Badgerys Creek to open without rail link

By Hannah Edensor

Aviation’s top dogs are not big fans of the plans for the second Sydney airport at Badgerys Creek.

Criticising the plans at the CAPA 2015 Airport Innovation Day yesterday, executives said the plans were too small for a world-class facility.

As per reports in SMH, the federal government says the airport in the city’s west will be capable of handling 10 million domestic and international passengers a year through a single terminal when it opens in 2025.

The flaw, however, is that the airport will be sans rail connection, which according to Jetgo’s managing director Paul Bredereck, is unacceptable.

“For God’s sake, it is a major international airport and no express rail service to the CBD?” he said.

“In the last few weeks I have driven from Bankstown to Sydney Airport. It is not a pleasant experience. Buses from Badgerys Creek to the CBD? Who are you kidding?”

Bredereck admitted that his airline would eventually operate at Badgerys Creek due to the lack of available space at Kingsford Smith, but also said the government should go for four runways, as opposed to two.

“If the city is a world-class city and you are building a world-class airport for the future, do it properly,” Bredereck said.

“Do it once, do it well.”

Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development deputy secretary Andrew Wilson said four runways “would just not fit” on the site, but Bredereck stuck to his guns, saying if other overseas airports could manage the feat, Sydney should not overlook its importance.

The airport will begin with a single runway, but over time it will develop into a parallel runway facility capable of handling 80 million passengers a year.

“It will be neither a shed in a paddock nor a grand monument,” Wilson said.

“Think of Adelaide Airport today and you would be in the right ballpark.”

And while roads are being improved with a $3.5 billion boost from both federal and NSW governments, Wilson said the airport would open without an accompanying rail link, which, according to SMH, did not seem to be much of an issue for him.

“Rail is just one means of public transport,” he said.

“The first public transport to and from the airport will be buses provided through an efficient road network. Rail is a longer-term requirement.”

The airport won’t have a curfew, unlike Kingsford Smith, which would be a great plug for late-night services from Asian and Middle Eastern carriers, who steer clear of Sydney in favour of Melbourne and Brisvegas.

But it is still unclear if the new airport will be treated as a “regional airport” under the government’s bilateral air agreements, writes SMH.

That would allow airlines from countries that faced caps on flying to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth to fly to Badgerys Creek even if other airports had reached their cap.

The Department on June 30 wrapped up nine months of detailed consultations with Sydney Airport, and Wilson said if “everything goes well it is possible the notice of intention will be with Sydney Airport by the end of this year.”

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Latest comments

AUSSIEtraveller says:

August 4, 2015 at 12:07 pm

yes build a light rail. A monorail is low cost & can go down the middle of any road with a traffic island & not force any changes to the existing road whatsoever.

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