THE first tunnel boring machine on Sydney's North West Rail Link has broken through into the future Norwest station and the project is already ahead of schedule and under budget.

A CONTRACT has been signed between the New South Wales state government and the Altrac Light Rail consortium (previously known as Connecting Sydney) for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the $A 2.1bn ($US 1.72bn) Sydney CBD and South East Light Rail line.

Construction is finally underway on Sydney's North West Rail Link which is scheduled to open in 2019. The project could revolutionise urban transport planning in Australia, as Mark Carter reports.

THE New South Wales state government looks set to continue its love affair with light rail, announcing four route options as the first step in the creation of a new light rail network for Sydney's western suburbs centered on Parramatta.

NEW South Wales (NSW) transport minister Ms Gladys Berejklian has announced that the Connecting Sydney consortium has been selected as preferred bidder to build and operate Sydney's CBD and South East Light Rail line.

THE government of New South Wales has confirmed that it has awarded the Northwest Rapid Transit consortium a $A 3.7bn ($US 3.48bn) operations, trains and systems contract for Sydney's $A 8.3bn North West Rail Link (NWRL), which includes a €298m rolling stock and signalling deal with Alstom.

THE government of the Australian state of New South Wales announced this week that the first of four tunnel boring machines has begun excavating the twin 15km tunnels required for Sydney's North West Rail Link between Rouse Hill and Epping.

THE Australian state of New South Wales has announced that the Northwest Rapid Transit consortium has been selected as the preferred operator for the $A 8.3bn ($US 7.79bn) North West Rail Link in Sydney.

THE government of the Australian state of New South Wales has committed $A 9bn ($US 8.35bn) to current and future heavy and light rail projects in its 2014-15 budget, including more than $A 1.5bn this year.

THE New South Wales (NSW) state government has announced that Australia's largest city Sydney will see the expansion of the planned 'metro' concept to include the city centre and western suburbs to cope with demand for rail services which is forecast to increase by 50% or more over the next 20 years.