Parramatta Light Rail Stage 2 is moving ahead, with planning approval granted for the game-changing megaproject for Western Sydney.
It comes after the NSW Labor Government invested $200 million in the 2023-24 NSW Budget to expedite the project's planning processes so construction can begin this term of Parliament.
Parramatta Light Rail Stage 2 will connect Parramatta CBD to Sydney Olympic Park via the growing communities of Camellia, Rydalmere, Ermington, Melrose Park and Wentworth Point.
The 10-kilometre extension will include 14 new light rail stops that will provide residents with a long-awaited public transport link and unlock future housing growth.
The approved light rail corridor includes alignment changes around Rydalmere that will make connections to the Rydalmere Ferry Wharf easier and improve travel times.
Passengers will be able to travel from Sydney Olympic Park to Camellia in around 30 minutes, and on to the Parramatta CBD in another 7 minutes.
Construction will be phased, with initial work to begin later this year on a new 320-metre public and active transport bridge over Parramatta River, between Melrose Park and Wentworth Point.
Procurement to deliver the $602.4 million bridge is underway, with the initial contract for enabling works expected to be awarded later this year. This is the first stage in delivering Parramatta Light Rail Stage 2, with main construction work on the bridge expected to start in 2025.
The bridge will connect the growing communities of Melrose Park and Wentworth Point, located north and south of the river. It will be the first significant bridge crossing over Parramatta River since the completion of the southbound Ryde Bridge in 1987 - nearly 40 years ago.
Enabling works on the bridge are subject to approval by the Federal Minister for the Environment and Water, and the NSW Government looks forward to a positive outcome of this process in the coming months.
Find out more about the Parramatta Light Rail project
Find out more about the Determination and Conditions of Approval
Parramatta Light Rail Stage 2 will be part of Parramatta's first tram network in over 80 years. Tram testing is currently underway on Parramatta Light Rail Stage 1 between Carlingford and Westmead via the Parramatta CBD.
Transport Minister Jo Haylen said:
"This is a major step forward for the city-shaping Parramatta Light Rail Stage 2 project, meaning our growing communities in Western Sydney will be more connected than ever before.
"With around half of local residents and a third of local employees projected to live and work across the project corridor, this new track will serve a population of close to 280,000 by 2041.
"Stage 2 will directly link residents in Parramatta to the Sydney Olympic Park precinct and give communities like Wentworth Point the public transport they've been promised."
Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, Paul Scully said:
"It's great news that the Parramatta Light Rail Stage 2 project has been given the green light. Density in our cities is only possible if we can provide the supporting infrastructure, and that includes transport.
"The previous government announced and re-announced this project 17 times, we're getting on with it.
"People bought in growing communities in the centre of our city on the promise of future public transport links. The previous government couldn't deliver on that promise, we will.
"The NSW Government will continue to work closely with its partners and stakeholders so that the Conditions of Approval are met for the ongoing delivery of this vital megaproject."
Member for Parramatta Donna Davis MP said:
"I am thrilled the NSW Government has reached this milestone in the planning of Parramatta Light Rail Stage 2.
"I will continue to work with residents, businesses, and local groups to ensure vital transport links this one are delivered for our community.
"Parramatta Light Rail Stage 2 will connect communities on both banks of the Parramatta River directly to the Parramatta CBD. This will be a real game changer for the way people move around our city and I can't wait to see work begin."
