Major construction begins on $2.4bn Parramatta Light Rail at Westmead

A new milestone has been reached on New South Wales’ $2.4 billion Parramatta Light Rail Stage 1 project as major construction commences at the Westmead Health Precinct, which is one of Australia’s largest health, education and research hubs.

The Parramatta Light Rail is aimed at providing ‘turn-up-and-go' services that will link Westmead commuters to rail, bus, ferries as well as the future Sydney Metro West.

“These world-class health services and facilities will be more accessible than ever, taking the Westmead Health Precinct to the next level.

“The precinct will cater to more than 40,000 full-time staff and 30,000 students by 2036 and building this type of infrastructure will be key to our economic recovery and will help get people back to work, important parts of the NSW Government’s COVID Recovery Plan,” Minister for Transport Andrew Constance said.

Works at the Westmead Health Precinct will include removing the road surface, replacing underground utilities and rebuilding the road.

“We recently finalised work to prepare for the light rail in the area with the widening of Hawkesbury Road. These are big changes and we ask for your patience as we undertake significant works to create a connected, revitalised Westmead Health Precinct,” Mr Constance said.

Source: Parramatta Light Rail

Stage 1 of the Parramatta Light Rail will deliver a 12-kilometre light rail line together with 16 stops and will connect Westmead to Carlingford via the Parramatta CBD and Camellia.

This project will include:

• High-frequency ‘turn-up-and-go' light rail services seven days a week, departing approximately every 7.5 minutes in peak periods
• Modern and comfortable air-conditioned vehicles, 45 metres long, driver-operated and integrated with the Opal card network
• Two new light rail and pedestrian zones along Church and Macquarie Streets in the Parramatta CBD
• Replacing the train line between Camellia and Carlingford, which will provide more frequent services and better connections to town centres, including Parramatta and Sydney CBDs
• A new Active Transport Link (shared walking and bike riding path) between Carlingford and Parramatta

Construction on this multi-billion-dollar project commenced in early 2020, with passenger services anticipated to begin in 2023.

In late 2018, two major contracts were awarded to build the Parramatta Light Rail project. The first contract was awarded to the Downer EDI – CPB Contractors joint venture for the delivery of the light rail system. The second major contract was awarded to the Great River City Light Rail consortium and it will include the supply and operation of the networks as well as the delivery of the depot, light rail stops and power systems. You can read more about the contract awards here.

Source: Transport for NSW; Parramatta Light Rail