news, local-news, Bill Shorten, anne stanley, mike freelander, anthony albanese, labor, western sydney airport, leppington

“I am pleased to announce that Labor, if elected, will start building a Western Sydney rail line. “ That was the pledge Opposition Leader Bill Shorten made overlooking Leppington Station yesterday afternoon. He was joined by fellow Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese, Macarthur MP Dr Mike Freelander and Shadow Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Werriwa MP Anne Stanley. Mr Shorten reiterated Labor’s 2016 promise to that if elected a Labor government would kick in $400 million to build a rail link from the Macarthur, through south west Sydney taking in the new airport at Badgerys Creek and to the north west. The rail link means local communities would have a passenger rail network that enabled north-south rail travel across western Sydney as well as an outer orbital rail network. “I'm pleased to announce that if Labor is elected, we will start in the first stage of building a rail link between Leppington, behind me, via Bringelly, to Western Sydney Airport, and in addition, we would start the work to build a railway line from Macarthur in the south to St Marys in the north,” he said. “We are doing this because this policy will deliver more jobs, and better public transport, and less congestion. “Mr Turnbull has a chance in the Budget coming up in less than two weeks time, to outline his plan and a timetable for Western Sydney rail. If Mr Turnbull and Mr Morrison refuse to outline their commitment to Western Sydney rail, then we will know that it will be a very long time before this railway ever gets built under the Liberals.” Mr Freelander said the rail link would change the overall dynamic for South West and Western Sydney. “It will not only create a lot of jobs but also improve transport times, giving people more family times which is a problem at the moment,” he said. “It will also provide enormous opportunities for new industries, high tech industries… and really it also grabs opportunities for tourism.” He said the announcement was a game changer for the region. “It really changes the whole dynamic for south west and western Sydney,” Dr Freelander said. Mr Freelander and Ms Stanley agreed that the rail link would greatly improve public transport and be a game changer for their communities. “Instead of all rail being concentric in the city this means we get transport out here to where it should be,” Ms Stanley said. “This will also provide a link to the employment centres that will be build to the north of the airport and it will also provide opportunities for students to go to schools as part of that development.”

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