It’s doubtful a single person was shocked to hear that the metro to the Western Sydney International Airport (WSI) will not be operating when the planes start landing later this year.
Nor that on Tuesday morning the NSW minister for transport John Graham had to front up to admit that until the metro is ready free bus services will be provided to people coming or going to WSI.
The headline over the opposition’s media release in response didn’t take any prisoners: “Labor’s latest humiliation: from metro to minibus’’ it screamed.
But the Liberals have obviously forgotten they were in government when they ignored the best business case on offer for a rail link to the airport: extension of the line from Leppington.
Instead, they opted for a second best option, a metro to the electorate of Penrith, held by the then deputy premier.
And that’s how we ended up in Tuesday’s announcement.
Some things are like putting lipstick on a pig, and there was no way to spin this.
But the minister, and our own local member Nathan Hagarty (Leppington) did the best they could under the circumstances.
The minister said the free bus service, to be in place to meet the first flight that lands at WSI, will take passengers and airport workers to and from the new airport at Luddenham and St Marys train and bus interchange.
The airport buses will run every 30 minutes between 4.30am to midnight Sunday to Thursday and 4.30am to 1am Friday and Saturday, with an expected journey time of about 30 minutes in normal traffic.
Transport for NSW will be able to adjust frequency depending on demand as activity at the airport increases after opening.
Mr Graham said the free airport buses will complement the Minns Labor Government’s bus plan for Western Sydney, which is set to provide new services every 30 minutes linking the airport to Penrith, Leppington, Liverpool, Campbelltown and Mount Druitt.
These new services will begin prior to the airport opening and run every 30 minutes from 5am to 10pm, seven days a week, connecting people to local education and health precincts, retail and leisure.
As for the 23km metro line, jointly funded by the Australian and NSW Government, and which will have capacity to move up to 7,740 passengers every hour in each direction, will probably be running at some stage in 2027.
Interim buses will be phased out when metro services begin.
“For families and workers in our community, these services mean a direct, reliable connection to Western Sydney International Airport and to key centres like Leppington, Liverpool and Campbelltown from day one, with rapid buses running every 30 minutes,’’ Mr Hagarty said.
“As Leppington continues to grow, it’s critical that our public transport grows with it, and these new links are a strong step towards a more connected, accessible and opportunity-rich future for our community.”