set to open in 2041 which includes a new interchange at Chester Hill.
Transport for NSW appears to partially be backtracking on its commitment made at the previous Inquiry into Sydenham-Bankstown line conversion (2019) to keep stations in the West of Bankstown area open, as the Future Transport Strategy 2056 (revised in November 2020/published in March 2021) indicates an absence of services at Birrong and Yagoona.
With reference to the current Sydney Trains Network which uses Birrong as the interchange between train services in the West of Bankstown area, the Future Transport Strategy 2056 use of Chester Hill can only be achieved from a new corridor and property acquisition along the route.
While we acknowledge the importance of Parramatta as Sydney’s second CBD and the need for improved connections to Bankstown, it is unnecessary to acquire hundreds of residential homes or to tear through existing communities while the existing direct railway infrastructure remains idle for such a service to operate.
Often forgotten and overlooked by many including Transport for NSW is the western fork of the Lidcombe railway junction which is a track connecting Berala (from the Bankstown Line) and Auburn (on the Western Line) without the need to interchange at Lidcombe.
We are also concerned that the NSW Government’s announced extension of Sydney Metro Southwest from Bankstown to Liverpool will result in the acquisition and demolition of the Bankstown Arts Centre to become the tunnel dive site for the line, as there is already an existing direct train from Bankstown to Liverpool via Sefton.
The NSW Government is urged to make use of existing Sydney Trains Network tracks and to upgrade signalling to increase capacity on all lines before considering the acquisition of homes, businesses, parklands, and community spaces in Cumberland LGA and Canterbury-Bankstown LGA for lines that duplicates currently available infrastructure.
Regardless of Future Transport Strategy 2056, we oppose any closure of train stations in the West of Bankstown area and call on Transport for NSW to restore both the City to Bankstown via Regents Park and City to Liverpool via Regents Park train service while maintaining the direct train service between Bankstown and Liverpool on the Sydney Trains Network.
Please visit our website www.RestoreInnerWestLine.info and www.SaveT3.org for more information.
Download: Submission with Appendix
More information: NSW LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL INQUIRY INTO ACQUISITION OF LAND IN RELATION TO MAJOR TRANSPORT PROJECTS
For more information about the Bankstown to Parramatta Rail Link, please visit www.Cumberland.link