"Can I also flag as the incoming Infrastructure and Transport Minister my keenness to see this project be delivered at a pace unmatched in Australian infrastructure history," he said. "We are keen for this project to happen at lightning speed, and that's the challenge that I've laid down to the team at Transport for NSW and in particular Rodd Staples," the minister said of the public servant responsible for delivering the new rail link. Tuesday's industry briefing was to a room of 400 executives from the transport, construction and property sectors. The new line, which will use single-deck driverless trains, will connect to the proposed extension of the north west rail link at Chatswood, run under the city, and connect to the Bankstown Line at Sydenham. At least three new train stations will be built in the city, at Martin Place, Pitt Street near Town Hall, and Central, with the possibility of another station at Barangaroo.

The stations that are being built for the north west rail link in Sydney's outer north west suburbs have involved the digging of large boxes underground, a process that could need to be repeated in Sydney's central business district. Asked if new developments could be built on station boxes in central Sydney, Mr Constance said: "We've got to be open to everything. "We are going to see a massive influx of people into Sydney as we grow, we are going to see the population grow to six million people by 2031, that means a combination of transport projects facilitating both urban developments in terms of brownfield sites and obviously greenfield sites as well," he said. "You only need to look at the development that's happening in the north-west, and what we will see in terms of the uplift associated with Sydney Metro North West, to know that this type of infrastructure is a game changer in terms of urban design, urban planning," he said. "We want to maximise the development opportunities off the investments we are making on behalf of the taxpayer because it makes economic and social sense."

The acting secretary of Transport for NSW, Tim Reardon, also addressed the industry briefing and stressed the volume of projects either under construction or soon to start. "With so much activity happening ... we are going to have the cumulative effect of disruption during that period," Mr Reardon said. "We know that, we have to plan for it, and we means all of us have to plan for it." Mr Constance and Premier Mike Baird recently announced they had changed the name of the new rail project through the city from Sydney Rapid Transit to Sydney Metro. The new change recalls the ill-fated metro projects planned by the former Labor governments of Morris Iemma and Nathan Rees, which were also to be run by Mr Staples. The government plans to release updated designs of the new lines later this year, which will include a decision on whether it wants to build a station at Barangaroo, at Waterloo, or at Sydney University. Construction on the project is slated to start in 2017 and finish in 2024.





