The Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport project in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, has received its third and final planning approval from the federal government.
The final approval was in connection to the 3.3km of twin-rail tunnel, 2km of surface track alignment within the Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport boundary, along with two stations.
The move comes around two months after the NSW government granted planning approval for the driverless metro project.
According to a Sydney Metro statement, the tunnelling contract is expected to be awarded by the end of this year while the tunnel boring machines will commence operations in 2023.
The 23km-long driverless metro line will stretch from western Sydney to the new Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport to improve the city’s public transport system.
The Australian and NSW Governments are jointly delivering the project that will feature six stations between St Marys and the Western Sydney Aerotropolis, including two stations at the airport.
It is expected to carry up to 7,740 commuters every hour in both directions.
It will also reduce local traffic by taking roughly 110,000 vehicles off local roads every day.
The Sydney Metro statement added: “The 23km driverless metro is delivering a vital boost to the Australian and NSW economies, with the new metro line expected to support about 14,000 jobs, including 250 apprentices.”
Preliminary works for the Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport began in December last year.
