As someone who endured six months travelling by public transport from Camden to Parramatta to work each day I welcome Premier Nathan Rees' announcement at the weekend that the Leppington to Glenfield link with commuter parking at Leppington will go ahead after all.

I'm sure anyone who's had to cop that agonising trip to Parramatta at peak hour will agree.

I had the 20ish-minute drive to Leumeah station, then the trek from the car park to the platform to catch one of the infrequent trains directly to Parramatta along the Cumberland line or, more often than not, catch a Southern line train and change at Granville.

About two hours each way by the time I had walked from Parramatta station to the office.

And that was on a good day, when the trains did turn up and on time.

The Leppington to Glenfield link will shave so much time and stress off the journey for those who don't have the luxury of working close to home.

And with the population set to boom as more than 250,000 new residents move into the area over the next 20 to 30 years, it's vital that work gets started on the line ASAP.

But despite my cheers, it is hard to get too excited about it.

After all, we've heard it before.

The South West Rail Link has been on-again, off-again since then premier Bob Carr first announced the project which was to have been completed in just three years from now in 2005.

This piece of infrastructure with the Camden Valley Way upgrade is vital to us.

So Premier Rees, take my advice.

If you're serious about winning the 2011 election, this is one promise you can't go back on.