Public Transport

Yes, the cost of a train fare for me from Sydney Central to either Domestic or International terminal is almost DOUBLE that from Central to Newcastle.

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I caught the 400 to Mascot and caught the train from there when I was in Sydney last year

Exactly how the airport trains would reach the city is not yet known. The government has so far indicated the trains would stop at Sunshine station, which would become a “super hub”.
But on Wednesday the Premier (Daniel Andrews) said it was possible airport trains would run through the new nine-kilometre Metro Tunnel, set to open by late 2025.

It will mean express airport trains will share the same tracks with suburban trains and create a new logjam. The Metro Tunnel should be reserved for trains to Sunbury and Melton. Airport trains can terminate at Southern Cross.

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The fact Melbourne has to wait another 12 years for a fast connection from the airport to the city is ridiculous. It shouldn’t take that long.

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The article says a private consortium has offered to build the new rail line from next year and the project will take seven years to complete. The sooner the railway is done the better. I think both Federal and State Governments should consider that consortium’s proposal.

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Weren’t they planning to run trains to West Footscray then turning them back, even building a new platform for that sole purpose? Would be better just electrifying to Melton.

I believe the turnback at West Footscray is for some peak hour trains travelling from Cranbourne/Pakenham line to terminate at the station. During off peak and weekends, those trains will continue onto Sunbury and/or Melton.

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2031? Embarrassing. Adelaide and Canberra will probably have airport rail links before Melbourne at this stage.

Yes, Canberra might have a light rail link to the airport. But if the proposed light rail from Civic to Woden is any guide it will be faster to get a bus.

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It doesn’t make sense to fast track it if there’s not the capacity in the city to deal with the added services.

It’s far better for it to take a little bit longer - ideally not quite as long as proposed - for it to be done in a way properly integrated into the transport network. And be able to run frequent services without constraining other lines.

More importantly, if private ownership meant an airport access fee like Sydney, then there’s no point building it - you’re just not cost competitive with taxis.

While waiting - dedicated, enforced bus lanes for the SkyBus, and making Myki a supported payment method so it is integrated into the transport network.

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they should be looking at another solution besides a train if it’s going to take that long. I wonder if there are proposals for something doesn’t require a rail that is in development.

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There is a proposal from another private consortium for a monorail along Citylink and Tullamarine Freeway to Melbourne Airport.

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there is Skybus already.

Or if you want to PT to the airport but avoid Skybus, take the train to Broadmeadows and then catch the 901 bus to the airport.

If Brisbane is any guide, probably never.

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NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has announced four new metro rail lines for Sydney that would

  • effectively extend the North West metro line from Rouse Hill south through St Marys to the new airport at Badgerys Creek then on to Macarthur, this includes the already announced St Marys to the new airport metro line
  • extend the converted Bankstown metro line to Liverpool
  • extend the proposed city to Parramatta metro line to the new airport.

My first preference would be is that the heavy rail Leppington line be extended to the new airport then onto St Marys to be connected to the Western line. That way it would be possible to get a train from the new airport to the city without changing trains.

I don’t know why the bureaucrats inside Transport for NSW have this obsession with single deck limited seating trains. I’d much prefer to ride on a double decker with a higher chance of getting a seat.

New metro lines:

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I still find it ridiculous how it take them so long to make these things. Saying ‘2056’ is just ridiculous. Look at how technology has evolved in the last 15 years. Who is to say transport won’t evolve in the next 15-20 years itself. There needs to be quicker ways to fix these problems. Sydney simply has the worst public transport, perhaps in any city I have traveled to.

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Things like flying cars (which is the only thing I can think of that is truly a game changer) are still a long way off, I can’t see today’s mass transit options such as light or heavy rail being superseded or made redundant in any meaningful way in the first half of this century (at least).

Are they really that far off though? Think about how far the car has come? The car has been around for only just over 150 years. Technology moves so rapidly that I could see countries around the world adopting a public transport system that is completely different. So planning for a train in 2056 just seems ridiculous to me.

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Like you said, cars, trains and light rail (trams) have been around since the 19th century, and we still haven’t seen anything even proposed that will replace these.

A fully autonomous road network probably won’t occur until the 2040s, maybe even 2050s, when all self driving cars are off the road.

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But that’s exactly the time when Sydney plan to have some of these trains in isn’t it? 2056?