Operator Newcastle Transport Vehicle 6 Urbos 3 | Garage Wickham Began service 2019 | |
Status In planning, from 2017 construction Predecessors Newcastle railway line (part) | ||
The Newcastle Light Rail is a proposed Australian light rail line in Newcastle, New South Wales, running from Newcastle Interchange through the central business district to Pacific Park. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2017 and finish in 2019. The network will be controlled by the New South Wales Government's transport authority, Transport for NSW, and will be part of the authority's Opal ticketing system.
Contents
Development
For decades the Newcastle railway line had been seen by some as an impediment to the redevelopment of Newcastle's central business district with many proposals for its closure.
In December 2012, the Government of New South Wales announced its intention to close the line east of Wickham with the closure of Wickham, Civic and Newcastle stations. The line closed between Hamilton and Newcastle stations on 25 December 2014, with a new Newcastle Interchange to open in late-2017.
Two options were put forward for the light rail route - reusing the heavy rail corridor or using an on-street route. In May 2014, it was announced a light rail line would be built using a predominately on-street route. About 500 m (1,640 ft) of the existing rail corridor east of Wickham station will be reused, before the light rail proceeds along Scott and Hunter Streets to terminate at Pacific Park.
The decision to use a predominately on-street route drew mixed reactions and led to speculation that the railway corridor could be sold to property developers. It also went against the advice of Transport for NSW, which supported reusing the heavy rail corridor and advised the government that an on-street route could cost almost $100 million extra and deliver a slower service. In December 2014, the Government announced that Newcastle City Council would have the final say in determining any future development in the former rail corridor.
The replacement of the heavy rail line with light rail has also been controversial. Several newspapers in the Hunter region led a campaign to retain the heavy rail link. Newcastle City Council was initially supportive of the light rail project, but following a mayoral by-election in November 2014 the council advocated retaining the heavy rail line instead.
In August 2015 Transport for NSW put out a tender for a technical advisor to assist in the development of this project. Registrations of interest for companies to design and construct the Newcastle Light Rail were called in January 2016.
In December 2014 it was estimated that construction would commence in late 2015 but by January 2016 the date has slipped to the second half of 2016. In April 2016 it was stated that major construction would start in 2017 and be complete in 2019. Establishment of a site office commenced in February 2017. Major construction is expected to start around the middle of the year.
A list of stops along the route was released in April 2016. Stops proposed are: Newcastle Interchange, Honeysuckle, Civic, Crown Street, Market Street and Pacific Park. Each light rail vehicle will carry at least 100 passengers and frequency will be every 10 minutes at peak times.
In April 2016 CPB Contractors, Downer Group, John Holland, Laing O'Rourke and McConnell Dowell were shortlisted to bid for the contract to build the infrastructure. Downer was awarded the contract in August.
Operation
In November 2015, the Government announced its intention to incorporate the Newcastle Light Rail and Newcastle Buses & Ferries into a new organisation called Transport for Newcastle. The operation of bus, ferry and light rail services is intended to be contracted to a single private operator. Keolis Downer and a Transit Systems/UGL Rail consortium have announced their intentions to bid. In December 2016 the contract was awarded to Keolis Downer who will trade as Newcastle Transport.
Potential extensions
Several options to extend the network were released in April 2016. The options are:
Other proposals made by the community include extensions to John Hunter Hospital, University of Newcastle at Callaghan, Newcastle Airport, Glendale, Merewether and a CBD loop. Transport for NSW stated that these routes suffered from high costs and engineering challenges.
Rolling stock
A fleet of six Urbos 3 trams will operate the service. The trams will consist of five modules and will be 33 metres long.