Use Housing Plan to get GWS Trade Gateway Back on Track

Fresh plans to transform the Bays West Precinct are an ideal opportunity to put the abandoned Kembla-Macarthur rail back on track, says leading advocacy group The Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue, and open a global trade gateway. 

With news that the silo operations in Glebe will be moved to Port Kembla no later than 2030 as part of the proposed housing strategy for the inner-west waterfront, Dialogue CEO Adam Leto renewed calls for the Minns Government to prioritise completion of the abandoned Maldon to Dombarton (Kembla-Macarthur) rail line. 

“This is an opportunity to link two powerhouse regions, drive productivity, and future-proof the state’s economy,” Mr Leto said 

“The development of the Bays West Precinct means Port Kembla will now need to do even more of the heavy lifting. Today’s announcement should put a Port Kembla-Macarthur rail link back on the agenda and back on track.  

“Port Kembla is already a major international trade gateway and well-positioned to handle the growth in freight volume – but it will need better connections to construction, logistics and manufacturing sites in South Western Sydney to keep the state’s supply chains running.  

“Western Sydney currently plays a pivotal logistics role. It’s where imported products come to be distributed to supermarket shelves, building sites and industrial precincts across the state.  

“When coupled with the future Western Sydney Freight Line, which is now in the planning stage, the link will ensure the State’s global gateways, Port Kembla, Moorebank Intermodal and the Western Sydney Aerotropolis, are merged into the national freight rail network.” 

Mr Leto said that the soon-to-be-released Illawarra Rail Resilience Plan was an opportunity for the NSW Government to outline how the Kembla-Macarthur Rail Line could be planned, funded and delivered. 

He added that the case to better connect the Illawarra to Western Sydney was now more critical than ever, following the announcement that the port operations unloading cement, gypsum and sugar at Glebe Island will cease in 2030 under the Bays West Precinct proposal to deliver up to 8,500 new homes: 

• Data from 2020 suggested that around 60% of freight travelling to and from Port Kembla was transported by rail on either the Illawarra Line or the Moss Vale Unanderra Line. These operations are already constrained by passenger traffic, and they don’t link well to the South West. 

• The NSW Government has announced a welcome transition package of $270 million to improve road connections and investigate rail freight around Port Kembla. The Dialogue says this funding must include investigations and planning for the Macarthur to Port Kembla rail link, something the Dialogue has long called for.  

CEO Adam Leto added: “Better connecting these two powerhouse regions will help manage the supply chain pressures moving Glebe Island operations will create and keep heavy trucks off already strained local roads.