Sydney runs on its subway. From east to west, north to south, the New South Wales capital is betting on sustainability. Airports and Central Business District, residential and commercial areas will all be connected over the next few years by the network of underground lines that Sydney Metro, le company managing the construction of the project, has designed for the city.
Work is under way on Sydney Metro West, the new line whose work sites were opened in 2020 and are expected to be completed in 2030, linking Greater Parramatta to the CBD. In all, 24 kms of subway with ten stations, including Parramatta, Sydney Olympic Park and onwards towards Sydney CBD. The project will have a considerable impact on city life and work. According to the backers’ projections, the project will create 10,000 direct jobs and 70,000 more indirectly just during the construction phase, contributing to the growth and development of a vibrant city such as Sydney.
A sustainable project for a changing metropolis
Downtown Sydney is undergoing a profound urban renewal process. The “Pencil Tower Hotel,” 110 meters tall and just 6 meters wide is but one of the latest projects that will change the city’s skyline, sustaining the urban and economic growth the city has been enjoying for years.
While the city changes its appearance, it also aims to equip itself with an invisible network allowing it to respond its citizen’s transport needs. Light trains, subways and regional railways are among the many transport infrastructure projects financed by New South Wales and the federal government. In 2021 $31.4 billion have been earmarked just for the subway expansion, to be spent over four years. The choice of a subway is driven by the desire to make Sydney a sustainable city. Sydney Metro aims to reduce the emissions of all the subway’s operations to zero, protect and use in the best way all primary resources like water and power and preserve the city’s biodiversity. According to the sustainability plan published at the end of 2022, 95% of the ground dug out to make the tunnels will be entirely recycled and the water used during the dig will be reused.
From Sydney Metro West to Sydney Metro Northwest, linking the city
More transport options, more efficiency, more sustainability: these objectives can be reached only with the construction of a capillary network linking different transport infrastructures such as airports, subways and roads. Under this model, the building of the Western Sydney International Airport, the city’s new airport, goes hand in hand with the construction of the M12, a highly technological highway that will ensure the rapid connection between the airport and downtown.
These objectives are shared by Sydney Metro Northwest, the other line realized in part by Webuild and completed in 2019. Sydney Metro Northwest is part of a network of four lines launched in 2019 and 2020 and destined to change the way the city moves. After Northwest, the second line is the Sydney Metro City & Southwest, which envisages 24 stations along the 30 kms line and should be inaugurated in 2024. The third is Sydney Metro West and the fourth is the link to the new airport. The ambitious plan will bring Sydney’s subway to a total of 113 kms in length, transforming the Australian city into one of the world’s most livable, sustainable and modern metropolis in the world.