Australian Property News

Proposed Sydney rail link to spur growth

Posted on Thursday, August 12 2010 at 3:14 PM

Carlingford and Rydalmere will be the clear price growth winners if the missing link in Sydney’s rail network is built between Parramatta and Epping by 2017, according to the Urban Taskforce chief executive Aaron Gadiel

If the Australian Labor Party is re-elected this month, its pledge to co-fund the $2.6 billion project with the New South Wales Government would see a 14-kilometre rail link constructed with station upgrades at Parramatta, Telopea, Dundas, Rydalmere and Carlingford, with a new station at Rosehill-Camellia.

Apart from better linking up Parramatta with employment nodes to the northwest of Sydney at Macquarie Park, North Ryde and Chatswood, the new link would reduce travel time between Chatswood and Parramatta by around 25 minutes.

From an investor’s perspective, said Gadiel, the hotspots to look at as a result of this improved infrastructure would be the suburbs seeing an upgraded or new station.

He tips Carlingford and Rydalmere as the top two potential hotspots. Carlingford is Gadiel’s first pick because it currently sits at the end of the Carlingford line and is a single track only.

However by extending the line to Epping, this would convert the line to two tracks and connect the suburb to the north. It would also mean a frequent service to the Sydney CBD.

Because Carlingford is already considered a village with the existing station centrally placed, said Gadiel, this only makes the task of building high density around the station easier.

Rydalmere is Gadiel’s second hotspot pick, partly because it hosts the University of Western Sydney and demonstrates potential to become a buzzing and vibrant hub.

He said that opportunities for student housing would be in high demand in the area.

“At the moment it’s predominantly low-density housing in quiet streets, so to get the best of the government’s investment, zoning for six to eight-storey housing around the station would be required,” said Gadiel.

Other suburbs to significantly benefit from the new infrastructure would include Dundas and Telopea, he said.