NSW Government master transport plan to improve entire network

The NSW Government will spend $13.2 billion on transport each year on the operations, maintenance, expansion and modernisation of the CBD, suburban and regional network, NSW Minister for Transport, Gladys Berejiklian has told a CEDA audience in Sydney. Outlining the NSW Government's Long Term Transport Master Plan, Ms Berejiklian said the plan focuses on integrated solutions across public transport, roads and freight over the next 20 years. The plan will focus on customers and the customer experience to drive change, she said. Ms Berejiklian said 2013 will be about building and implementing as well as progressing with a new transport reform agenda. She outlined the short, medium and long term objectives of the plan including:   Rewriting the City Rail timetable to be released in October 2013; Fast tracking the South West Rail Link; Building the North West Rail Link; The introduction of rapid transit trains; The creation of two new rail organisations, Sydney Rail (Sydney and suburban rail) and NSW Rail (country and regional rail); and Introducing the Opal card to provide an integrated ticketing system.

As part of the Master Plan's 20 year vision, she said building a second rail crossing of Sydney Harbour was also a major priority and would boost the network capacity by 60 per cent.

In terms of Sydney's light rail future, Ms Berejiklian said the new light rail route to be constructed from Circular Quay to Randwick, would service education, entertainment and health precincts along the corridor such as the University of NSW, the SCG and the Prince of Wales Hospital.

Each light rail vehicle is capable of carrying up to 300 people which is the equivalent to five standard buses, she said.

"Light rail is over 90 per cent reliable whereas buses are only 19 to 30 per cent reliable," she said.

"The light rail is designed to run alongside the existing bus network. In the Inner West, nine new stops will connect to Sydney's CBD and generate urban growth."

To reduce congestion in the CBD, she said double decker buses would be trialled as well as diverting 60 buses from the Harbour Bridge.

Light rail would remove 220 buses from the CBD and the North West Rail Link would remove 160 buses in the CBD during peak hour, she said.