Electrifying Hunter Line

[CityRail]

Hunter Line connects the City of Newcastle, the Western Suburbs of Newcastle and the major townships of East Maitland and Maitland up to the edge of Hunter Valley, where currently CityRail operates a suburban train frequency (Every 20 - 30 Minutes) between Telarah and Newcastle on weekdays and every 30 - 60 minutes on weekends.

Operation on the Hunter Line consists of single deck Hunter Diesel rail cars as the line is not electrified. This has not only generate a lot of delays as Diesel trains brakes down frequently, but also emits excessive amounts of Carbon Gas which ended up taxpayers of NSW to pay the ridicious Carbon Tax to the Government whilst most other lines are not emiting carbon gas at all.

Meanwhile we have seen the State Government has planned to permanently remove trains by buses between Wickham and Newcastle which has lead to a contraversal reaction to the Hunter Community, potentially ruining Coalition's prospect to win on 14th September.

Therefore, whilst supporting the State Government to cut the Newcastle Line to revive businesses on Hunter Street and Newcastle City Centre, I would like to propose a new plan to electrify Hunter Line in 2 stages.

Stage 1 (Broadmeadow to Hexham)

I would like to see the existing electrification infrastructure on the Newcastle and Central Coast Line between Hamilton and Newcastle to be transferred to the line between Broadmeadow and Hexham.
The existing rail stabling at Broadmeadow will be removed and the rail line between Newcastle and Hamilton will be removed.
Broadmeadow Station will be renamed as Newcastle Station with significant reconstruction to the Station Concourse and a new Inner Newcastle bus interchange above the platforms, which features frequent free bus service between the new Newcastle Station and Hunter Street until Newcastle Beach in the Eastern end of the city. All existing Hunter Street services will also serve the new Newcastle Interchange.
Broadmeadow Station will also be expended to have 5 tracks and 4 platforms which will connect to the 4 tracks on the Main North Line.

Waratah, Warabrook and Sandgate stations will be upgraded to facilitate 8V and 8A trains on the platform, whilst the 2 passenger tracks will become exclusive use to NSW Trains.

Stage 1 of the electrifcation will end at Hexham Station (4 Platforms). At there a new station will be built alongside with new stabling facilities, as well as a new Hunter Tourist Centre and a new Hunter Bus/Coach Interchange. I would propose the land around the new Hexham Station to become a housing, shopping and tourist hub for the Hunter Region to facilitate Economic Growth.

The geographic location of Hexham has been perfect to become Hunter's Transport Centre, as it is the gateway to the North Coast and the New England from Sydney being close to the intersection between the F3, A1 and A15. It is also the centre point between Port Stephens, Raymond Terrace, Maitland and Newcastle in which building a transportation and tourist hub will enable this smokeless and Carbonless industry to florish in the Hunter Region.

With completion of Stage 1 of the electification project, most trains from Central will be able to terminate at Hexham, where passengers will connect bus services to Thornton, Port Stephens, Newcastle Airport and Raymond Terrace. Passengers will also able to connect trains from Hexham to Dungog/Scone. The excess diesel car capacities will be used to introduce 1 - 2 new pairs of services between Hexham and Scone.

Stage 2 (Hexham to Telarah)

Stage 2 of the project will subject to Federal or State funding and it will allow the line to become fully electrified between Hexham and Telarah. Telarah Station will be upgraded to provide stabling facilities and improved access. Diesel trains will then only operate between Maitland and Dungog and also between Maitland and Scone. This will allow all Endeavour Trains to be withdrawn from the Hunter Line and reallocate to increase Country Train services to the North Coast and South West Slopes.

Trains will be running direct between Central (i) to Telarah, local 2K services to run between Wyong and Telarah with selected Peak Services to terminate/start from Broadmeadow or Hexham.

Key Benefits to the project:

1. Fulfill State Government's plan to rip up the railway in Inner Newcastle, providing more land for housing and commercial use.
2. A direct link between Hunter Valley and the City.
3. Enhanced transport services to the Upper Hunter Region, especially excess capacity allows more passenger trains to Muswellbrook, Scone and Singleton also to Dungog, increasing accessibility to tourism in the Hunter Region.
4. A faster link between Raymond Terrace, Port Stephens and Newcastle Airport to City, Central Coast and North Shore, enhancing the viability for Newcastle Airport to become Sydney's second airport.
5. Create more jobs
6. Provide more land within Inner Newcastle, esp Hamilton, Broadmeadow and Newcastle City for housing.

Key Risks or Disadvantages to the project:
1. High cost involved to rebuild both Hexham and Broadmeadow stations
2. Reduced assessibility from Newcastle City Centre to City, increasing chances to haunt Newcastle.
3. New, environmentally sensitive land at Hexham will be acquired to build a new suburban centre, potentially endangering the wildlife in the region.
4. To maintain the same service level on the Newcastle & Central Coast Line, at least 40 extra OSCAR carriages need to be built. This will create jobs, but it will cost more to the State Government.

With the mining boom is now slowing down and the high unemployment rate in Newcastle and Hunter, I believe the only way to revive the economy and transport to the region is to electrify the Hunter Line, giving more job opportunities to the Hunter in both manufacturing and service industries.

I strongly recommend both sides of the Parliament to consider this and to incorporate into their policies so that they can win the next Federal Election.

[BroadGauge]

Operation on the Hunter Line consists of single deck Hunter Diesel rail cars as the line is not electrified. This has not only generate a lot of delays as Diesel trains brakes down frequently

They're not much less reliable than electric sets, some of which are getting a bit old and are suffering from a lot of mechanical failures these days.

but also emits excessive amounts of Carbon Gas which ended up taxpayers of NSW to pay the ridicious Carbon Tax to the Government whilst most other lines are not emiting carbon gas at all.

Where do you think electricity comes from? Burning coal happens to release carbon - infact a lot more carbon that is emitted from diesel railcars.

If you want to see something scary (carbon wise) then you should see the power stations in the Latrobe Valley in Victoria which provide the power for electric trains in Melbourne.

The geographic location of Hexham has been perfect to become Hunter's Transport Centre, as it is the gateway to the North Coast and the New England from Sydney being close to the intersection between the F3, A1 and A15. It is also the centre point between Port Stephens, Raymond Terrace, Maitland and Newcastle in which building a transportation and tourist hub will enable this smokeless and Carbonless industry to florish in the Hunter Region.

Something about there being a large swamp (as well as a flood plain) would put a no to building anything at Hexham (and explain why it's an industrial area). Why would you build a terminus in the middle of nowhere?

Did you know the main thing exported from the Hunter region is one of the largest causes of carbon pollution in the world when it gets burnt, even when it gets burnt to provide power for electric trains?/

[Newcastle Flyer]

CityRail, please fill in the blanks:

Operation on the Hunter Line consists of single deck Hunter Diesel rail cars

And also of _________ cars

This has not only generate a lot of delays as Diesel trains brakes down frequently

And so would any v______, be it train or not, if not maintained properly. And at the moment, those trains have broken down less than other trains.

Meanwhile we have seen the State Government has planned to permanently remove trains by buses between Wickham and Newcastle which has lead to a contraversal reaction to the Hunter Community, potentially ruining Coalition's prospect to win on 14th September.

That is a federal election, but the group that wants the rail cut, will try and attempt to get federal money, especially if or when Liberals win the federal election.

and Sandgate stations will be upgraded to facilitate 8V and 8A trains on the platform, whilst the 2 passenger tracks will become exclusive use to NSW Trains.

And Maud Street is too l__ to cater for double decks.

Stage 1 of the electrifcation will end at Hexham Station (4 Platforms).

Good grief
Are you sure you are not the former user Metroline?

CityRail, I haven't got time to read all your post, but from what I gather, you claim that electric trains are in your words "carbonless". And what is the fuel for most power stations in Australia?

[Rick R]

The geographic location of Hexham has been perfect to become Hunter's Transport Centre, as it is the gateway to the North Coast and the New England from Sydney being close to the intersection between the F3, A1 and A15. It is also the centre point between Port Stephens, Raymond Terrace, Maitland and Newcastle in which building a transportation and tourist hub will enable this smokeless and Carbonless industry to florish in the Hunter Region.

This local resident will certainly flourish if this scheme gets off the ground

Are you sure you really want small children being carried off as they wait for the train ?

[1whoknows]

All good points - the one that got me however was the reference to an improved airport connection when the Hunter line goes absolutely nowhere near it.

[Daniel]

All good points - the one that got me however was the reference to an improved airport connection when the Hunter line goes absolutely nowhere near it.

However, Telarah is close to Maitland Airport. Sydney's third airport?... May as well jump on the bandwagon...

[boronia]

Something about there being a large swamp (as well as a flood plain) would put a no to building anything at Hexham (and explain why it's an industrial area). Why would you build a terminus in the middle of nowhere?

I read recently of a plan to construct a major railway servicing centre at Hexham, forget who the who the operator was.

[captainch]

hexam is to flood prone...............

[ajw373]

Something about there being a large swamp (as well as a flood plain) would put a no to building anything at Hexham (and explain why it's an industrial area). Why would you build a terminus in the middle of nowhere?

I read recently of a plan to construct a major railway servicing centre at Hexham, forget who the who the operator was.

That would be QR national or what ever they are called now.

[boronia]

hexam is to flood prone...............

Well, a Qld company would feel right at home there

[aussieboy]

This is a really good idea.

But I would say completely close the Hunter line west of Telarah - only Countrylink should serve these stations.

[Mr Twig]

Some nice ideas Cityrail.

[captainch]

why not extend the smr a couple miles to the airport at cessnock more ppl would go the hunter valley than maitland which is called rutherford airport and is presantlly being surrouned by a huge housing estate makes more sence

[Xplorer]

This is a really good idea.

But I would say completely close the Hunter line west of Telarah - only Countrylink should serve these stations.

What about stations north of Telarah? give to countrylink as well?

[CityRail]

And Maud Street is too l__ to cater for double decks.

Then upgrade the bridge. Metro Light Rail is rebuilding one of the bridges to allow taller trucks to use Parramatta Road.

And so would any v______, be it train or not, if not maintained properly. And at the moment, those trains have broken down less than other trains.

Oh sure, if any trains are not maintained properly, Waratahs can still fail too. But the main aim to this project is to introduce more frequent, reliable OSCAR trains to the Hunter that Metropolian Maitland can have direct train services to Sydney and Central Coast in compensation of the Hunter Line not going into Newcastle City.

Of course it is not favourable to finish stage 1 at Hexham, but considering the length required to do electrication, if the project needs to be done in one go, I am sure the State Government will treat it as a new rail project and it will rank behind NW and SW Rail Links. But if they treat it as an compensation to ripping up Newcastle Inner City Line, I am sure the priority of this project will be put much forward and then we can talk about Stage 2. (Especially it will allow space for Labor to promise this later in this decade)

the one that got me however was the reference to an improved airport connection when the Hunter line goes absolutely nowhere near it.

Newcastle to Newcastle Airport 26.3km
Hexham to Newcastle Airport 18.5km

According to Google Map, this is a 8 km improved access to Newcastle Airport, and 18.5km is approximately how long Sydney route L39 is. If buses connects every train at Hexham to Newcastle Airport via Tomago, it should enable Newcastle Airport better serving Newcastle, Central Coast and Hunter communities - indirectly reducing pressure at Sydney Airport in the short term.

For Example:

Under the new proposal, for Gosford passenger to catch a plane:

Direct Train (Limited Express) to Hexham then a new direct bus to Newcastle Airport: 120 - 130 Minutes
Trains to Central(i) then Airport Line to Sydney Airport: 107 Minutes

From Wyong:

Sydney Airport: 121 Minutes
Newcastle Airport (Under new Hexham Interchange Proposal): 123 Minutes

Assuming buses from Hexham Station to Newcastle Airport takes 25 minutes and allow 5 minutes transfer time. (Google Map states travel time from Hexham to Newcastle Airport is 17 minutes)

You can see Central Coast customers using public transport will become more willing to use Newcastle Airport than Sydney Airport.

Of course if people dislike Hexham surely the first stage of elecrification can be extended to Thornton or Beresfield which is much closer to the F3 turnoff, but there's no point to build a similar interchange as at Hexham because there's no point to put buses to destinations south of the Hunter Line. A Hunter Interchange at Hexham will enable not only buses to Raymond Terrace, Taree and Port Stephens faster and more efficient, it can also enable buses to Kurri Kurri and Cessnock terminate at the new Hexham Interchange instead of all the way to Newcastle. This will free up 1 - 2 buses to do at least a few more services a day.

[CityRail]

I read recently of a plan to construct a major railway servicing centre at Hexham, forget who the who the operator was.

See Below:

QR National plans for Hunter Valley growth with new train facility
02 May 2012

Australia’s leading rail transport company, QR National today signalled its long-term commitment to the Hunter Valley by announcing plans for a modern train support facility at Hexham near the Port of Newcastle.

At an estimated capital cost of up to $100 million, the proposed facility would support the company’s growing New South Wales coal haulage business and alleviate capacity pressures in the Hunter Valley coal supply chain.

The facility would consolidate ad-hoc maintenance and re-fuelling activities currently used by QR National. This will benefit the community by significantly reducing shunting and provisioning activities in and around Koorangang Island.

QR National is now working through required regulatory and environment approvals for the proposal with the New South Wales government and other relevant stakeholders. It has also briefed key stakeholders such as local state members and Infrastructure NSW.

The project is supported by the Hunter Valley Coal Chain Co-ordinator, which advocates relocating train servicing and fuelling facilities away from Kooragang Island at the Port of Newcastle, to improve the efficiency of the coal chain.

QR National’s Senior Vice President Service Delivery Coal Markets Ed McKeiver said the company had already invested several million dollars in project establishment costs and anticipated moving into detailed design by mid-2012.

"Depending on government planning approvals and consultation with stakeholders, QR National plans to have the facility operational by mid 2014," Mr McKeiver said.

"QR National is strongly committed to the Hunter Valley – to our customers, to the community and the local economy.

"QR National intends to have a long-term presence in this region as a proactive and responsible local business and supply chain participant."

David Down, who is QR National’s Newcastle-based Vice President Service Delivery NSW, said that over the last three years, the Company’s local workforce grew threefold to just under 300 employees. The construction of a train support facility would create an additional 100 jobs during construction to the benefit of the community and local contractors.

"We understand that with growth comes a responsibility to effectively manage the footprint of our business and our relationship with the community," Mr Down said.

"Our aim is to consolidate our maintenance and provision requirements into one low-impact facility and to make our train operations the most efficient they can be with the latest and quietest new-generation locomotives.

"We’re also working with the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage to identify environmental reserve area(s) for conservation of native flora and fauna."

The 255 hectare project site at Hexham is a strategic parcel of industrial land that QR National has owned since 2008.

QR National plans to redevelop approximately 30 hectares of the site for the facility. The balance of the land will be environmental reserve and future use.

The footprint of QR National’s proposed Hexham project does not limit future opportunities for the site, including the F3 freeway extension and any potential freight by-pass projects and holding roads being considered by Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC).

QR National is finalising a Heads of Agreement with ARTC to collaborate on these complementary developments at Hexham to improve efficiency and limit any community and environmental impacts during construction.

Since launching coal haulage services in the Hunter Valley in 2005, QR National has secured approximately 30 per cent of the railed coal market.

QR National hauls thermal coal from mines in the Ulan and Hunter Valley regions to the Port of Newcastle and domestic coal users.

Source: http://www.aurizon.com.au/MediaCentre/M ... ility.aspx

This could be an opportunity to develop a new rail terminal if Transport for NSW can liaise with QR National on this matter.

Hexham is in the middle of nowhere, but its geographical location is prefect to build a new transport hub. I think QR National knows this.

[ajw373]

Oh sure, if any trains are not maintained properly, Waratahs can still fail too. But the main aim to this project is to introduce more frequent, reliable OSCAR trains to the Hunter that Metropolian Maitland can have direct train services to Sydney and Central Coast in compensation of the Hunter Line not going into Newcastle City.

Two points. One it is not a project it is your idea. Secondly if the whole idea is to link Maitland to Sydney in lieu of a line to Newcastle City then why not say so? Instead there is a whole page of diatribe where maybe you said it, but if you did you said it in 1000 words. But if your going to do that why stop at Telarah? Why not go a bit further to Musswellbrook, or maybe even better to Cessnock, which is where the residential growth area is in that region.

Though really if you want electrification of the Hunter lines then what is needed is for all of them to be done, at 25KV AC and put the coal under the wires. But we all know that isn't going to happen, so really putting up wires for an outer urban passenger system is not very cost effective.

[boronia]

Then upgrade the bridge. Metro Light Rail is rebuilding one of the bridges to allow taller trucks to use Parramatta Road.

I think RMS/RTA would be behind this, not MLR. Now would be a convenient time to do it.

[Rick R]

Newcastle to Newcastle Airport 26.3km
Hexham to Newcastle Airport 18.5km

According to Google Map, this is a 8 km improved access to Newcastle Airport, and 18.5km is approximately how long Sydney route L39 is. If buses connects every train at Hexham to Newcastle Airport via Tomago, it should enable Newcastle Airport better serving Newcastle, Central Coast and Hunter communities - indirectly reducing pressure at Sydney Airport in the short term.

Ok. CityRail (the one operating the trains) takes 19mins in the middle of the day from Newcastle Station to Hexham, running roughly (and I mean roughly) hourly.
Port Stephens Coaches route 130 takes 40 minutes in the middle of the day from Newcastle Station to Newcastle Airport, running roughly (with a gap in the middle of the day) hourly.

So allowing 3-5minutes to transfer from the train to the new bus service at the new Hexham Transport Interchange gives the connecting bus 16-18 minutes to make it from Hexham to Newcastle Airport. This gives an average speed between 61.66 and 69.38 Km/h which is wildly unrealistic. The 130 wins hands down and fixing the service frequency would cost a fraction of that to electrify the line and build an interchange.

[dude]

Hunter Line connects the City of Newcastle, the Western Suburbs of Newcastle and the major townships of East Maitland and Maitland up to the edge of Hunter Valley, where currently CityRail operates a suburban train frequency (Every 20 - 30 Minutes) between Telarah and Newcastle on weekdays and every 30 - 60 minutes on weekends.

<snip>

I strongly recommend both sides of the Parliament to consider this and to incorporate into their policies so that they can win the next Federal Election.

Whatever you've been smoking it must have been infinately better than what I picked up a short walk away from Amsterdam Centraal last November.

[CC 516]

Though really if you want electrification of the Hunter lines then what is needed is for all of them to be done, at 25KV AC and put the coal under the wires. But we all know that isn't going to happen, so really putting up wires for an outer urban passenger system is not very cost effective.

When Electrification was first extended from Gosford it went initially to Wyong, then to Newcastle. At the time of Newcastle opening, there were plans to extend to Maitland and coal mines with 25KVA. Hamiton to Newcastle would not be AC and Broadmeadow was to become the Major interchange hub.

If it didn't happen then, I can not see how it would happen now, unless we pay 4 independent consultentcy firms, 15 enviormental studies, 355 customer surveys, then another 6 consultants to compile the information just to see if it was worth while. Then Engineering consultants........

[ajw373]

I thought the plan when the line to Newcastle was electrified was to run 25KV all the way from Gosford, with the V sets and 86 class loco's being converted to dual current and as you said with Broadmeadow being the hub for loco changes for trains that went beyond the wires. Broadmeadow did serve this function but clearly the line only went to 1.5KV DC.

[jq371]

i think a rail line from kooragang island across the pond to the airport would be a good idea (or is building infrastructure a dirty word for the state government)..... a train could essentially connect NTL Airport - Broadmeadow and on to Sydney...

All trains should be Central - Newcastle Airport...... Get rid of the rail line from "Hamilton to Newcastle" and replace with light rail from Broamdeadow Station (renamed to Newcastle Interchange) Where all the trains will go to, or terminate from the hunter, and also the new light rail starts here, to Hamilton station, get rid of the Maitland Road bridge (flatten the road) and then run the light rail actually onto Maitland rd and into hunter St and up to the beach !

do it now, cause it will cost millions more if they wait......

If NTL is really going to take a lot of new air traffic then they need to get on to it before its TOO late (NSW governements motto "We waited til it was too late")


or they could do what QLD state governement do and build something to prepare for the future.....

[Glen]

Stage 1 of the electrifcation will end at Hexham Station (4 Platforms).

And here's me thinking Hexham was just a swamp that virtually nobody lives at.

[The Inspector]

Well said Broad gauge, your comments were very similar to what I was going to post but you beat me to it.

It doesn't look as tho Cityrail is being very logical in his ideas.

I want to know if he believes (not thinks) that Newcastle Airport is busy enough to spend millions on for a rail connection which could easily be covered by a bus service at less cost.

Heck lets put a rail connection to Bankstown Airport.

As for the Hunter Cars breaking down, atleast they don't have expensive infrastructure that can also fail like the electrics do.

Electric trains are not the answer to everything.