4 ms·

The new Nancy Bird Walton airport in western Sydney is interesting. The existing airport is very close to the CBD and residential areas, and completely hemmed i

The new Nancy Bird Walton airport in western Sydney is interesting. The existing airport is very close to the CBD and residential areas, and completely hemmed in by those and the bay it sits next to, so has little room to expand. It's also subject to a strict curfew being so close to residential areas. The new airport is huge, being built at an impressive speed, and is going to be on a new metro line (which strangely doesn't link up to the existing metro lines in Sydney, and won't have a direct non-stop rail link). It's being built in a location that's currently "the middle of nowhere" so that it has scope to expand (they're currently building about half of what's already been planned for).

showerst 3y ago
Sounds very similar to Dulles in Washington DC. We eventually ran a rail line to it, and it eventually wasn’t the middle of nowhere any more. Hopefully the rail link takes less than 60 years in your case =)
- skeeter2020 3y ago
  Similar to our Airport in Calgary, AB. They built a tunnel under a new runway as part of their expansion, including specific right-of-way for rail extension from the downtown, and still there's nothing connecting it. Meanwhile they're going to drive a train right through the downtown core, connecting a light industrial area to the south with a ritzy residential area to the north, rather than the relatively easy and inexpensive line extension to the airport. I think a requirement of being a world-class city is you can take direct mass transit from the airport to the downtown core, but not here.
- rmccue 3y ago
  Sydney Metro is being expanded out to it; construction's already underway, and is targeted at opening at the same time as the airport: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Sydney_Airport_line https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Sydney_Airport_line
  - dkdbejwi383 3y ago
    Yeah, but it doesn’t link up with the M1 line so there’s no interchange. Also the rolling stock isn’t compatible as it uses a different power system to the other lines, and the trains are a slightly different size making them incompatible with the M1/2 lines
- Cheer2171 3y ago
  Dulles is very much still in the middle of nowhere for me. It takes an hour to go from Capitol Hill to Dulles on the Silver Line, usually longer or about the same time than driving in rush hour. It is 11 minutes to DCA on the Yellow Line. What has made Dulles not the middle of nowhere is the growth in the Northwest VA suburbs, Reston, Ashburn, all those server farms and defense contractors shifting the center of gravity in the DC region.
sidewndr46 3y ago
This sounds like Australia hired some consultants from the US for the design. In particular the metro to nowhere part.
uncertainrhymes 3y ago
Several times my flight from LA to Sydney would get a good tailwind, arrive early, then just circle out in the ocean so they could land after 6:30 am and avoid a giant fine.
throwws1234 3y ago
Not sure it is in the middle of nowhere. Last time I checked the Sydney basin isn't that large and is geologically bounded as a "smog basin". Its only about 7 miles/10km to all the suburbia around it by map - in all directions but the south which ironically recent flight paths were not marked in that one direction. Given due to mountains and airspace restrictions around that area flights are going to go over existing housing present quite some time back (30 years +). Its also oddly an airport not near sea for noise abatement in what is mostly a coastal bound city. Knowing Australian real estate I'm pretty sure land around there was already marked for development before the airport was proposed as well (Oran Park, Twin Creeks) with many established suburbs in the flight path vicinity as evidenced by all the local news reports (Penrith was mentioned a lot just doing a google search now). This was more of a case where the NIMBY's lost out for once I think. But generally NIMBYs in lower social economic areas generally do lose out which is what Western Sydney is. Its only the wealthier suburbs who successfully lobby against development in general. This is common worldwide; and an effective strategy to build more airports - place them in areas where its much harder for the community to build resistance (time poor, not as well connected to powerful interests, less wealthy, etc). The sad part about this, as the article alludes to, is that the benefits are diffuse and are often enjoyed by people in areas not in the vicinity of the airport. The costs (noise, air pollution, etc) are borne by the locals.

showerst 3y ago

Sounds very similar to Dulles in Washington DC. We eventually ran a rail line to it, and it eventually wasn’t the middle of nowhere any more. Hopefully the rail link takes less than 60 years in your case =)

skeeter2020 3y ago
Similar to our Airport in Calgary, AB. They built a tunnel under a new runway as part of their expansion, including specific right-of-way for rail extension from the downtown, and still there's nothing connecting it. Meanwhile they're going to drive a train right through the downtown core, connecting a light industrial area to the south with a ritzy residential area to the north, rather than the relatively easy and inexpensive line extension to the airport. I think a requirement of being a world-class city is you can take direct mass transit from the airport to the downtown core, but not here.
rmccue 3y ago
Sydney Metro is being expanded out to it; construction's already underway, and is targeted at opening at the same time as the airport: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Sydney_Airport_line https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Sydney_Airport_line
- dkdbejwi383 3y ago
  Yeah, but it doesn’t link up with the M1 line so there’s no interchange. Also the rolling stock isn’t compatible as it uses a different power system to the other lines, and the trains are a slightly different size making them incompatible with the M1/2 lines
Cheer2171 3y ago
Dulles is very much still in the middle of nowhere for me. It takes an hour to go from Capitol Hill to Dulles on the Silver Line, usually longer or about the same time than driving in rush hour. It is 11 minutes to DCA on the Yellow Line. What has made Dulles not the middle of nowhere is the growth in the Northwest VA suburbs, Reston, Ashburn, all those server farms and defense contractors shifting the center of gravity in the DC region.

sidewndr46 3y ago

This sounds like Australia hired some consultants from the US for the design. In particular the metro to nowhere part.

uncertainrhymes 3y ago

Several times my flight from LA to Sydney would get a good tailwind, arrive early, then just circle out in the ocean so they could land after 6:30 am and avoid a giant fine.

throwws1234 3y ago

Not sure it is in the middle of nowhere. Last time I checked the Sydney basin isn't that large and is geologically bounded as a "smog basin". Its only about 7 miles/10km to all the suburbia around it by map - in all directions but the south which ironically recent flight paths were not marked in that one direction. Given due to mountains and airspace restrictions around that area flights are going to go over existing housing present quite some time back (30 years +). Its also oddly an airport not near sea for noise abatement in what is mostly a coastal bound city. Knowing Australian real estate I'm pretty sure land around there was already marked for development before the airport was proposed as well (Oran Park, Twin Creeks) with many established suburbs in the flight path vicinity as evidenced by all the local news reports (Penrith was mentioned a lot just doing a google search now). This was more of a case where the NIMBY's lost out for once I think. But generally NIMBYs in lower social economic areas generally do lose out which is what Western Sydney is. Its only the wealthier suburbs who successfully lobby against development in general. This is common worldwide; and an effective strategy to build more airports - place them in areas where its much harder for the community to build resistance (time poor, not as well connected to powerful interests, less wealthy, etc). The sad part about this, as the article alludes to, is that the benefits are diffuse and are often enjoyed by people in areas not in the vicinity of the airport. The costs (noise, air pollution, etc) are borne by the locals.