The NSW candidate for Gilmore says a fast train network between Nowra and Newcastle could be built in 15 to 20 years largely using existing rail corridors and tracks.
Candidate Andrew Constance, who was the NSW transport minister from 2015 till 2021, said the Andrew McNaughton report into regional transport and roads should be released to inform work being undertaken by the High Speed Rail Authority.
Mr Constance said if a metro rail network can be built in Sydney in just ten years, then high speed rail from Newcastle to Nowra via western Sydney can be built within 20 years.
“What we are talking about is how you can use much of your existing corridors, a combination of tunnels, straightening the tracks and looking at ways you can deliver a faster train,” he said.
“If anybody thinks this is pie-in-the-sky stuff, just look what we have been able to do.
“We built a second train network for Sydney inside ten years.
“I think it’s doable and possible over a 15 to 20-year period based on the expertise of Andrew McNaughton, and that report should be immediately released by the NSW government so everybody can read it and see it.”
The report by UK high speed rail expert Professor Andrew McNaughton was commissioned by former premier Gladys Berejiklian, who made fast rail promises a showcase of her 2019 re-election campaign.
The plans were quietly scrapped by her successor Dominic Perrottet in the lead-up to the March 2023 election, which he lost.
Andrew Constance said he was no longer the transport minister when the report was ready to be released.
He resigned from parliament in October 2021.
The report was believed to have suggested a prioritised connection between Newcastle and Wollongong via Sydney’s Olympic Park, with trip times of just one hour and 90 minutes respectively.
Fast rail would follow to Canberra via the Southern Highlands and to the Central West in due course.
University of Wollongong rail expert Phillip Laird said Mr McNaughton gave a number of interviews outlining his fast rail vision.
“He doesn’t favour a totally new high speed rail from Sydney to Newcastle with all the viaducts and tunnels that go with dedicated high speed rail, but a combination of upgrades with deviations and making judicious use of the existing railway,” Mr Laird said.
Strategy ‘not supported’
In response to calls to release the report, Regional Transport Minister Jenny Aitchison confirmed a fast rail strategy was completed in 2020 outlining the staged delivery of a future fast rail network, but said its release was not supported by the previous government.
“This strategy was not publicly released, and release of the strategy to the new government was not supported by the previous NSW government,” she told NSW Parliament last year.
A spokesperson for Transport Minister Jo Haylen said the McNaughton report was made a cabinet in confidence document by Gladys Berejiklian and Andrew Constance so could not be released by the current Labor government.
The ABC asked federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Catherine King if she wanted the report released.
Her office said its findings were being incorporated into the current work underway by the High Speed Rail Authority (HSRA), which was prioritising the Sydney to Newcastle route.
“The Authority’s initial focus is the development of the Sydney-to-Newcastle business case, which is expected to be provided to government by the end of 2024,” a spokeswoman said.
“The business case will build on previous work completed by Transport for NSW in 2019 on fast rail for Sydney to Newcastle and the Commonwealth’s 2013 high speed rail study that included an alignment from Brisbane to Melbourne via Sydney and Canberra.”
Rail commuters unhappy
For rail users like Tony Horneman from Wollongong, any improvements, no matter how small, cannot come soon enough.
Mr Horneman, a spokesperson for the Illawarra Rail Fail group, has commuted between Wollongong and Sydney for seven years.
“From a commuter perspective we just want a better rail service down here,” he said.
“With the migration of the population from Sydney down to the South Coast there’s just so many more people that want to use that rail link to Sydney and it’s not fit for purpose anymore.”
“To the point where there is a single line track at Coalcliff so all the trains north and south have to be scheduled through that single line along with all the freight movements between Sydney and the South Coast.”
Track upgrade delayed
It is a similar situation south of Kiama where the NSW government previously committed to a $125-million track upgrade project called the Toolijooa Passing Loop project.
Ms Aitchison told parliament the NSW government decided to “delay and de-scope several projects, including the the fast rail program” following an infrastructure review.
“The Toolijooa Passing Loop project is part of fast rail. No further activities are planned at this stage,” she said.
Mr Horneman is disappointed the new Mariyung intercity trains due four years ago still have not been delivered and says the lack of improvements south of Kiama just add to the frustration.
“I have done that trip a few times and it is third world having to go to Kiama on an electric-powered train and then having to get on a diesel-powered train on a single track to Bomaderry,” he said.
“Again, there is population growth down there and no improvement to the public transport in that area.”
A spokesperson for the NSW government said it stands by its $10 million commitment to improving connections for rail passengers and freight services on the south coast.
“We have tasked Transport for NSW with examining options for the delivery of an Illawarra Rail Resilience Plan,” the spokesperson said.
“This plan is currently in the early stages of development.”
Source: ABC
