PDF TO OFFICIAL MAP: drive.google.com/file/d/1uiKVwWXw6__XhT6O798S_fLdKsKynP0u/view EXACT STATION LOCATIONS: www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1LlsICdiPQPwdhGqT4w81cvjhABLJLPU&ll=-33.8741438825343%2C151.00721495&z=10 Hey! Took me a long time to make this video, I've been working on it on and off since October, but it's finally done. Hope you all enjoy it. Just to mention how I didn't put the T3 line in, because the T3 line east of Bankstown is being converted to metro as part of the Sydney Metro Southwest, and the T3 west of Bankstown will join the T2 line. A new service will run between Liverpool and the City Circle via Regents Park, as well as and shuttle services between Bankstown and Lidcombe. Honestly, not a big fan of how the T3 line's conversion has been handled; strongly considering making a video about that sometime. Anyways, hope you enjoyed the proposal :))
I'd be keen to hear your thoughts about the T3 conversion and what they should've done instead. On the Western Sydney Airport line, I remember being surprised to read that they're using 25 kV AC instead of 1500 V DC they're using everywhere else. Do you know why they chose 25 kV AC and whether they'd be using that for newer Metro lines? It seems weird they didn't go with that for the other Metro lines, my suspicion is the T3 conversion meant they went with 1500 V DC for the City & Southwest line, but that doesn't explain why they chose 1500 V DC for Metro West.
Whether all is realistic or not, it doesn't take away the fact that I have just spent 20 very exciting minutes watching your video. You put a lot of effort into it, and your enthusiasm is highly contagious!!!!
“Underplan today, tunnel tomorrow” The focus on hub and spoke is the biggest problem. Our big CBD being on the east means every line ends there, but Parramatta is a much more feasible hub for the CBD with its actually central location.
Sharath, I love your passion and your ambition. Transport in general and public transport in particular are so difficult to retro-fit into any city, especially a sprawling and growing city like Sydney. It seems as though transport is always playing catch-up with urban development. Transport corridors are rarely set aside and we often find public transport is being squeezed into and onto the road network. Future city planning should ideally incorporate plans for future public transport and set aside the necessary transport corridors. Trying to fix existing problems is almost impossible and too expensive.
Yeah, I agree a lot of these proposals are difficult to build. Truly, this system was meant to be sort of like an absolute best-case scenario; they're all possible to build, even though they are expensive. But the good news that you'd be happy to hear is that the corridor from Aerotropolis to Macarthur has been reserved. The government seems to be learning from its mistakes to some extent, although it remains to be seen what the future holds.
@@frankbanner8572 not too expensive, frankly, it would be impossible or take at least a 100 years for all the lines to be constructed from the money which needs to be allowed for one line from design to execution and then not to mention labour, distances involved, political will, unnecessary stops and lines and geographical obstacles. Its a well made video and proposal but entirely fantastical. Of all the lines, the South-East line strikes me as poor planning. The stops after Moore Park to Kingsford are already serviced by the light rail which continue into the CBD but would also make logistical sense to continue on to little bay instead of a whole new metro line, A stop at the Art Gallery would be highly unlikely due to the surround area either bring housing or parks neither of which would be destroyed for a stop at an art gallery. Conversely, the continuation of the line from Bondi down through bronte, clovelly, coogee, randwick, kingsford, eastlakes, mascot and then linking back to the new metro at sydenham makes more sense to me personally.
@@murraykitson1436 For some time there has been an open secret that the current Kingston (Canberra) Railway Station is to be demolished and a new station built further to the east at Fyshwick so that more housing can be built over the then vacated station and rail yard area. This would also include the removal of the railway museum as well!
@@steam4eva How typical! Two possible solutions to this situation present themselves: 1 A light rail link from whatever heavy rail station eventuates to the city.2 The construction of the much anticipated high speed railway which, if electrified, could run through a tunnel into the CBD without the problem of diesel fume pollution in a confined space.
There was a shift in mentality. The private car took over in the 1950s when there was a growing middle class who could afford it. Along with that typically came lower density housing as people were able to live further away from the CBD. Ridership on public transport typically went down. Of course ridership has gone back up since the early 90s but that's only because population growth has made driving unattractive now. The problem today is that we're all wishing that we had more rail, but most of us still want to live in low density urban sprawl. It just doesn't work that way.
I think a real problem is that the state government hates the train unions, and so they want metro lines that are separate so they can force down costs for train salaries. They also know that the city loop and harbour crossings are congested, and so extra separation is nessicary, and metro tunnels are cheaper to bore.
As a fellow geography nerd, videos like this warm my heart. I hope to see a functional Sydney someday with a world class urban transit system... but for now I am happier living away from it!
As someone on The Northern Beaches, any metro would likely run through Frenchs Forest via Northern Beaches Hospital to Chatswood from Dee Why and Brookvale. I suggest this as it would follow a rocky ridge and there will be enough people in Frenchs Forest, Dee Why and Brookvale to consider it. FYI there is a rezoning happening in Brookvale to increase the residential density along Pittwater Road at the moment. Some of the worst NIMBYs are frankly dying but metro from Dee Why through Narrabeen to Mona Vale won't happen because it's a sandbar, so would be way too expensive to build.
I was screaming at the computer for Chatswood. Makes more sense as there's much more connectivity at Chatswood (Metro and regular Sydney trains services)
Heya, have you thought to send this to TfNSW/your state rep/the local council? Would love to get some official eyes on it and see what could happen! In fact, a call-to-action in the pinned comment to share with local state reps might be worthwhile! Edit: Have emailed to my state rep. Hopefully somebody in her office will see it, or at minimum checks a box that says "constituent wants more rail infrastructure"
I was going to say the same thing! I've done this once, but I'm going to ask my state rep again. This time, for some improvement with Parramatta Road, which is currently a stroad (something covered in Sharath's later video). Once I am done, I can send that to you as a template of what I've written.
Couple of fun things for you: - Currently Sydney Metro WSA and Sydney Metro North West won't be compatible. The only reason that Sydney Metro North West isn't 25kV/AC is because of the ECRL - they looked at doing that, but the tunnel linings were never designed to take AC current, and as a result would corrode badly. - The Department of Planning has reserved a corridor to take Sydney Metro North West to Marsden Park as you noted, but no further, due to major issues. Shane's park will be incredibly unlikely to get a rail service, because it is expected to be so low density, because of flooding and other issues. - Taking over the GLRL is not confirmed - that only occured because of a Federal Government commitment under the Morrison Government. With a new Federal Government who knows? - Sydney's rail network isn't actually that radial - as there are so many connections between lines in the suburbs (albeit most do go to the city) - and it is also why Sydney has the highest amount of non-cbd trips by rail in ANZ. - Your comment about Chatswood to Parramatta - the 545 between Chatswood and Parramatta gets significant patronage for this link, and is faster than going into the CBD. yes, rail would be faster, but at a significant price... As a side note you really do seem to be missing the idea of high frequency, high speed bus services - the only reason i mention this is that there are cities overseas, which move more than 50,000 passengers per day by a single high frequency bus route. As a fun fact, some years (pre covid) the Sydney Harbour Bridge bus lane in the AM peak, actually moved more commuters than the adjacent North Shore Line - which actually does show a proper bus service with high frequency can be utilised at a higher rate than the rail network. Brisbane also has this with the South-Eastern Busway. That busway moves far more passengers than the generally parallel Beenleigh line. - Some of the routings you have proposed aren't quite feasible, even with Metro able to do 1:25 grades (which standard rail can also do but digression) - With slight modifications and changes to operational practices, you could get from Parramatta to Central on the existing Sydney Trains alignment in 15minutes. - Lurnea, Hoxton Park, and Austral actually have quite high density zonings along Hoxton Park Road... - Some apartment buildings have already been built in this corridor. - The Northern Beaches actually has one of the highest job containments in Sydney. Pre Covid it was hovering around 75% of all people in the Northern Beaches, worked in the Northern Beaches region... - Going via The Spit for a railway line is incredibly challenging - Bradfield originally had a line through this area. It had a spiral on the Mosman side to get acceptable grades, and ironically a zig zag on the Seaforth side. Given the horrific blowback from even replacing The Spit bridge with a higher level bridge, it is very unlikely that you could ever get a railway line through this area. It's even why the Christie report went from Chatswood... - Final thing i will say about the proposal, is that you are looking at about 100-200 billion worth of new rail lines (Sydney - Parramatta metro currently is far beyond the proposed budget). All of the things that you have said are very worthwhile and i agree with the lot - but whether the NSW Government would ever have the fortitude to replicate what the current Victorian Government is doing is very questionable... Don't take this as criticism as i agree with the lot - but whether it happens is another matter.
the northern beaches line is going to be an challange. their is going to be changes to the area adn yes it is good but i think the line really needs to stop at dee why. collorary have problems and then where is an station going to be built and we have the park near the beach and people will opposed the line on the northern beaches.
@@beckster3388 I'll bite..? Why do they need more than buses with decent priority - or even bringing back a light rail. Low patronage demand. And let's be honest, if you got a decent high capacity ferry (say 2,000) which does the trip manly to circular Quay in 20 min, which runs every 10 min 0600-2200 - the capacity issue is solved. Those who want a train can go via Chatswood. Those who want a quick trip can go by the ferry. Those who don't want to go on water can take a slower bus to North Sydney or track up to the result link to Chatswood
There is too much American style development (strip malls and housing estates) going on in Western Sydney and even Central Coast. They don’t care about building nice cities, or the people that end up living there, just making money. This is why this city is like it is. The planners have lost control and the money is not there for huge infrastructure, only toll roads and the odd metro line. I like your ideas and hope someone works out how to change how our city is run, as it clearly hasn’t been run properly for decades, only small sections run by local mayors. It needs a larger vision, or at least better conversation with us about short, medium and long term plans.
Went for a drive to Marsden Park, and it reminded me of suburbs in America where I lived for 2 years - concrete, asphalt and square blocks with no rail or Metro connection. Modern and nice, but not pretty and convenient.
Awesome video Sharath, I'll vote for you to be the NSW Transport Minister any day! Great suggestions to expand the network and plug some critical gaps in coverage. The Victoria Road & Bondi Line isn't one I'd considered before but really should be the next line constructed, plugging gaps in the Western Sydney Metro line such as Camellia and addressing a lot of highly dense suburbs which are close to the city and plagued by terrible traffic clogged routes, such as Gladesville, Drummoyne, Rozelle Broadway (U-SYD) and Glebe). One suggestion on the Macquarie Park to Hurstville line, would it perhaps be better to go from South Strathfield to Strathfield (connection with the Western, Northern and Newcastle/Central Coast lines) then Concord, Mortlake, Putney and Ryde. The Concord peninsula is screaming out for better transport option, to me this alternate route provides better additional metro coverage than Flemington (already has a train station and Strathfield is a better alternative to transfer lines), Olympic Park (already served and getting better) and Wentworth Point (will get the Parramatta Light Rail Stage 2 - yeah I know).
I didn't choose Strathfield as it was a little out of the way to get to, although logistically speaking it would make more sense for sure. The route I chose was just more direct. Anyways, that's just my thoughts but your proposal definitely sounds great too. Thanks for watching!
Yeah, I guess we have never had any ministers who gave a crap about anything other than Metro rail anyway, so what is another reject in the job who doesn't understand where the real economic engine of the state is.
@@facta-non-verba Incorrect and silly. You believe what’s wants done by their actions not their words. If they wanted people to move out there then they would build services out there. I mean yes, in theory they want people to leave those areas. But aren’t willing to do anything about it. And the attitude of the people in those areas do help. The government says they want people to stop smoking, so you believe them? Actions tell you who people/governments are, not worlds.
@UCaeePiZ7ybc95UGHtu-LiEw what a load of rubbish. The only reason it has taken so long to establish regional communities is because of the refusal to build transport. Do you think the United Stated built the railroads for their cities? That is wrong. The US prospered because large populations grew along the train line. If there is no train line regional areas die. Everyone except farmers move to the city, house prices explode and everything crashes. Sound familiar? This could have been fixed. Could still be, it will not. Because politician own investment properties in capital cities and do no want house prices to fall.
"and then we'll put a station in Collaroy, quite close to the beach. This would really open it up to tourism" and this is exactly why locals would not want this line :') also the production on this video is incredible
why would the locals not want it? genuine question btw. wouldnt it be better with a rail way cuz more tourism? not like many people new will move there because it costs more than west syd
We need a fast train connecting the two airports. Imagine all the connections between people flying into and connecting out of another airport. Also a stop at Liverpool is a must as it is Sydney's third CBD and exactly between the two airports. Lots of hotels are being constructed there right now which will also give options.
Wow - you have put so much energy and effort into completely fixing Sydney's transport system and doing it properly! Amazing work - Urban Planner Extrordinaire! It is a lot of fixes, but over time it's doable, we just need to find successive Govts who have forethought and a will to make a difference.
Tell me about it, I grew up in the blue mountains. While it’s nice to have the line we have, regional services need to get better. Especially places like Newcastle, they need their light rail expanded and a line connecting nearby towns like Cessnock across to Raymond Terrace, airport and then Medowie
I think this had a lot of information about improving the rail networks to new areas, but some more existing areas needed more connections such as the International Airport, Liverpool and City Circle. Every other proposal is spot on!
Totally agree, there are still existing sections we could improve on. We should have Clearways 2.0. 1. A third pair of tracks between Lidcombe/Flemington and Blacktown via Parra/Westmead, and completely separate Inner West/South/Cumberland, Western, and Intercity services. I also say extend Inner West services to Blacktown and rename it as Western Local. Most likely, this would be a new tunnel (unless if we can make use of compulsory acquisition) and would be for Western or Blue Mountains Lines to eliminate station building. 2. I'd either extend T4 Eastern Suburbs to Bondi (Beach), or revisit the original plan and extend to Coogee and Five Ways. If water pressure and crowding near Bondi Beach is a problem, just place the station a couple of streets further away. 3. Totally agree with extending the Metro from Bankstown to Liverpool. I think Liverpool should be another mini-CBD. On a related note, I also wouldn't mind extending the quadding from Revesby to Holsworthy, and extend local services to Casula/Liverpool. (Exp would still go to Glenfield/Macarthur.)
Definitely on the money with some of these proposed routes. Bear in mind that Sydney Metro is meant to operate as a rapid/efficient service so the chances of getting as many stations along some of these routes as you propose is very unlikely. The idea is that Sydney Metro stations each serve as a transport interchange in their own right, meaning there is a greater focus on multi-modal transfers and interchange to connect each station to the surrounding residential areas, rather than having a literal station in every residential neighbourhood possible.
Sydney's Northern beaches can be more easily serviced by rail by taking a spur line from Gordon generally by tunnels/overhead viaducts following the Lane Cove Road & Mona Vale Roads . These are the areas now ear-marked for future residential development. This would help minimise the number of additional cars on the local roads.Mona Vale would be the main terminus, with possible extension north towards Palm Beach & south towards Narrabeen & Collaroy, then onto Brookvale, Frenchs Forest, Roseville, Chastwood. There is nothing wrong in using commuter bus links to service other areas off this loop.
If metro went all the way to palm beach it could trigger big deurbanisation and palm beach would become like~ Woy Woy. People in the northern beaches don’t like tourists and want to live calmly. I think the better option would be to end services at Clareville or Avalon Beach..
@@bluestreak55au Sydney Tram network was far bigger than what are L1 L2 & L3 now. Northern Beaches had trams in last century but 1 day NSW decided to burn trams to make it NO WAY BACK. Wynyard Station had space for trams to go on now CaHill Expressway on Syd Harbour Bridge. Gold Coast used to have 'South Coast Line' of QLD too.
@@bluestreak55au Right in front of both side Syd Harbour National Park, which are Manly & Watsons Bay, had trams but unfortunately all became charcoal & scrap metal.
Interesting video. I used to live in Sydney and now live in Melbourne. Your suggestions are quite impressive and I really hope someone in the Sydney transport takes notice. Incidentally, one other area that badly needs heavy rail is Belfield, which seems to have been completely forgotten. Also, reopening the area on the eastern side of the Harbour Bridge with either heavy or light rail, using the former tramway corridor across the bridge through to Wynyard (Platforms 1 and 2) would really make a difference. Then, there is a corridor, that was previously used by trams to La Perouse and most of the reservation is still there. This could easily be used by heavy or light rail. Anyway, I hope the right people up there see your videos and use your suggestions, which could really improve Sydney's transport dramatically. Wishing you all the very best.
Great video. As a Wollongong resident the Illawara line REALLY needs a tunnel from Stanwell Park to Helensburgh/Waterfall. The current service limit due to the single line stretches and dual use with freight/coal need to be addressed.
Tunnels were proposed in last century but the cost was & is always way too high. If Liverpool, Macarthur & Penrith all needs 1 hour to reach Central then 1.5 hour for Wollongong is still fair. Central Coast is also a very nice place live too.
Just a heads up in March I am planning to ride the entire rail network stopping at every station in a day. Let me know if you are interested in doing something around that.
I've had a look at this in the PDF and just what we need. Not sure where your Schofields to Macarthur line runs but surely we need more around St Clair it's a massive suburb both residential and with the industrial at Erskine Park. I love how you have done the Metro past Bankstown to the new Airport. I really believe the new Airport can define Chris Minns as a Premier and define his legacy. This is his chance under the Airport guise to finally get our Rail and Motorway systems right. Rail in terms of Sydney and even exiting Sydney. I read on another platform & page someone commenting about the lack of trains to popular tourist spot Mudgee and most people who travel there go to drink wine. So there's another on the trains front to look at. You have covered the trains so beautifully now let me get to my passion - motorways connecting Sydney and connecting regional towns/areas either side of Sydney. Newcastle our 7th biggest city in Australia has one road that links it to our 2nd biggest city in Sydney and no clear link to Wollongong our 11th biggest. Central Coast in between Sydney and Newcastle is our 11th biggest city. Sydney to Newcastle has an M11 link that's more designed for Newcastle to Western Sydney and Canberra in an 80km zone. We can do better than just one that's a band aid job. - the proposed M9 should be starting from the F6 (Princes Motorway), going in line with Appin & Picton Roads to the new Airport, working northwards past Penrith, towards Windsor and continue along the Putty Road linking with the Hunter Expressway (M15), proposed Singleton Bypass and Golden Highway. This gives Western commuters another way of getting to Newcastle, Hunter and New England taking the pressure off the F3 (now M1). Golden Highway to be upgraded to motorway standard between M15 and 1-3km past the M9 interchange, the M15 to continue onwards to the Singleton Bypass. An upgrade if it hasn't been done to John Renshaw Drive allowing a dual carriage way between M15 and M1 for Taree bound commute. - look at the original M7 Orbital proposal that had the M7 joining the F3 at Mt White. This pushes the new Airport traffic away from the worst part of the F3, M2 and M11 freeing them up. Allows a better commute to Gosford and Newcastle from all parts of Sydney & surrounds. - extending the M2 to the M9 as part of a proposal decades ago and land is there. - linking Bells Line of Road to the M9 and M7 covering the growth in North-West and better links to the Blue Mountains region. Upgrade Bells Line of Road to take pressure off the Highway that goes through Springwood, Katoomba and Blackheath. - extend the M11 to the A6 Silverwater Road the tunnel is an easy thing to do this makes the M11 not a white elephant but a key road for Sydney Olympic Park for the major events it holds. Even though it's not a full motorway to the M4 does provide a key link to get to both airports. Upgrade the Heathcote Road side of the A6 which can in some areas be motorway conditions until Padstow again a key link to the M5 that provides connection to both airports. - not sure on the best route but the F3 north of Wahronga and the F6 at Waterfall needs to be connected whether this is one mega expressway with lots of tunnel features or connecting to various major roads turning them into motorways and connecting to roads like the Harbour Tunnel, the new M6 and all that is one for better minds than me this. With the Pacific & Princes M1's linking (F3-F6) and the M7/M9 this now gives two connections from Newcastle/Central Coast to Wollongong/South Coast. Some out of Sydney options: - Upgrade of Bells Line of Road to allow another passage way to areas like Lithgow, Bathurst and Mudgee bypassing Katoomba. - Duplication of the Great Western Highway from Katoomba to Bathurst. - Newcastle Inner City Bypass to better link to the Hunter Expressway M15, new M1 at Hexham, the Nelson Bay turn off via Stockton the upgrade from Swansea to F3 at Doyalson Interchange the framework is there for it to be done. Nothing can be done from Caves Beach to Belmont. - Another link from the Princes to Hume motorways this time south of Wollongong probably around Albion Park or Dapto areas take pressure off the Wollongong and Bulli areas and can be used as a key link to both the Airport and Canberra. - Riverina to South Coast via Canberra - Wagga Wagga is the states largest inland city (not including Canberra) and needs to be further encouraged as the unofficial NSW/VIC border. Canberra is Australia's biggest bubble and every side of it is NSW with only a link to Yass (currently under development) and a great road to Goulburn, Southern Highlands, M5 & M7. Canberra people would leave the ACT for a weekend in a heartbeat if it had better roads in NSW to venture onto. Bring all our tolls under the one umbrella and one pricing structure that it's consistent across all of NSW. Doesn't matter what motorway we are on we have the one pricing structure designed by KM's driven as the M7 once was. Doesn't matter if you cross between M7 to M2 to M11 etc. This can be achieved with how the tags are now done. Have a daily max limit and and weekly max limit. Eg $13 daily, $60 weekly. When I visited Mt York near Blackheath. I read an interesting sign. It took just 28 men to build a road from Emu Plains to Bathurst in only 6 months without the technology we have today. We barely get a map proposal done within 6 months today despite everything at our disposal. We can turn NSW into a mega hub where City-West-South-North-Newcastle-Wollongong-Canberra all link with such ease and out of regions like South Coast, Blue Mountains, Central Tablelands and New England.
Excellent video Sharath. Anyone who has lived in Sydney for long enough will attest, the biggest issue with your plan, or any decent public transport plan, is politics. It's bad enough that the NSW Govt keeps bringing Brits in to run the network, a nation whose network is somewhat worse than Sydney's, especially in London itself, but we have successive governments in NSW, govts of all stripes, obsessed with toll roads, roads that actually bring income into the govt, whereas rail just costs the govt.
Yes you're exactly right. Our government need to focus far more on rail than they do on roads. I really hope we turn a corner on that soon, especially with the WestConnex finally nearly done.
i reckon the existing sydney trains leppington lines being extended to the new airport would work better cus it would be a direct line to central or parra from the airport without having to interchange
Sharath, I have ALWAYS thought, from the moment I heard about the Parramatta Metro, that it should've followed your Victoria Rd route, as as crowded as it maybe, Parramatta is adequately served by the existing heavy rail.
19:58 you have no idea how much I want a train station at cecil hills. It takes over 2 hours to get into the city with a 40 minute bus ride to the closest station.
an additional line that makes tonnes of sense is a norwest-blacktown-western airport line, the metro curves at norwest like its jsut begging for an extension through there
Good video, and one that I have many opinions on (I've been working on a fantasy Sydney railway proposal for years). If you don't mind some criticism of your network, here are some thoughts I have: You haven't talked much about converting existing train lines to automated metro lines. The one line in your plan that is converted is the South West Rail Link, but this is not a very good candidate considering the platforms at Leppington and Edmondson Park are built for 8-car trains and not the 4-car trains that would operate on the Western Sydney Airport line, plus the way it has a good grade-separated interchange at Glenfield. It would be better to extend this Sydney Trains line to Bradfield where it would meet the line from Parramatta, which would also avoid branching on the main Western Sydney Airport line. There are other train lines in Sydney that it would be more possible to convert to Metro operation though; lines discussed include the Airport Line between Revesby and Central, and the Eastern Suburbs and Illawarra line north of Hurstville. While there are advantages and disadvantages of those conversions, they are worth thinking about. You need to consider more how different modes of transport complement eachother. Building two lines to cover the same corridor can be pretty wasteful if they don't cover significantly different kinds of trips. Some of your lines are very similar to existing or under-construction light rail lines, and in those situations, there needs to be a reason you'd take the tram and a reason you'd take the train. If there isn't, then an alternate route should be chosen to expand coverage. Interchange stations are especially important for connectivity and development, and some on your network are oddly placed, particularly on the Macquarie Park to Hurstville line. I like the frequency of stations in the low-density Western Sydney suburbs, but it's more likely the government would have the line skip those areas and just run feeder buses into more major Metro stations. The Marsden Park development is planned to extend further south with higher-density development, so the line there doesn't need to go so far north. Consider how branching affects service levels. Your M1 line has 3 branches in the north but only 1 in the south. This would make the northern branches have relatively infrequent service, while the Bankstown Line would get loads of trains. If there are branches they shouldn't come at the expense of good frequency. I really like the diagram; your graphic design skills are great!
Yes, those are all excellent points. Thank you for making them. The reason some interchange stations are probably not well chosen is I focused more on providing a direct route than logical interchanges; certainly with more research it could be determined which one is more important. The government will probably skip a lot of the Western Sydney stations I've chosen, but I really think they shouldn't; big gaps between stations aren't something I really like, and they should try to build more to provide as much access as possible. But so long as we don't have a repeat of 7km gaps like the Metro West I'll be happy. Yes, the branches were far from elegant; I just didn't know how else to incorporate the Epping-Parramatta and Northern Beaches Lines into the map. But you're right; an alternate solution would need to be found. I reckon the Northern Beaches Line could be its own line, maybe extending somewhere that I haven't thought of, like Sydney Airport. And yes, you're right about the light rail; my South-East Line does overlap a lot with their light rail. Something for me to consider next time! Anyways, thank you for your points and thank you for watching! Part of what will make this proposal even better is constructive feedback like yours :))
Lots of this feels copy and paste from the 2056 plan, and faces alot of the same problems: -Needs a direct line from Nancy Bird to Kingsford, it doesnt make sense to require multiple changes to get between airports. -Requires an interchange to get from the city to Bondi beach. Why can't the ESL be extended instead? (its literally the busiest bus route in the city) Also your M1 line has 3 north branches, and 1 southern branch, that doesn't look right. But i do really like the Victoria and Beaches lines as ideas, especially as it doesnt require another metro harbour tunnel. (Also the 197 does the north section of the A3, and you forgot the grey interchange cirle at Chatswood 😉)
Hurstville or Kogarah to Parramatta (via Bankstown) is a massive no brainer. Then extend the line north further to link up at Castle Hill. It will connect south, west, and north west and make Western Sydney finally navigable.
Something to note is the T9 will most likely be reintegrated into the T1 once the Metro reaches the city from Chatswood. As currently T9 trains may not terminate at Gordon and sometimes travel through from Gordon back to Hornsby the quick way.
Love your ambition! Support a lot of these initiatives - but would truly love signal system upgrades on the heavy rail system to support increased frequencies 1st. Best bang for buck.
The Illawarra Line needs some attention. It's only two tracks until you reach Hurstville leaving it vulnerable to disruption (as it is notorious for) and having to work with freight trains coming up from Port Kembla.
You have a flaw in this. Major parts of Sydney would be the city, Parramatta, Chatswood, Liverpool, Campbelltown, and Penrith. You left out Penrith as Penrith will be what Parramatta is now. Parramatta is the central point which will be shopping based sort of city. The city it self is more based on the economic side. The government should of put a line from Richmond to Penrith to the new airport and then to Campbelltown.
CBD, Parramatta, Chatswood, Macquarie Park, Norwest, Bankstown, Liverpool, Hurstville/Kogarah, Aerotropolis/Bradfield, are the big future hubs. Penrith won't grow as much as these areas because there isn't as much potential for development due to the floodplain and more focus on the new Aerotropolis which is in a better location to be a future centre. Richmond/Windsor is an example of a part of Sydney that has effectively peaked already, again due to the floodplain. Penrith is already well-deserved by heavy rail. The most it will get is more bus services, or a light rail line (that's really pushing it).
One more missing line. Bankstown directly south. Which is technically south east cos of the map design. I propose Bankstown, Revesby, Menai, Engadine. That way that hits 3 different train lines too.
I wouldn’t be surprised if transurban had an input in not pushing the rail network to be circumferential as building this would take away from people using tolls to take the M2, M5 and M7 Also a metro from Sutherland to MacArthur would be nice as well
The A3 is the perfect circumferential route, although I would extend it north east along A3 to stop at Gordon (interchange with T1), St Ives, Terrey Hills and Mona Vale
Probably a moot point but a station in Seaforth would make either a very steep climb up from under Middle Harbour or a very deep station. Also, the residents of Bondi have made it very clear that they want no part of easier access to 'their' beach. Other than that, I do like your thinking.
I think your okanning was thorough and your placement and route ideas are excellent, but at a (conservative) pricetag of 500 billion dollars, it's never going to happen.
You are brilliant. Next time i'm in sydney i'd love to buy you a coffee and explain my dreams when I was a kid. I'm 56 and run a very successful business in Melbourne. I'll pass this on to all my sydney freinds.
A dream train map. I would have also included a link between Chatswood and Dee Why to accomodate the suburbs along Warringah Road like Frenchs Forest, which is basically inaccessible without a car.
21:40 Liverpool *town* centre? Liverpool has been a CITY for more than 150 years, with a population similar to Parramatta, covering an area (305 km2), significantly larger than Parramatta, having more room to grow in the future. So it deserves rail access probably more than anywhere else in Western Sydney.
This is fantastic, as a Londoner I’m often shocked at the lack of foresight with recent planning that has taken place, in particular I’m the inner west. I’m on the new proposed Sydney metro west, and it’s great that we get a train to city, however it’s currently useless for getting anywhere else across Sydney. The new ideas would be fantastic. I personally feel there is a hole getting from a to b in inner west in a circumnavigation. I’m still having to drive kids places to go out for example , the car trip may be 15 mins vs a public transport journey of an hour. Often our journeys and convoluted and involve multiple bus /train changes. Keep up the work I’d love to see this kind of network in Sydney!!
Love it. Except the issue with the Northern Beaches line is the geography between your Mosman and Seaforth stations. You'll need a helix on each side of middle harbour just to get down far enough to go under the water and back up the other side. Alternately, they could build a mega structure suspension bridge and include a road way too. Also there are other improvements too, like quad tracking the Parramatta River crossing, (the bridge abutments already exist), quad tracking St. Marys to Penrith plus add a new station for WSU. And a new direct fast rail from Emu Plains/St Marys thru the mountains to Lithgow and this would be double container height support and not necessarily electrified.
I am very Impressed with the Parramatta proposals especially the Epping connection, however even if such lines were built, I would be unlikely to see them without some miraculous life extending medical breakthrough!
Sharath, Well Done.. Your plans are exactly what Sydney needs.. Infact, its what a lot of Australia's major cities need.. Congratulations.. I hope someone in power sees this and enacts at least part of it.
This is absolutely amazing Sharath! Do you mind if I start making videos on my channel similar to this? Also what do you use to edit? And what do you use to animate (eg. Sydney Metro & Trains Map Proposals) Anyways, congrats on 10K! 😊
Haha you're more than welcome to, it would be amazing to see more Sydney content which really has been the main aim of this channel. I use After Effects; steep learning curve but rewarding results!
Servicing Menai has been mentioned in another comment. The area has serious road congestion and severe limitations on the number of road connections, not to mention public transport. Consistent with the philosophy of following the higher capacity bus routes, something that follows the M92 route might be useful. When the route commenced, I noticed near-empty buses going through Padstow at a high frequency, and I thought, "That sure can't be economical." However, patronage appeared to grow significantly, and I even started using it to commute. It is interesting to see how addition of public transport can change patterns of movement, not simply react to the existing patterns of movement. On another note, I recall how congested the Central Coast roads were a quarter of a century ago when I helped deliver furniture. I doubt it would have improved since then. I occasionally look at the region on Google maps and consider useful routes for heavy rail. Perhaps you could do likewise? Nice work.
Great video! I live in Penrith and many of my friends and family are in Castle Hill and Rouse Hill areas. As I don't drive, the Tallawood to St Mary's line would be amasing.
Sydney Central & Paramatta can serve as the terminal stations for a potential high speed rail to Wollongong, Newcastle, Brisbane and Melbourne via Canberra. Also both the Sydney airports should have a high speed rail station improving the Airport's connectivity to regional cities of NSW, like Wollongong, Newcastle Gosford etc
Agree. Better rail to regional NSW and interstate is a MUST! Bringing back more train services in regional NSW will also be needed. Improving freight rail too to reduce congestion on our highways.
Now in the utopia state finally connect Mona Vale to North Ryde via Ingleside, Terrey Hills, Belrose, St Ives, Pymble (or Gordon), West Pymble. THEN you are finally done, as you have essentially a continuous Mona Vale to Hurstville line.
All very well thought out, but there's a population centre just a tick over 80kms from Sydney that has a rail link to it that takes as long to do its journey as it did a century ago; Wollongong. What improvement can you suggest for this?
I wish the Shire wasn't always left out with these concept maps. I live near Sutherland but often have to commute to Penrith and it takes exactly twice as long on train than driving - really wish there was some sort of link connecting south east to south west, could also benefit Wollongong commuters going to Western Sydney as they suffer even more.
What you would also do at North Sydney is have a connection from Neutral Bay to Crows Nest. Trains could then run same train Parramatta-Chatswood-Monavale and really add a cross-city/radial to Parramatta.
It would finally be almost as good as London's rail network. London transport is the standard we all need to aspire to. I would add a Mona Vale to Chatswood line.
Some good ideas but the Shire musn't be in Sydney. Can't believe a comprehensive model ignores the massive amount of people in Menai, Lucas Heights, Alford's point, then into South St George area like Pdstow but there needs to be a corridor sutherland-Menai to-parammatta or Liverpool. Similarly from Cronulla, Kurnell to La Preuse
When I first came to Sydney 20 years ago I fell in love with the double-decker trains with the ‘flippable’ seat backs. I’m on the Cronulla/Waterfall to Bondi Junction line and I wish the trains were more frequent.
We need at least connection between the Carlingford light rail station and the Epping rail and metro stations. Also a connection between the Parramatta light rail and Bella Vista metro stations, perhaps via the current bus transit lane
Loved the video, nailed most of the issues we see on our 'Network' on the head. Hope you had a good time in Tassie but If they couldn't connect the Metro with Schofields whilst moving Schofields station South by 800m how can it ever happen, fairy dust? A very well thought out and well presented proposal, servicing existing under serviced areas is important, adding circumferencal routes and an optimumal number of interchanges is critical. As many links to multi modal transport is also key like cycleways that allow you to optimise that last mile issue. I applaud you for your passion and enthusiasm!
I remember when Action For Transport 2010 included a project to use the existing freight corridor between Campsie and Delec on Cosgrove Road to form part of a new Hurstville to Epping line via Campsie and Strathfield. I would believe it still very doable if they use this freight corridor as it would save a lot of money since it’s already exists. When it was proposed it would have included stations at Belfield (near Belmore North), Enfield, Greenacre and Strathfield South. The plan was scrapped in the mid 90s because the government eventually assumed it wouldn’t attract enough patronage.
By the time you are my age (73) you have a chance of getting most of this proposal done. You also missed Dee Why, French's Forest, Chatswood, Macquarie University, Epping, part of the Epping to Parramatta railway line.
Fun video to watch thanks Sharath, I would love to see a public transport system that actually connects the various far-flung suburbs of Sydney. Had to laugh when you mentioned a line through Oatlands - your proposal would be met with lots of protest. A drive through Oatlands reveals many protest signs against a 6-story development proposal.
Local resistance isn't the biggest barrier to development in the Northern Beaches. Take your route from Mosman to Seaforth, unless you want to build Australia's deepest tunnel or tallest bridge you'll have to navigate metro trains from Mosman ridge (~60m elevation), down across Manly spit, and back up to Seaforth (also ~60m elevation), a grade of ~ 1:15 / 1:10. The route is pushing the limits of road gradients let alone railway ones. The geography of the area would make rail infrastructure crazy expensive, which is why a rail route across Middle Harbour has never been seriously considered.
Absolutely awesome video!!! Loved all the detail and enthusiasm! Maybe a job in the public sector would help you get the ball rolling, or maybe send a letter to the Minister for Infrastructure/ Transport and the department, and don't forget to give your self credit for it!! Just wondering on how you made the maps though? I have a similar desire to do one for South-East Queensland!
Parramatta is Sydney's second CBD. The main problem is that commuters that travel from as far away as Gosford can't get a direct train service from Gosford, Hornsby, or Epping to Parramatta in the morning, nor can they get home in the afternoon or early evening without changing trains or catching a slower direct bus service. Cityrail created a service to cater to these commuters called "The River" it ran from Gosford to Wyong, then ran to St Mary's and then to Flemington Car Sidings to lay over till the afternoon reverse journey. This train service was successful, but Cityrail treated it as a "novelty service" with only running a 2 car V set on the service. When the train left Meadowbank in the morning and Lidcombe in the afternoon, the train was full to capacity. When Cityrail started the Central Coast, Gosford and Wyong to North Sydney, and the CBD, it was with 3 8 car K set trains in the morning and 3 for the evening peak services. They were popular from day 1. Sydney Trains and NSW Trainlink need to reinvent the wheel, so to speak and reintroduce more than just 1. "The River" service and they should be a standard 8 carriage train. Even to run from Hornsby to Blacktown and vice versa would be a transport achievement.
Things could have been so different if the original Parramatta to Chatswood Rail Link had followed the alignment from Dundas on the Carlingford Line direct to Macquarie University via Eastwood, which was Option 2 behind the alignment via Carlingford and Epping. Apart from being more direct and faster, although more expensive because of more tunnelling, it also included a Y link from Eastwood to Epping, which would have allowed for direct services between Parramatta and Hornsby/Central Coast. The overriding consideration seems to have been to make the most use of the Carlingford Line infrastructure, which was short sighted. It's a missed opportunity and would have been worth the extra cost. Unfortunately, the same mistake is being repeated with the Parramatta Light Rail, which now seems destined to permanently terminate at Carlingford, with little prospect of it being extended to Epping because of challenging engineering a cost constraints. It should have followed the more direct route from Dundas to Macquarie University via Eastwood along an existing wide road corridor, where it would interchange with the Northern Line at Eastwood and Metro Northwest at Macquarie University, which was the preferred option in Parramatta City Council's independent feasibility study, but totally ignored by the government. I hope that future more enlightened rail planners will recognise the folly of these past mistakes and give consideration to a proposed metro link from Parramatta to Epping to instead take the more direct route via Eastwood to Macquarie Park. No interchange would be necessary at Epping. There is ample room under the existing bus interchange at Eastwood Station to construct metro platforms, which had been initially proposed for the defunct North West Metro along the Victoria Rd corridor.
Well thought out video and very good reasons you provide why certain lines and stations should exist. Every time I see proposals regarding stations at Bondi Beach and/or Northern Beaches line, I think about the NIMBYs that would fight tooth and nail to not make it happen. It's like: "No train line to Bondi Beach" yet the same people would complain "Why are there so many cars and traffic on Bondi Road?!" *facepalm* If only they had more forward thinking... Great video as always! I would say, around 50 years from now, you should revisit the video and see what has happened since then!
I propose there could be 3 more lines. One starting from hornsby, before going to hornsby east/waitara east near the hospital, wahroonga east, north turramurra, st ives, east killara, east lindfield, roseville chase, castle crag, castle cove, northbridge, cammeray, and then finally north sydney. The next line will run from northbridge, before going to willougby and artarmon, then lane cove, lane cove west, east ryde and finally ryde. The next line I propose runs from mona vale, along mona vale road, to ingleside, terry hills, belrose, st ives, gordon east, gordon, west pymble (little seperate line branches off to connect this to macquarie park station), south turramurra, before crossing the bush and river with a bridge to nortth epping before ending the line in cheltanham.
I don't think there is enough rail or bus frequency for that matter in the hornsby area. These citysiders complain about not having a train station when there's a bus every 10 minutes anyway!
As someone who works near the Norwest Metro station, there is nowhere near enough parking available for commuters to start at this station. I would instead suggest the line begins at the nearby Bella Vista station, which already has a multi-storey commuter carpark, and also has a lot of adjacent land reserved by landcom for future development.
This plan is missing the massive rises of Rosebery particularly near Dalmeny Avenue which is too far for Mascot or Green Square, West Eastlakes, Daceyville, Pagewood, Botany. People I guess assume the South Eastern suburbs are small but with the rise of Rosebery particularly near Dalmeny (might be the most over density area in Sydney over m2 in 5 years time) the need.
An excellent proposal. The north-south connections to parramatta, olympic park and western aerotropolis regions are so important. I would love to see separate map/s and video on where and how we could integrate light rail into our network, and connect the stations and lines in this proposal. Which centres across Sydney that do not have light rail would benefit to connect people to stations on these lines. Where would we be better connecting the stations via bus routes?
I don't disagree with the concept. Placement of stations seems to be well thought out. However, I think there needs to be more paralleism. You've got the line which is currently the Metro Northwest joining with the new line from Parramatta combining together at Epping. And then further on the line from Mona Vale combines into that at Victoria Cross. That's three services now being squeezed into one section of double track. Something has to give. Maybe we go for a third harbour crossing, so the Mona Vale line can extend out and replace either one of those sections to Bondi or Little Bay. This would also help the network deal with disruptions. Currently if there's a disruption on the T1 on the North Shore, this affects trains going west out of Central, so if we have more lines going to the same place, we can still route people elsewhere until the disruption gets sorted.
You're videos are awesome, well done. Having lived in Bondi (Beach) I can say there is one small flaw in the Victoria Rd and Bondi Line. Nobody in Bondi wants anyone from a suburb west of Paddington coming to Bondi and they will use whatever resources they have to stop that. Did I mention the resources they have? Also no one in The Bays, Rozelle or Hunters Hill wants anyone coming to their suburb either, they'll walk before having a station. Just make that line Ryde to USYD and you're golden. :)
Amazing video! One thing I (personally) would change is the Norwest to Kogarah line. I would say that instead of Kogarah, it should instead go into Hurstville. As it would interchange with the T4 and the metro line you metioned: Hurstville to Maquarie Park. Also, the link between Tallawong and Schofields is a bit more difficult because going above ground would mean it would crash into a bus interchange and carpark. I would tunnel it past Tallawong. But, all other things I agree with.
Hurstville is nice. Tallawong, not so. In order to avoid carparks that absorb valuable land near stations, tunneling (super expensive) is not a good idea
@@aaravyadav3748 Thats true. But, if there would be a sky bridge, the metro platforms part would be further away from the train platforms because carparks are on both sides
Disagree, Kogarah is a massive suburb with a hooming population on the eastern suburbs, to ignore it would only cause massive headaches for the locals who live there, also it would be much easier to connect at Kogarah from Bankstown then from hurtstville.
I live in Parramatta and work in Chatswood, it takes me an hour via train to get to work. So the Epping to Parramatta line would be a god send for me and cut my commute time in half. :)
Brilliant vision, great video. But too many stations. Too many stops slows the whole network, you have already covered this in your Metro West Problem video. The sad reality is that 'densification' at stations is needed to pay for new rail infrastructure and that won't happen at every station. The solution is 'integrated transport'. Your vision implies people moving trips from car to rail which frees up road space for bus only lanes and cycle routes. That provides connectivity from medium density housing areas to fast rail with fewer stations. It used to work in Sydney when most families didn't have a car. Almost every station had a network of local buses or trams providing the volume of passengers that made the rail system viable.
I love this video and I love your content Sharath! Western Sydney rlly needs a solution to the traffic congestion especially into the future. Your idea has a great deal of thought and understanding of current populations and future trends. Accessibility and Equality. Unfortunately I think our government has other plans and stakeholders in mind over the people. Would love a more interconnected and more efficient Sydney. What a modern city and its population deserves.
I reckon don’t turn the Leppington line into metro but extend the heavy rail from Leppington to the new Airport since the T2 line won’t agree with changing it into metro plus the Melbourne XPT borrows the T2 line at Glenfield station so it can overtake the T8 train at Glenfield and if it gets turned into metro the XPT will be stuck behind the T8 train.
Have you done any back-of-an-envelope calculations on what each proposal will cost? Obviously it will be a lot but NOT building an efficient public transport network has its own cost when people drive instead and demand more roads. The Schofields-Tallawong missing link is bizarre but Transport for NSW must have had some valid reason why the lines were not linked. It would also be good to know the reason why the Parramatta-Epping link was cancelled; I remember seeing a video that noted how few passengers used to catch trains on the Carlingford line but it was a branch line to a low-density suburb so it wasn't a fair comparison with other lines. The other thing worth noting is that development around the new stations you propose requires zoning that allows high-density development and existing property owners in single-family houses are likely to fight any changes.
Maybe we need the carrot or the stick apporach with things, make public transport and high density like 60% cheaper to live in and if you want to have a single family house near a public transport hub and drive, then you should pay a whole lot more that what your paying.
With a bit of adjustment, the Epping to Parramatta and Macquarie Park to Hurstville could be converted into a longer single line. Instead of terminating at Epping and Macquarie Park, I'd suggest interchanges at both, and taking a loop through West Pymble, interchanging with the North Shore line at Pymble, then swing west to stations at South Turramurra and North Epping.
The issue that no one seems to fix is the western side of the shire that is only connectable currently by bus. A route from Bankstown to Sutherland going through that area would benefit the area as to get anywhere in sydney you need to take a bus currently.
the schofields-tallawong missing rail is like werribee-wyndham vale/tarneit down here in melboure, such close stations, one serviced every 5 to 10 min, the other serviced every 20 to 50 minutes (depending on day)
For intra-city transport I think this is excellent. I would like to add one more proposal though. A separate high-speed corridor out of the city with stations at central, Parramatta, and aerotropolis, branching from aerotropolis south to Melbourne, and north from paramatta to Newcastle and Brisbane. This high-speed corridor is also able to be used to for a local express service that takes 15 min to travel the 40km between aerotropolis and the cbd, and travel on the current city circle loop, before retuning.
