Sydney’s CBD and South East Light Rail project has turned into an urban construction nightmare featuring delays, cost overruns and a bitter legal dispute with a major subcontractor. Is the project a case of political point-scoring overriding commercial sense and technical reality?
Light rail systems have the potential to help solve some of the major problems that spring up in the world’s increasingly busy cities. Trams can provide a fast and reliable option for travellers taking short trips, while offering the possibility of viably pedestrianising key streets to reduce congestion, revitalise the local economy and cut inner-city carbon emissions, all of which are high on the agenda for urban policymakers.
But while the potential benefits are enticing, light rail projects such as trams and monorails are notoriously complex to plan and pull off, particularly in densely-packed urban centres, and the eventual benefits often don’t meet the lofty expectations set at a project’s outset. The tendency for troubled, underwhelming light rail projects to fall flat is prevalent enough that it even got a high-profile pop culture mention courtesy of The Simpsons in the early 90s: the show’s ‘Marge vs the Monorail’ episode sees the town of Springfield hoodwinked by a slick scam artist into spending lavishly on an unnecessary monorail system, with amusingly disastrous results.
In the real world, the consequences of failed or ill-conceived light rail projects aren’t a good source of laughs. With huge investments on the line and long periods of inconvenience for commuters and small businesses while districts are re-configured for light rail operations, air-tight planning is essential to keep work schedules on track and budgets under control.
In Sydney, the ongoing construction of the CBD and South East Light Rail project, which will connect the city’s central business district (CBD) with the suburbs of Randwick and Kingsford, is today acting as an unfortunate showcase of the risks of urban light rail development and the paramount importance of rigorous planning.
The CBD and South East Light Rail project was first announced in December 2012, consisting of a 12.5km, 19-stop tram line between Circular Quay and the CBD before splitting into two branches terminating at Randwick and Kingsford. The plan was sold to Sydneysiders as an effective, high-capacity means of cutting traffic congestion on the economically vital George Street, 40% of which will be pedestrianised under the plan. The then-Transport Minister for New South Wales (NSW) Gladys Berejiklian, who became the state’s Premier in 2017, warned at the time that traffic congestion in the CBD would “only get worse” without quick action.
“With the introduction of light rail and the redesigned bus network announced today, we will be able to significantly reduce the number of buses clogging the city’s streets and provide fast and reliable links for people to key destinations like the Prince of Wales Hospital, University of NSW, SCG, Allianz Stadium, Moore Park, Central and Circular Quay,” Berejiklian said in 2012.Fast-forward to today and the project is beset with issues. The original completion date for the project was set at March 2019, but a host of technical and legal issues has seen this date pushed back by a year to March 2020. Berejiklian said in August that the government is working “pedal to the metal” to bring the deadline forward to December 2019, while statements made by the project’s Spanish subcontractor Acciona – part of the ALTRAC Light Rail Partnership responsible for the project – put the completion date even further out, at May 2020.
The project’s budget has also ballooned by A$500m, from A$1.6bn at its outset to an estimated A$2.1bn today. The cost increase has prompted the NSW Government to provide a guarantee for $500m in private sector loans.
Last month, Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe highlighted the project as an example of inadequate oversight of infrastructure projects.
“I live in Randwick, so I am living with that substandard governance continuously with the tram,” Lowe said.
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