South West Rail to go underground
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- Created on Monday, 23 November 2015 12:49
We are very pleased to advise you that the NSW Minister for Transport today announced that the south west railway will now be constructed underground south of the proposed station at Oran Park.
The railway will now be underground through Harrington Grove. The Government has said that the new proposal will not require the resumption of any homes. The underground proposal that has been announced will also not impact on the important Harrington Forest.
We congratulate the Government on listening to the concerns that we all had with the original surface proposal and for adopting the underground option. We particularly wish to thank our local politician, Chris Patterson, for hearing our concerns and for his very effective representations that he made on our behalf.
We have yet to see the detail of the Government’s underground proposal and we will be reviewing it closely when the details are available. We look forward to working with the Government on this.
Below is a media release issued this morning by the Member for Camden, Chris Patterson.
IN A huge win for many Oran Park and Harrington Park residents, the South West Rail Link extension will go underground from Oran Park through to Narellan.
Camden state Liberal MP Chris Patterson made the announcement this morning at Chesalon Retirement Village, Oran Park, which was facing an unknown future with the corridor cutting through it. The proposed corridor was announced and placed on public exhibition in June. The proposal included stations at Rossmore, Bringelly, North Bringelly, Oran Park, Narellan and Badgerys Creek to serve the future airport. The corridor also cut through Harrington Park. Landowners in Wildfire formed the Wildfire Estate Residents Action Group to push for the underground option. NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance said the announcement was good news for Macarthur region residents. “While construction on a rail line is not expected to start for some years, even decades, we need to do the planning now to make sure we can build this crucial infrastructure more efficiently and cost effectively when it’s needed,” Mr Constance said. “Earlier this year the NSW Government carried out detailed consultation with the community to help refine corridor options for a future rail extension between Leppington and Narellan. “While work is still continuing to refine the future corridor, we are pleased to announce that the final recommended corridor will include an underground alignment between Oran Park and north of Narellan. “This will ensure that the corridor will avoid impacting existing homes in Oran Park the Anglicare aged care facility, Wildfire Estate, and Harrington Park.” Mr Patterson said a number of concerns were raised by residents during the public consultation period about the corridor running through new homes in the area. “The communities of Oran Park and Harrington Park are growing rapidly, and I’m pleased the government has agreed to go underground for this part of the corridor preservation,” Mr Patterson said. “This is a great outcome for these communities and will come as a relief for many new homeowners who are building or have just moved into their homes in the Oran Park and Harrington Park areas.” More to come.