From the NEWS.COM:
NSW monorail to be pulled down - Premier Barry O'Farrell
From: AAP
March 23, 2012 11:06AM
Monorail is not "integrated" into public transport
Government bought out the monorail owner
Will allow new development in the city
In case you missed it - The Simpsons monorail song
The Sydney Monorail, which has long been considered a folly will be pulled down.
In a move reminiscent of a Simpsons plotline, the NSW state government has acknowledged the monorail is doomed.
Premier Barry O'Farrell today announced the government has bought the company that owns the monorail to clear the way for its removal.
"The monorail is not integrated with Sydney's wider public transport network and has never been truly embraced by the community," he said.
"The monorail is reaching the end of its economic life and the NSW Government cannot justify costly upgrades like the purchase of new vehicles required to keep it running."
The monorail, which came into service in 1988, could be pulled down in two to three years but the government will not know for another 12 to 18 months the exact date of its removal.
The State Government has bought Metro Transport Sydney (MTS) for $19.8 million.
NSW Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian said tearing down the monorail would remove any constraints on the proposed new convention centre development in Darling Harbour.
It is expected to be completed by 2015-16.
Buying out MTS gave the Government greater flexibility when it came to planning future public transport, particularly proposed extensions to the light rail network, she said.
"It means our options have increased in relation to light rail," she said in Sydney.
"Our options have increased in relation to how we integrate the convention centre with other modes of public transport.
"The monorail's been around for 20 years, and many argue that its use-by date has arrived, and that is certainly the Government's position."
Mr O'Farrell said the monorail struggled right from the start, with patronage figures in its first two years half that predicted by the Unsworth Labor government.
"The real problem with the monorail I think for most Sydneysiders is that it doesn't actually go anywhere that you want to go," he said.
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