Developers put their hand up to help cover Metro West, in exchange for thousands of homes

Developers say they are willing to contribute hundreds of millions of dollars towards the cost of new stations along the beleaguered Metro West line, but only if they're allowed to build thousands of extra homes around the stations. Key points: The fate of the Metro West line remains uncertain after Chris Minns refused to guarantee its continuation Developers have put their hand up to help foot the cost of the multi-billion dollar project However, they would like to build extra homes around new stations in return Chris Minns has this week repeatedly refused to guarantee the underground line connecting Parramatta to the CBD will go ahead, saying the cost has now blown out to $25 billion from its original estimate of $16 billion. "The bottom line is we have to work out a way to pay for Metro West that doesn't destroy the budget," Mr Minns said. While the Metro West was originally envisioned to slash travel times between the Sydney CBD and Parramatta to about 20 minutes and provide faster connections to the future Western Sydney airport, adding stations would naturally mean journeys along the line will take longer. Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said despite the cost blowout the NSW government must not walk away from the Metro West project.