Minister for Transport Gladys Berejiklian and Minister Assisting the Premier on Western Sydney Stuart Ayres today announced a $150 million package to upgrade six busy Western Sydney train stations.
Penrith, Pendle Hill and Blacktown stations will receive major upgrades, including new lifts and ramps, upgrades to the station concourses, new bus interchanges and pedestrian links.
The NSW Government also announced it has been able to finalise the scope and fast-track the tender process for major access upgrades at Wentworth Falls, Wentworthville and Flemington stations.
Ms Berejiklian said this is a huge boost for thousands of Western Sydney customers, especially older people, people with a disability and parents with prams.
“This multi-million dollar investment is on top of station upgrades and new commuter car parks already underway or completed in Western Sydney as part of the NSW Government’s $770 million Transport Access Program,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“Labor’s record in Western Sydney was a disgrace – the NSW Liberals & Nationals Government is working hard and making huge improvements to public transport in Western Sydney.
“Customers told us they wanted more reliable, frequent services, better customer service, improved ticketing and air-conditioned trains. We know there is work to do, but in just over three years we have delivered all of these.”
The latest package of upgrades includes:
· Penrith Station – New lifts, stairs, concourse and bus interchange
· Pendle Hill Station – New lifts, stairs, concourse and entrances
· Blacktown Station – Extension of the Richmond Line concourse and new bus turnaround facility on Patrick Street
As part of the package, the NSW Government is also fast-tracking upgrades at:
· Flemington Station – New lifts, stairs, concourse and pedestrian link bridge
· Wentworth Falls Station – New lifts with forecourt areas
· Wentworthville Station – New lifts, stairs and widened footbridge between platforms.
Mr Ayres said as well as providing easy access at some stations for the first time, the upgrades would include improved security features such as new CCTV and additional lighting.
“The NSW Government is getting on with delivering better transport for Western Sydney,” Mr Ayres said.
“I am pleased more customers in Western Sydney will now benefit from modern and accessible train stations, with the tender process starting immediately and construction set to get underway on the station upgrades as early as next year.
“We’re not only delivering modern and accessible infrastructure, Western Sydney train customers now have Opal electronic ticketing, more than 690 additional weekly train services and 1,200 new weekly bus services.
“We were also forced to fix up Labor’s mess and upgrade infrastructure on the Western Line so that we could deliver all 78 modern, air-conditioned Waratah trains for customers, including those in Western Sydney.”
The final cost of these projects will be determined as part of the tender process now underway, but is expected to be around $150 million.
Western Sydney customers are already benefiting from upgrades as part of the Transport Access Program, including improvements at Windsor and Fairfield stations, an upgraded transport interchange at Auburn and new commuter car parking at Penrith, Glenbrook, Mount Druitt and Kingswood.
Works are currently underway to upgrade Ingleburn Station and provide more commuter car parking at Granville and Liverpool. This is on top of hundreds of staff parking spaces being unlocked for customers for the first time in Western Sydney.
