"With more than 300,000 new residents expected to move into the South West Growth Centre in the next 30 years, we need to plan to connect these new communities and the Western Sydney airport to public transport and Sydney's major arterial roads," Constance said.
"It's early days for the South West Rail Link extension, Outer Sydney Orbital and the Bells Line of Road - Castlereagh Connection projects, but the NSW Government is not limited to building current projects. Planning for the future is vital to keep our state evolving.
"The NSW Long Term Transport Master Plan, NSW Freight and Ports Strategy and State Infrastructure Strategy acknowledged a need to identify and preserve transport corridors for the future and provide certainty in planning for growth in Sydney's west. We are following those recommendations for a vital and fast-growing part of Sydney.
"This includes the next stage of work to refine a corridor for the South West Rail Link extension following initial consultation with the community last year."
Gay said although the Outer Sydney Orbital and the Bells Line of Road – Castlereagh Connection projects are not scheduled to start work for decades – preserving the corridor was important now.
"Freight volumes are forecast to double by 2031 as the growing population and economy drives demand for goods, especially imports shipped by container – so ample road and rail solutions are imperative," Gay said.
"The Orbital plans to be a future north-south corridor that would link the M1 to the Hume Highway. The Bells Line of Road project would be a future link from the lower Hawkesbury to the Sydney Motorway Network."
Public consultation will be carried out in the next two months to help the Transport for NSW project team gather information for consideration in identifying these corridors. Results will be presented back to the community for feedback later.
