Unique partnership aims to fast-track rail to Yanchep

Councillors voted unanimously at last night’s council meeting to support a proposal, which involves a partnership between State and Federal government and Yanchep Beach Joint Venture (YBJV) and is believed to be an Australian first of this scale.

YBJV has made an offer of approximately $120 million cash and in-kind for construction of the rail to Yanchep including a new station at Yanchep.

Mayor Tracey Roberts said Council was also encouraging all landowners in the area to work together and build the case for early delivery, bringing benefits to all communities in the fast growing northern suburbs.

“By 2020, there is expected to be 95,000 people residing in the corridor between Tamala Park and Two Rocks – and by 2031 that number is expected to soar to 150,000,” Mayor Roberts said.

“Our region desperately needs the rapid delivery of this vital infrastructure to cater for the population already residing in these suburbs, in addition to our future residents. It will provide so many benefits, including the reduction of commuting times which would therefore improve health, social wellbeing and productivity,” Mayor Roberts said.

“Early provision of rail will also support local employment and create vibrant, mixed-use centres as well as enabling the first stages of tertiary and technical trades, education and commercial development.

“Everybody recognises that rail to Yanchep needs to happen – it has always been a question of when. We have concerns about the State government’s current timeframes which pushed the Yanchep rail back from 2020 to post 2025.

“It is therefore imperative that our community gets behind this much needed piece of infrastructure now and help bring it forward by signing up to the Fund Our Future campaign.”

Mayor Roberts said the proposal tied in neatly with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s recent Smart Cities Plan which promotes investments that enable partnerships between governments and the private sector, delivering better infrastructure sooner.

“Our Fund Our Future campaign talks about the importance of better transport connections for our residents and rail plays a very important role. We have an opportunity to work with our landowners and other levels of government to deliver an amazing outcome for the benefit of our communities.”