I think I can buy the argument that more stations are needed. That there are no stations between Olympic Park and Parramatta is ridiculous for a metro system.
But to contemplate canning the project is just dumb.
this post was submitted on 24 Jul 2023
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I think the purpose of it is to provide a 20 min travel time between Parramatta and Sydney which isn't possible if there are too many stations.
But regardless with 7 stations it'll still be alot faster than the current 2 station express. Newington might be a good location for a stop which can work if they give the area a R4 zoning and allow 100 metre buildings like they do in the area around it like Olympic Park. If there's no uplift in density then a newer station isn't really worth it imo.
I wouldn't be surprised if it was Alex Classens telling him what to do (for the cancellation)
Metros everywhere else in the world (Europe, Asia) are designed with stations very close together, some within 5 walk of each other. The point is you have high density all along the route so most people are only taking part of the journey, not from end to end.
And if you want 20 min between Parramatta to Sydney, the best way is to have a metro with really close stations, and have heavy rail only stop at Parramatta, Strathfield and Central. Have a metro serve all the intermediate stops.
That's the current stopping pattern for blue mountains trains. The suburbans have an extra stop at Redfern.
The fastest currently is 25 mins. Over 23km. That's less than 60km/h average. I mean they can cut out Strathfield but after that you're literally a direct service from Central to Parramatta with no stops in between. And it will be 23 mins at best, whilst cutting out a major interchange.
Realistically the only way you could get it to 20 mins on the current train network is if you use single deckers with at least 3 doors on that route. That would reduce the dwell time and the trains will have better acceleration and deceleration.
But it is at capacity now. There's no way you'd be able to replace that route with single deckers, it's practically at full capacity of 20 trains per hour.
The metro serves more stops and will get there quicker. North west has higher average speed than any suburban line whilst serving more stations.
The last thing we need is for stations to be skipped like they do currently. That's how we get lopsided development. Everyone wants to live where the trains stop and then areas where the trains skip gets neglected.
The fastest currently is 25 mins. Over 23km. That’s less than 60km/h average.
I would argue this is due to the clusterfuck that's the approach to Strathfield station and the stretch of tracks between Strathfield and Central. You would get more speed if the lines going across those sections are decoupled, and work is underway to do just that.
That would reduce the dwell time and the trains will have better acceleration and deceleration.
The point of this feature is for transit systems with frequent and close stops, which is more stations.
The last thing we need is for stations to be skipped like they do currently. That’s how we get lopsided development. Everyone wants to live where the trains stop and then areas where the trains skip gets neglected.
I'm not saying do it now, I'm saying do it after the metro comes online. But I could make the same argument for having metro line that's sparsely spaced.
But the general point I'm making is, heavy rail was always designed to move lots of people over long distances, and metros are designed to move few people over short distances. Somehow we're building it back to front. We shouldn't do that.
This is a really bad call. We need more public transportation in Sydney not less. Car dependency will kill this city if we’re not careful.
Then how will be become The Unites states of Australia?
We’re already pretty much a vassal state of the yanks. We’re spending over 300 billion on building an outcropping of the US navy.
Its funny there's no outrage, like nobody in Australia gives a flying fuck about the $300 billion subs.
How close are they to 'almost completed'?
Between 1-2 years off in an 6+ year project. So I would say 75-80 percent done. Major works have been going on for quite some time, in fact there was a major weekday shutdown just a week and a bit ago.
Metro West major work has started TBMs in and digging already. Problem is housing density has already started to go in in anticipation, and it's sorely needed anyway.