Residents can now get a first look at the Parramatta Light Rail alignment with new artist impressions providing a glimpse into how it will integrate into the surrounding urban landscape.
The project is certainly gaining momentum, with track work well underway from Westmead to Carlingford.
Parramatta MP Geoff Lee said the new artist impressions offer insight into how
Greater Parramatta will be revitalised by the project.
“These artist impressions highlight how the light rail will integrate into the surrounding urban landscape, including a new cycling and walking path, and transform parts of Parramatta that have been crying out for attention for a very long time,” he said.
“We know construction work can be disruptive; these images point to the light at the end of the tunnel and show it will be worth the wait.”
The artist impressions depict a first look of the light rail at Westmead and the Cumberland Hospital Precinct.
They also show the design of the alignment at Tramway Avenue where trams from the former Duck River tramway ran from 1883 to 1943, the alignment between Carlingford and Camellia, where the former T6 heavy rail line is being converted to light rail; and visions of ‘Eat Street’ in Parramatta’s CBD.
Dr Lee said the images “tell the story of a modernised Parramatta of the future”.
Construction has begun on the ‘active transport link’, encouraging different transport modes between destinations including Carlingford to Camellia and in the Cumberland Hospital Precinct.
The largest section, spanning five kilometres, will run parallel to the light rail corridor between Camellia and Carlingford.
A shared walking and cycling path will also connect the Cumberland Hospital Precinct to The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, and a third will run along Tramway Avenue in the Parramatta CBD.
Dr Lee said 19 per cent of the active transport link has already been constructed, with more than 2300 metres of retaining walls and 960 metres of path built alongside the light rail alignment.
“From the active transport link, you will be able to connect easily to the light rail network and other types of public transport, including taking your bicycle on the tram,” he said.
More images of the alignment will be released in the coming months.
The $2.4 billion Parramatta Light Rail is expected to open in 2023.
For more information, visit http://www.parramattalightrail.nsw.gov.au.
Troy Dodds is Parra News' Managing Editor and Breaking News Reporter. He has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working with some of Australia’s leading media organisations. In 2023, he was named Editor of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.