The approval by NSW Government of the business case for Sydney Metro West is a landmark moment for our city.

Metro West is the most vitally needed and transformative infrastructure project for Sydney today. It has the potential to fundamentally reshape how Sydney works, moving the economic centre of our city westward, while catalysing places like the Bays Precinct and Olympic Park that will be host the jobs of the future.

This project achieves two pressing needs for Sydney: significantly improving capacity to get people from where they live to jobs – from West to East – and supporting economic growth in Parramatta (our 2nd CBD) and Western Sydney. It delivers places for jobs within 30 minutes of where people live and it puts housing density in the right places, allowing more people to live in walkable neighbourhoods linked by public transport.

The next phase of work will need to resolve the outstanding questions about where stops will be located. The Committee for Sydney strongly supports the creation of new stops at both Pyrmont and Rydalmere – two areas undergoing growth that require additional transport capacity – as well as locating stops at Westmead, Parramatta, Sydney Olympic Park, North Strathfield, Burwood North, Five Dock and the Bays Precinct at Rozelle.

Sydney will benefit in the long run from a greater density of rail stations. Locating stops in all of these stations will still enable a fast journey between Parramatta and the CBD.

We commend the NSW Government for its strong leadership in pushing ahead with a fully-funded Metro West.