Exploratory drilling has started beneath Sydney Harbour to assess route options for the planned Sydney Rapid Transit system.
A pair of rail tunnels will be constructed under the harbour as part of the project which will extend the North West Rail Link – the first phase of Sydney Rapid Transit – south of Chatswood to new stations in the CBD and west to Bankstown.
The North West Rail Link is set to begin revenue service in the first half of 2019 and will operate 15 trains an hour at peak times.
A diamond-tipped drill will construct around 30 boreholes up to 70 metres below the harbour floor to assess ground conditions along the proposed route.
NSW Premier Mike Baird said: “This new rail crossing of Sydney Harbour is the key to increasing capacity on our rail network by 60 per cent – allowing us to move an extra 100,000 people every hour right across Sydney.”
Conversion of the existing Bankstown line is a waste of millions of dollars. We need a completely new line South of the harbour to serve areas not currently served by rail. Leave the fully functioning Bankstown line alone!