Labor promises $6.8b South Coast rail fix days after timetable backflip

In short:

The Minns government has pledged a $6.8 billion upgrade to the South Coast rail line if re-elected.

The project would see the rail line between Kiama and Bomaderry electrified, and passing loops and additional tracks installed.

What's next?

The project would be delivered in the mid to late 2030s.

The New South Wales government has promised to deliver a $6.8 billion upgrade to the South Coast rail line if re-elected next year, days after scrapping a controversial new timetable that would have added more trains for Illawarra commuters.

The plan includes a commitment to deliver on a promise made by Labor at the 2005 NSW election to electrify the line between Kiama and Bomaderry.

That would allow passengers to travel from Sydney to Nowra without changing to the diesel train currently completing the journey.

The South Coast Rail Plan also includes extra tracks and passing loops between Wollongong and Kiama, and a doubling of the tracks between Hurstville and Sutherland to separate passenger and freight trains.

Planning is expected to start in 2027, with construction to be completed by the mid to late 2030s.

Minister for the Illawarra Ryan Park described the upgrade as a "must-have" on a line that was expected to see passenger demand grow by almost 30 per cent by 2041.

"You get increased frequency, you get faster journey times, you get increased reliability," he said.

The project includes $621 million in infrastructure upgrades ahead of the major works, to update power and signalling infrastructure, address flooding and landslips on sections of the line, as well as to improve bushfire resilience.

The announcement comes just two days after the state government scrapped a timetable overhaul planned for November following backlash from commuters who faced longer travel times and the loss of an airport connection at Wolli Creek, in exchange for more frequent T4 and South Coast services.

Mr Park said the government was not considering any other changes in the near future.

"We've got to focus on reliability on those two lines, the T4 and the South Coast, [and] that's our priority going forward," he said.

The government has described the upgrade project as the largest heavy rail infrastructure commitment in generations for the Illawarra and South Coast, and one that has been long-awaited.

A version of the plan was proposed ahead of the 2019 election by then-Liberal incumbent Gareth Ward, but it was dropped in 2023 by the new Labor government, after which the Liberal government also withdrew its support.