Western Sydney Airport (WSI) Discussion

[AuSammy]

Sydney proper



Maybe WSI is in the wrong side of the railway track

 

[Aeryn]

Doubt anyone on Northern Beaches will be using WSI, if they complain about distance to SYD cant imagine would want to go even further with less PT to WSI.

From northern beaches there are regular busses to city from where you can get train direct to SYD. And an uber or taxi to SYD from Northern beaches also much cheaper than to WSI.

Transferring from D to I at SYD is easy, use the airside bus, or the landside bus or the train or an uber/taxi. Funny how the SYD haters complain constantly and dont even live in Sydney, yet never mention BNE or PER which is same set up but lacking an airside transfer.

Not sure why check in would be any easier at WSI than any other aussie airport, its all online and automated bag drop pretty much everywhere now. No waiting at SYD ime. SYD also already has the new xray machines where you dont have to take anything out of your bags at security, so no different to WSI.

 

[PineappleSkip]

Just looking at the promised bus journey times, and the stated times from WSI aren’t promising. 60 minutes to Mt Druitt station, 55-67 minutes to Liverpool.

Looking at the local connectivity times suggests that Leppington Station looks like the sweet spot for Revesby, my usual destination in SW Sydney, with about 30 minutes by bus to Leppington and similar by train to Revesby. I’ll give it a burl, but it will be a once off for the novelty value. Revesby is 15 minutes by train from SYD.

If you’re heading to the City it’s 50 minutes by train from Mt Druitt, or an hour and a quarter from Leppington, so either way about 2 hours point to point.

 

[LionKing]

Just looking at the promised bus journey times, and the stated times from WSI aren’t promising. 60 minutes to Mt Druitt station, 55-67 minutes to Liverpool.

Looking at the local connectivity times suggests that Leppington Station looks like the sweet spot for Revesby, my usual destination in SW Sydney, with about 30 minutes by bus to Leppington and similar by train to Revesby. I’ll give it a burl, but it will be a once off for the novelty value. Revesby is 15 minutes by train from SYD.

If you’re heading to the City it’s 50 minutes by train from Mt Druitt, or an hour and a quarter from Leppington, so either way about 2 hours point to point.

View attachment 501680

So by SQ201 arrived WSI, all busses would have gone.

Therefore millions of Singaporeans, Malaysians and Indonesians who just arrived in Australia to study, dig gold, work hard and earn money and make real contribution to our society must first suffer from sleeping in the airport overnight or pay $150 for Uber to their hotel or Airbnb.

How fair are we to treat our neighbours like that.

WSI will not only serve Western Sydneysiders. They will serve mainly those who are studying, working (digging gold) and touring Australia, and most of those activities are in Eastern Sydney, that's just a fact.

There's no tourist destination in Western Sydney, and I presume at least half of passengers on SIN-WSI are on 482, 485, 500 and 600 visas.

 

[AuSammy]

So by SQ201 arrived WSI, all busses would have gone.

Therefore millions of Singaporeans, Malaysians and Indonesians who just arrived in Australia to study, dig gold, work hard and earn money and make real contribution to our society must first suffer from sleeping in the airport overnight or pay $150 for Uber to their hotel or Airbnb.

How fair are we to treat our neighbours like that.

WSI will not only serve Western Sydneysiders. They will serve mainly those who are studying, working (digging gold) and touring Australia, and most of those activities are in Eastern Sydney, that's just a fact.

There's no tourist destination in Western Sydney, and I presume at least half of passengers on SIN-WSI are on 482, 485, 500 and 600 visas.

Come on be real.

Firstly there are not anywhere near to being millions

Secondly if there is a choice anyone with a scrap of intelligence would pick the best destination airport to suit their requirements and not go out of their way to be stranded.

 

[stu961]

Doubt anyone on Northern Beaches will be using WSI, if they complain about distance to SYD cant imagine would want to go even further with less PT to WSI.

From northern beaches there are regular busses to city from where you can get train direct to SYD. And an uber or taxi to SYD from Northern beaches also much cheaper than to WSI.

Transferring from D to I at SYD is easy, use the airside bus, or the landside bus or the train or an uber/taxi. Funny how the SYD haters complain constantly and dont even live in Sydney, yet never mention BNE or PER which is same set up but lacking an airside transfer.

Not sure why check in would be any easier at WSI than any other aussie airport, its all online and automated bag drop pretty much everywhere now. No waiting at SYD ime. SYD also already has the new xray machines where you dont have to take anything out of your bags at security, so no different to WSI.

Doubt anyone on Northern Beaches will be using WSI, if they complain about distance to SYD cant imagine would want to go even further with less PT to WSI.

From northern beaches there are regular busses to city from where you can get train direct to SYD. And an uber or taxi to SYD from Northern beaches also much cheaper than to WSI.

Transferring from D to I at SYD is easy, use the airside bus, or the landside bus or the train or an uber/taxi. Funny how the SYD haters complain constantly and dont even live in Sydney, yet never mention BNE or PER which is same set up but lacking an airside transfer.

Not sure why check in would be any easier at WSI than any other aussie airport, its all online and automated bag drop pretty much everywhere now. No waiting at SYD ime. SYD also already has the new xray machines where you dont have to take anything out of your bags at security, so no different to WSI.

It's not complaining about the distance to SYD, it's the "Very easy to get to with choice of fast Uber, Train or Bus"... SYD is great for a lot of people but not for everyone, having a choice is better than no choice.

 

[elanshin]

SYD was still the first airport in Australia to get a rail link on a line that connects into others. So yes it may have taken the Olympics to get it opened, but its not a side connection to one not very popular station aka St Mary's that WSI will eventually have.

Its already signalled that the extension of the leppington line will likely happen. In the Sydney transport master plans, the extension of the western metro goes through WSI (thats the city - Parramatta line being built now). The high speed rail project has WSI as a terminus at 2042 (still to be approved). I'd say that there's going yo be solid support going forward.

Again i would stop trying to judge and justify WSI in day one. If in 5-10 years its run down and no one using it then sure it failed. But trying to shoot it down before it even opened makes little sense.

 

[LionKing]

Doubt anyone on Northern Beaches will be using WSI, if they complain about distance to SYD cant imagine would want to go even further with less PT to WSI.

From northern beaches there are regular busses to city from where you can get train direct to SYD. And an uber or taxi to SYD from Northern beaches also much cheaper than to WSI.

Driving to WSI will become much faster from Northern Beaches from 2027.

Once Western Harbour Tunnel is completed and operational, you can travel all the way Motorway from North Sydney, Chatswood, Mosman, Manly rect to WSI via M8, M4, M7, M12 on Uber.

Moreover, with the new SQ201/202, I can forsee many students will be bringing luggages and Uber drivers will have a big windfall with many international students hailing Uber to go to WSI from USyd, UNSW, Macquarie, UTS etc. to WSI because it will connect with China and India services very well than SYD, which may require an even more expensive overnight stay in Changi or Katong.

 

[clifford]

Driving to WSI will become much faster from Northern Beaches from 2027.

Once Western Harbour Tunnel is completed and operational, you can travel all the way Motorway from North Sydney, Chatswood, Mosman, Manly rect to WSI via M8, M4, M7, M12 on Uber.

Moreover, with the new SQ201/202, I can forsee many students will be bringing luggages and Uber drivers will have a big windfall with many international students hailing Uber to go to WSI from USyd, UNSW, Macquarie, UTS etc. to WSI because it will connect with China and India services very well than SYD, which may require an even more expensive overnight stay in Changi or Katong.

Yes that's wonderful, but why would anyone bother? I wont.

 

[dajop]

Lots of talk of public transport options. Often these are geared towards workers.

The other and most likely option is private operators running express buses. Likely to see an AVV style Skybus that could be schedule coordinated with flights, at least initially. So you would have an 11:30pm bus after SQ arrival at 10:30pm (or something like that) that might cost $40 to deliver passengers straight to Central Station. (Or to Parramatta Station).

 

[http_x92]

I think some operator will definitely try the City to WSI when there is enough patronage, taking the M8, M5, the M7 and M12. Would take about an hourish

 

[LionKing]

Lots of talk of public transport options. Often these are geared towards workers.

The other and most likely option is private operators running express buses. Likely to see an AVV style Skybus that could be schedule coordinated with flights, at least initially. So you would have an 11:30pm bus after SQ arrival at 10:30pm (or something like that) that might cost $40 to deliver passengers straight to Central Station. (Or to Parramatta Station).

That's what exactly I am thinking.

I am sure some operators will be interested in having some coach service to the city.

 

[L2.]

Looking at the local connectivity times suggests that Leppington Station looks like the sweet spot for Revesby, my usual destination in SW Sydney, with about 30 minutes by bus to Leppington and similar by train to Revesby. I’ll give it a burl, but it will be a once off for the novelty value. Revesby is 15 minutes by train from SYD.

If you’re heading to the City it’s 50 minutes by train from Mt Druitt, or an hour and a quarter from Leppington, so either way about 2 hours point to point.

You can get from Leppington to Central in 53 minutes if you swap trains at Glenfield onto the T8 line. It's a very easy timed connection across the platform.

It sounds like initially this would most likely be the fastest PT route from WSI to the Sydney CBD in about 90 minutes.

This journey also passes through SYD, so it would also help to rub in the comparative distance of WSI.

 

[Eastwick20]

Look no one is expecting Western Sydney Airport to be a major hub with hundreds of flights from day one or even the 1st decade I would argue.

It hasn’t been built for today’s demand, its been built to future proof aviation in Sydney, which like it or not is the main gateway to Australia for Business/Leisure and will most likely remain so.

I think the fact that they’ve built a relatively modest terminal designed for light traffic in the early years but one that can be expanded easily when needed seems sensible and realistic to me?

Of course, SYD will always remain the most popular airport because of its proximity to the CBD but the hard reality is it has physical limitations and at some point there will be no room left to expand, then what?

I live in Melbourne so I have no skin in the game but I don't get negativity around WSI
Hasn't WSI been built to complement, not take away from SYD?

Surely having 2 great airport choices depending on what's going to suit you best is a good thing right?

 

[mel-world]

I agree. I've been following along here slightly bemused by the negativity towards WSI in this thread.

So many major cities have (and need) a space constricted airport close to the centre and another major facility a long way from town. HND/NRT and GMP/ICN are just two examples that come to mind. Given time WSI could well be a busy facility given its 24 hour operation and space for more freight facilities. It would need a dedicated express train but there is time for that - us Melbournites are still waiting.

 

[kookaburra75]

It would need a dedicated express train but there is time for that - us Melbournites are still waiting.

It did take 80 years for SYD to get a train connection. And in Melbourne, at least Essendon Airport had a tram connection before they opened up the 'new' joint out at Tullamarine. I can still remember the press at the time (I was very young then...) when they said no-one wanted to spend the extra time to go out to Tullamarine, as it was in the middle of nowhere.... sound familiar?

 

[AuSammy]

when they said no-one wanted to spend the extra time to go out to Tullamarine, as it was in the middle of nowhere.... sound familiar

I remember in my youth similar naysayers saying Tullamarine was a “white elephant” and a total waste of money

 

[kookaburra75]

I remember in my youth similar naysayers saying Tullamarine was a “white elephant” and a total waste of money

It was pretty cool when Concorde flew in and you could go and walk through it. I'm not sure what WSI could pull off to match that.

 

[Aeryn]

MEL is 20km from Melbourne CBD, WSI is 50km from Sydney CBD. SYD at 10kms from CBD will always have a huge advantage over WSI for tourists and most Sydneysiders.

When Tullamarine opened it replaced Essenden so it was always guaranteed usage because there was no alternative. So not really a comparative situation to WSI, where SYD is a real alternative.

Avalon (which is only 5kms further from CBD than WSI) on the otherhand has never really built up a decent user base. Much closer situation to WSI, secondary with fewer passenger services.

 

[AuSammy]

MEL is 20km from Melbourne CBD, WSI is 50km from Sydney CBD. SYD at 10kms from CBD will always have a huge advantage over WSI for tourists and most Sydneysiders.

When Tullamarine opened it replaced Essenden so it was always guaranteed usuage because there was no alternative. Avalon (which is only 5kms further from CBD than WSI) on the otherhand has never really built up a decent user base.

Im absolutely sure every poster in this thread is more than fully aware of your attitude to WSI.