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 < Back Democrats Urge 'Granville-Chatswood' Rail Option August 22nd 2003 - NSW Democrat, Dr Arthur Chesterfield-Evans has written to Transport Minister Michael Costa to urge him to consider the Granville-Chatswood option, as much cheaper, but with most of the benefits of the original Parramatta-Chatswood option. 'The key is to continue the tunnel the extra 5.2km from Epping to Carlingford', said Dr Chesterfield-Evans. 'With a Y-link at Granville, this will allow trains to go from Parramatta to Granville, up the Carlingford line, then on to Chatswood. Trains from Campbelltown and Liverpool could also go via Granville to Chatswood'. 'The current line 8.7km line from Epping to Chatswood will not help western Sydney at all, as it is not practical to go to Strathfield, up to Epping and then across to Chatswood. It cannot be properly integrated into the whole network. So if only this part is built it will not get much use, yet will have most of the cost of the Granville-Chatswood solution. The key savings are in not building the Parramatta station complex, rather than stopping the Carlingford to Epping part which is the most cost-effective segment'. 'The extra 5.2km will proportionally not cost nearly as much as the existing contract as the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) is in place, and most of the costs are in the infrastructure and setting up. If this is built at a later date, it will cost a lot more, as all the tunnelling equipment will all have to be set up again', concluded Dr Chesterfield-Evans. |
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updated:
October 31, 2003
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