The cost of building Western Australia’s new rail system has ballooned again, with an eye-watering $700 million in additional funding allocated to the project in this year’s state budget.
Stage one of the Labor government’s flagship Metronet project climbed $2 billion in 2023 alone, taking the total cost of the network to around $11.5 billion.
The cost of Metronet has blown out - again.Credit: WAtoday
WA Treasurer Rita Saffioti, delivering her first state budget on Thursday, revealed that cost would climb again to more than $12 billion.
The state government will cover the blowout to the tune of $254 million, while the Commonwealth will contribute $453 million – a total of $707 million.
Initially sourced from the reallocated $1.2 billion federal commitment to the now cancelled Perth Freight Link, the cost to Metronet has climbed each year since it was first announced in the 2017-18 federal budget.
Saffioti said the Commonwealth had confirmed they would contribute the larger amount, and it would be included in the federal budget next week.
During her speech on Thursday, she said the Metronet investment would help ensure the community could get to work, education and training opportunities across Perth.
“As cities continue to develop and our population grows, it is those cities that can move their people around quickly and reliably that will gain competitive advantages and continue to prosper,” she said.
She has previously defended the consistent cost jumps and, speaking on Radio 6PR on Thursday morning before the state budget was announced, repeated her defence.
“When you look at how much money we’ve got from the Commonwealth, when you look at the cost of what we’re doing compared to the other states, it’s much more affordable,” she said.
“It lets us create new land releases in key areas where first time buyers go in. So for example, what we’re seeing is a lot of land being sold in the northeast corridor – the Yanchep corridor down to Byford.”
The additional investment means a total of $2.7 billion will be spent on Metronet in the 2024 to 2025 financial year.
Ten Metronet projects are expected to be completed by the end of the year, including the Yanchep rail extension and the Morley-Ellenbrook line.
The latter will span 21 kilometres and has been touted the biggest public transport project since the Mandurah line was built.
With the recent opening of the airport line and new Bayswater station in April, eight projects have already been completed.
Over the next four years, $4.8 billion will be spent on Metronet, supported by $2.9 billion from the Commonwealth.
During question time in parliament on Wednesday, the state government was grilled by Liberal Party leader Libby Mettam, who asked if the budget would be “cushioning more budget blowouts in a mismanaged Metronet project” or whether housing, hospitals and community safety would be prioritised.
Premier Roger Cook claimed Mettam’s questions were full of falsehoods.
On Thursday, he said Metronet would transform Perth suburbs and slash congestion on WA roads.
Saffioti said all up, 17 new train stations and more than 61 kilometres of new track would be delivered, “fundamentally transforming our rail network and many parts of Perth.”
A total of $13.8 billion for ports, road, rail and transport infrastructure across the state has been included in the budget across the next four years.
While the largest chunk of that funding will be placed into Metronet, $373 million has been invested in port facilities across the state, including maintaining the capacity and resilience of infrastructure.
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