The NSW Government has begun consultation on a light rail line in Newcastle, and has launched the tender process for a local operator to integrate buses, ferries and light rail in the growing city.
State transport minister Andrew Constance visited Newcastle on Tuesday to announce a trio of “key initiatives” for the region: the launch of a tender process for Transport for Newcastle, the start of consultation about the design and construction of light rail, and the appointment of a Newcastle Coordinator General to work with community and stakeholders throughout the city’s revitalisation.
“The current transport system is not working,” Constance said.
“As the city grows and light rail gets underway, this is an opportunity to rethink how we deliver transport and create something that will benefit Newcastle and set it up for the future.”
The new model for Newcastle – which Constance describes as an Australian first – will see a single operator take charge of designing and running an integrated timetable across multiple transport modes.
“As part of the tender process, new operators will need to prove how they’ll partner with the community to boost declining patronage and provide transport services that go where and when locals want them,” the minister said.
“The community will be at the heart of this new model, which is why we’re calling on locals to tell us what they want from their new integrated transport network so we make sure we get the best people for the job.”
Discussing the launch this week of local consultation for the design and construction of a new light rail system, Constance said he wants building work to start early next year.
“From today we’ve got teams on the ground door-knocking local businesses and residents to talk about the light rail project, and from Thursday the formal planning documents will be open for public feedback,” he said.
Light rail will travel from the city’s new interchange at Wickham – where the heavy rail line from Sydney terminates – along the existing rail corridor before moving south into Hunter Street at Worth Place, continuing through the CBD down Hunter and Scott Streets, and then terminating at Pacific Park.
Stops are proposed at the new interchange, Honeysuckle, Civic, Crown Street, Market Street and Pacific Park.
Transport for NSW wants the line to feature accessible, air-conditioned trams, each able to carry at least 100 customers, along with luggage, prams and surfboards.
Finally, Constance announced Anna Zycki as the new Newcastle Coordinator General.
“I am pleased to announce the appointment of Anna Zycki as the Newcastle Coordinator General to oversee these transformational projects and work closely with the community and stakeholders over the coming years,” he said.
“Anna is an experienced transport professional, and is currently Regional Manager for RMS in the Hunter region.
“As a Novocastrian, Anna will be a strong local voice and important point of coordination on the ground.”
How ironic, Andrew Constance stating that “the current transport system is not working”. Well yes, if you take away one of the most effective ways of moving people and substitute it with an interchange and sub-optimal bus service, one should not be at all surprised that “it isn’t working”. Rather be-musingly, he has appointed a person as Newcastle Coordinator General whose most recent experience has been to manage a road focused agency and which would probably favour road over rail solutions. Personal experience suggests it is hard for road traffic planners to change their spots. The concept of a single coordinating organisation (whether public or private) for Newcastle Transport is laudable but one must question how effective it will be where you have a meddling state government who has already set the agenda for the future of transport for the city, aligned with other bureaucratic measures such as the role of the Coordinator General. The article elsewhere on Rail Express about city governance is timely and apt. Good luck to Novocastrians.