An article in the Daily Telegraph on 11 November discusses a study into the use of Richmond Airport for civilian operations to assist with congestion at Kingsford Smith airport. It includes the statement "passengers could get to Parramatta twenty minutes quicker from Badgery's creek than from the Richmond air base". But if Richmond is to serve as a secondary airport to Sydney airport many of the people using Richmond would want to get quickly to Sydney airport, not Parramatta.
Did the study consider the effect of the North West Rail Link on the viability of Richmond? If the NWRL was extended to Richmond, the viability of Richmond as a local hub airline would improve dramatically.
At present the NWRL is to stop at Rouse Hill, 20km short. But an extension to take it on to Richmond, above ground the whole way, would be relatively cheap to build, especially if built as part of the existing 24km build programme, most of which is underground. However you could not expect tired airline passengers to stand all the way between Sydney and Richmond. So the viability of this extension is called into question by the NSW government's plan to build a metro style train, or specifically to build the tunnels with too small diameter to service full size passenger trains if Richmond does become a commercial airport.
Another argument against the Mickey Mouse Railway!
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