Sydney's monorail to be dismantled

Sydney, March 23 (IANS) Sydney's monorail is reaching the end of its economic life and will be pulled down, the New South Wales (NSW) government said Friday.

The state government has announced it has bought Metro Transport Sydney that owns the light rail and monorail to clear the way for the monorail's removal, Xinhua reported.

It is part of the plan to re-develop the Darling Harbour Convention Center and precinct in Sydney.

"The monorail is not integrated with Sydney's wider public transport network and has never been truly embraced by the community," NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell said Friday.

"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 real problem with the monorail I think for most Sydneysiders is that it doesn't actually go anywhere that you want to go," he added.

NSW Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian said pulling down the monorail would clear any constraints on the proposed new Darling Harbor Convention Center development.

Under the re-development plan, the monorail will be replaced by an extension of the light rail network.

Berejiklian said the monorail, which began running in 1988, could be removed in two to three years but the government would not know for another 12 to 18 months the exact date of its removal.

"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," she said.