WORK on a train line providing express trains to shave 10 minutes from a journey between Penrith and the Sydney CBD will not start until 2015.

Jan Leyshon (left), of Cranebrook, and Marion Wedd, of Penrith, caught the eye at Penrith station earlier this month when they set out on a Red Hat Club outing. Picture: MELVYN KNIPE

The proposed 5km tunnel, which was listed as a “priority” in the State Government’s Metropolitan Transport Plan released this week, would see a new track built from Eveleigh to Wynyard.

Under the $4.5 million City Relief Line, western Sydney commuters would get an express train service to Richmond, Penrith, Blacktown and Parramatta.

Eight new underground platforms at Redfern, Railway Square near Central, Town Hall and Wynyard capable of accommodating longer 12-car trains are included in the plan.

“This will eliminate the need for western trains to merge with suburban tracks before reaching the CBD,” the report said.

It would also address the fundamental capacity bottleneck of Illawarra Junction, which limited the government’s ability to run extra services on the north, south and inner west lines.

“It achieves full separation of express, suburban and local lines,” the report said.

“Once separated and with the addition of Automatic Train Protection, we can significantly increase the number of trains on the track.”

As part of the plan – which has no completion date – about 5000 extra seats would ultimately be provided from Parramatta to the city at peak hour.

The $50.2 billion strategy maps out the future of Sydney’s public transport system for the next 10 years and predicts the number of jobs in the northwest will grow by 61,180.

Premier Kristina Keneally said the plan was “fully funded” after the scrapping of the CBD Metro and a new vehicle weight tax that would raise $500 million in 10 years.

MAYOR Kevin Crameri has welcomed the plan for a fast train service between Penrith and Sydney. “Penrith City Council had been lobbying for these sorts of outcomes for many years and that the extra capacity and faster times for the western rail lines would be welcomed by commuters,” he said.