The exact station locations for Sydney Metro West have been revealed by the State Government. The locations of seven proposed Metro stations have been confirmed at Westmead, Parramatta, Sydney Olympic Park, North Strathfield, Burwood North, Five Dock and the Bays Precinct.
Further, the feasibility of building a Metro station in Pyrmont its being investigated, while also assessing a potential station at Rydalmere. Further work is also underway to determine the location of the new Metro station in the Sydney CBD.
Westmead: The eastern side of Hawkesbury Road, south of the existing Westmead station. The new station will have one entrance on Hawkesbury Road.
Parramatta: On the block bound by George, Macquarie, Church and Smith streets with an entrance on Horwood Place.
Sydney Olympic Park: To the south of the existing train station. It will sit to the east of Olympic Boulevard with the main station entrances between Herb Elliot Avenue and Figtree Drive, and off Dawn Fraser Avenue.
North Strathfield: Adjacent to the existing train station. New metro platforms will sit alongside the existing station and entry to the station would be from a new entrance on Queen Street.
Burwood North: At the corner of Burwood and Parramatta roads, with entrances on both the north and south sides of Parramatta Road.
Five Dock: Located off Great North Road, between East Street and then at the corner of Second Avenue and Waterview Street. The station entrance will be at Fred Kelly Place off Great North Road.
Bays Precinct: Located between Glebe Island and White Bay Power Station with an entrance to the south of White Bay.
These stations are typically well located, however there could be better connectivity at Parramatta and Westmead. The areas surrounding Burwood North and Bays Precinct are rip for redevelopment and gentrification allowing for the metro line to kick start these areas. Five Dock and North Strathfield will both allow for connections into the existing transport network.
With the announcements of the new station locations, there has been some controversy. Around 120 properties will need to be acquired to build the new line, including the Sydney Speedway in Granville. There has already been protests surrounding some of these acquisitions. The line has been further delayed to a 2030 completion and is already looking to break its $20 billion budget. Further, their is criticism of the fact that the line has so few stations, with large 13km and 7km gaps between some stations. It has been suggested by the media and transport analysts that there should be more stations along the line.
Here at Transport NSW Blog, we tend to agree with the criticism that there aren’t enough stations along the line. Metro lines should theoretically have close station spacing and even if station spacing is further apart than a traditional metro, the 13km gap between Parramatta and Olympic Park or the 7km gap between Five Dock and Bays Precinct. Stations at Camellia, Leichhardt North and Pyrmont should be built in order to provide full connectivity and the best outcome for all commuters. This would inevitably lead to a small increase in travel times, but with high service frequencies this would be inconsequential.
It is also concerning that only one CBD station is currently proposed. To get the best possible outcome, there really needs to be more than one CBD station. It is the opinion of Transport NSW Blog that a station under Hunter Street (named and connected to Martin Place), as well as a station under College Street at Hyde Park South, with an entrance at the corner of College, Liverpool and Oxford (named Memorial, after the Hyde Park War Memorial) would be the best outcome. The line should then follow the ridgeline southeast.
Transport NSW Blog 