Media Statement - 19th November 2007
A Rudd Labor government will invest almost $2 billion from AusLink II to complete the Sydney Orbital motorway network and build a world-class freight network to boost productivity and jobs in Australia’s biggest city.
Sydney motorists are sick and tired of sitting in traffic on key arterial roads.
Federal Labor will unchoke Sydney’s roads and complete the Sydney Orbital by investing:
- $300 million for approvals and planning to get started on the M4 East from North Strathfield to the CBD to reduce traffic on Parramatta Road;
- $150 million for approvals and planning to get started on connecting the F3 to the Sydney Orbital, with further funding to be determined once these processes are completed;
- $112 million for widening the F5 between Ingleburn and Campbelltown; and
- $100 million towards completing the duplication of the Great Western Highway from the M4 at Penrith to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains
Mr. Ferguson said: “ Australia’s biggest city is groaning under the weight of overloaded transport infrastructure and we have to get it moving freely again.
“There is nothing more frustrating for Sydneysiders than sitting in traffic gridlock.
“We are serious about unchoking Sydney’s roads and improving the liveability and economic efficiency of our biggest city.”
The M4 East project will:
- Get rid of gridlock on Parramatta Road which already carries nearly 90,000 vehicles per day;
- Cut travel times to the city for residents in Parramatta, Penrith and the Blue Mountains;
- Improve amenity for local residents between North Strathfield and the CBD; and
- Include state-of-the-art filtration systems that protect both tunnel users and air quality for local residents.
Federal Labor will separate the movement of people and freight, ease pressure on Cityrail and boost jobs by investing:
- $840 million towards a dedicated freight rail track from North Strathfield to Gosford;
- $300 million for a job-generating, state-of-the-art intermodal freight terminal at Moorebank, and road and rail access; and
- $150 million for Port Botany road and rail access and handling improvements.
Sydney, from North Strathfield to Hornsby and the Central Coast is suffering from congestion and conflict between passenger and freight rail services.
Unless the problem is fixed rail freight will not be able to expand and more freight will be forced on to already congested roads.
And the thousands of commuters from the Central Coast, Penrith and the Blue Mountains will be frustrated with longer journeys, more delays and less reliability.
Federal Labor’s plan to start moving now on a dedicated freight rail track from North Strathfield to Gosford is a win for Central Coast commuters and a win for business.
Faster transit times of up to 30 minutes, fewer delays, higher reliability and more access for freight services will ease commuter frustration and deliver significant productivity benefits for business.
Federal Labor’s plan will move more freight on to rail instead of forcing it on to roads.
Rail upgrades will include:
- A grade-separated junction at North Strathfield to allow Sydney-bound freight services to pass under the passenger tracks to join the existing freight-only network;
- Completion of quadruplication between North Strathfield and West Ryde;
- A third track between Epping and Hornsby; and
- A freight refuge near Broadmeadow, bi-directional freight loops at Woy Woy, Wyong and in the Morisset/Awaba area, and bi-directional signaling between Gosford and Newcastle to provide more opportunities for passenger trains to overtake freight services.
Sydney’s freight system is bursting at the seams and additional freight handling capacity is desperately needed to service the city and the State.
Federal Labor’s plan to unchoke Northern Sydney includes the Moorebank intermodal terminal.
The Australian Government-owned land at Moorebank offers a unique opportunity with sufficient area and length to provide for the loading and unloading of 1800 metre trains as well as container storage and warehousing.
The land also has direct access to the Sydney Orbital motorway network and the Southern Sydney Freight Line, which forms part of the main North-South rail corridor (Melbourne-Sydney-Brisbane) and provides direct freight-only rail access to and from Port Botany.
Moorebank will be an open and fair access facility with capacity for over half a million TEU[1], making a major contribution towards Sydney’s intermodal terminal needs and keeping trucks off local roads.
Federal Labor’s plan for the Sydney Orbital will complete the missing links on the freight road network connecting Port Botany with western Sydney and regional NSW.
The missing links include:
- Completion of a modern, safe and efficient dual carriageway from the M4 at Penrith to the Blue Mountains and the Central West, building on Labor’s previous $200 million commitment to upgrading the Great Western Highway from Katoomba to Lithgow;
- A modern, efficient motorway connecting the M2 and M7 to the F3 and the Central Coast; and
- A modern, efficient motorway from the M4 at North Strathfield east to the CBD, Port Botany and Sydney Airport.
Once these projects are completed, the Sydney Orbital will be a network of world class free-flowing motorways moving freight and people efficiently around the city and the region.
Federal Labor’s plan also involves better road and rail access and handling facilities at Port Botany to improve turnaround times and get rid of bottlenecks at the port, including duplication of the Botany Goods line between Mascot and Botany Yard.
Port Botany’s cargo throughput is growing at double the forecast rate with a staggering 85 per cent of containers destined for the Sydney basin itself.
Mr. Ferguson said: “There is no room for complacency and planning has to start now for the inland freight hubs, rail upgrades to the north and missing road links to develop Newcastle as another container terminal and to ease congestion in the Sydney basin.
“Our commitments are an economically responsible investment that will boost productivity and secure jobs for the future.”
This funding for Sydney is part of Federal Labor’s commitment to focus its transport policy on Australia’s national economic priorities – productivity gains in export supply chains and the general freight task, integrating land transport with ports, and easing urban congestion.