Light rail system in New South Wales, Australia
The
Newcastle Light Rail
is a
light rail
system in
Newcastle, New South Wales
,
Australia
, running from
Newcastle Interchange
through the central business district to Pacific Park. Major construction commenced in September 2017 and the line was opened on 17 February 2019. It is operated by
Newcastle Transport
for
Transport for NSW
.
History
[
edit
]
Trams
[
edit
]
Newcastle first had trams from 1887 until 1950, when the final line, the Waratah line, was replaced by buses.
[2]
At its peak, the system ran to
Speers Point
and
West Wallsend
. It was mostly served by trams of the
LP design
and rebuilds of the F-class trams from Sydney. Only a few, namely 154 and 284 are in preservation, with 154 being operational at the
Sydney Tramway Museum
.
[3]
284 is located at the
Newcastle Museum
.
[4]
Railway line
[
edit
]
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.
[5]
[6]
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.
[7]
The line closed between
Hamilton
and Newcastle stations on 25 December 2014.
[8]
[9]
A permanent terminus,
Newcastle Interchange
, was constructed adjacent to the former Wickham station and opened on 15 October 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 predominantly on-street route. About 500 m (1,640 ft) of the existing rail corridor east of Wickham station was reused before the light rail proceeded along Scott and
Hunter
streets to terminate at Pacific Park in
Newcastle East
.
[10]
[11]
[12]
The decision to use a predominantly on-street route drew mixed reactions and led to speculation that the railway corridor could be sold to property developers.
[13]
[14]
[15]
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.
[16]
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.
[17]
The replacement of the heavy rail line with light rail has also been controversial. Several newspapers campaigned to retain the heavy rail link.
[18]
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.
[19]
In December 2014, it was estimated that construction would commence in late 2015 but by January 2016 the date had slipped to the second half of 2016.
[20]
[21]
In April 2016 it was stated that major construction would start in 2017 and be complete in 2019.
[22]
[23]
The establishment of a site office commenced in February 2017. Major construction started around the middle of 2017.
[24]
In August 2015, Transport for NSW put out a tender for a technical advisor to assist in the development of this project.
[25]
Registrations of interest for companies to design and construct the Newcastle Light Rail were called in January 2016.
[20]
A list of stops along the route was released in April 2016. Stops proposed were Newcastle Interchange, Honeysuckle, Civic, Crown Street, Market Street and Pacific Park. Each light rail vehicle will carry at least 100 passengers.
[26]
[27]
In July 2018, an alternate list of names was published where Market St could be Queens Wharf and Pacific Park could be Newcastle Beach.
[28]
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.
[29]
Downer was awarded the contract in August.
[30]
The government announced in April 2017 that the trams would use onboard energy storage technology to allow the majority of the line to operate without overhead wires.
[31]
This differs from the approach used in the wire-free section of Sydney's
CBD and South East Light Rail
, which powers the trams via a proprietary
ground-level power supply
technology.
Construction of the light rail was completed by the end of September 2018.
[32]
A free community open day for the public was held on 17 February 2019 with regular services commencing the next day.
[33]
[34]
When the
Newcastle 500
Supercars Championship
event took place in 2019 and 2023, services terminated at Queens Wharf; this was due to the Newcastle Beach stop being located inside the
circuit
.
[35]
Operation
[
edit
]
Diagram of Newcastle Light Rail
Services are operated by
Newcastle Transport
.
[26]
[36]
[37]
A depot was built on the site of the former Wickham railway station.
[38]
[39]
Rolling stock
[
edit
]
A fleet of six
Urbos 100
trams operates the service. The trams consist of five modules and are 32.966 metres (108 ft 1.9 in) long.
[40]
[41]
[42]
[43]
The trams were purchased by exercising an option under the rolling stock contract for Sydney's
Inner West Light Rail
. The Newcastle variant of the vehicles includes technology to enable wire-free operation, onboard surfboard racks and a different livery.
[44]
Frequency
[
edit
]
On weekdays, trams operate every 7?8 minutes during and between the peaks, and 15 minutes in the early morning and evening.
On Saturdays, trams operate every 15 minutes from 7 am to midnight, and 30 minutes in the early morning.
On Sundays, trams operate every 15 minutes from 7 am to midnight, and 30 minutes in the early morning.
[45]
Stops
[
edit
]
Newcastle Interchange
[
edit
]
Newcastle Interchange
Newcastle Interchange
is a
transport interchange
situated in the inner suburb of
Wickham
. It serves as the termini for
NSW TrainLink
's
Central Coast & Newcastle Line
and
Hunter Line
train services, Newcastle Light Rail services and several
Newcastle Transport
bus routes.
[46]
Honeysuckle
[
edit
]
Honeysuckle stop
The
Honeysuckle
stop is located adjacent to Honeysuckle Drive and
Hunter Street
in the inner city suburb of Newcastle West. The new stop provides direct access to
TAFE NSW (Hunter Street campus)
as well as bus connections
[47]
located not far from the station on Hunter Street.
[48]
Civic
[
edit
]
Civic stop
The Civic stop was constructed in front of the former
Civic railway station
on Hunter Street. The railway station was originally built in 1935 and was serviced by the
Newcastle railway line
until 2014 when it permanently closed as a railway station. The new light rail stop was built strategically in the geographical heart of Newcastle.
[52]
[53]
Civic Light rail stop is located on
Hunter Street
in the Newcastle CBD providing direct access to several inner-city attractions including
Newcastle City Hall
,
Newcastle Museum
and Newcastle Civic Park.
Crown Street
[
edit
]
Crown Street stop
The Crown Street stop is located adjacent to the
Hunter Street
and Crown Street intersection in the Newcastle CBD precinct.
[54]
Queens Wharf
[
edit
]
Queens Wharf stop
The Queens Wharf stop is located on Scott Street and provides access to the Market Street retail precinct and the Queens Wharf ferry terminal.
[55]
[56]
[57]
It was initially to have been named Market St.
See
Queens Wharf
for transport connections.
Newcastle Beach
[
edit
]
Newcastle Beach stop
The Newcastle Beach stop is located on the corner of Scott Street and Pacific Street, adjacent to Pacific Park in the inner-city suburb of
Newcastle East
. Other attractions nearby include Foreshore Park located on Wharf Road.
[58]
[59]
It was initially to have been named Pacific Park.
Potential extensions
[
edit
]
Several options to extend the network were released in April 2016. The options were:
[60]
Other proposals made by the community include extensions to
John Hunter Hospital
, the
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.
[60]
In March 2020, an updated report was released by Transport for NSW on the business case for the extension of the line.
[61]
Media reporting identified that the "most suitable" route for an extension is from Newcastle Interchange to
John Hunter Hospital
, but that there was "no urgent need" to extend stage one following economic assessments.
[62]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Technical details
Archived
20 December 2021 at the
Wayback Machine
(
CAF
)
- ^
Budd, Dale; Wilson, Randall (May 2018).
"THE AETA'S 1950 REPORT ON NEWCASTLE'S TRANSPORT"
(PDF)
.
Trolley Wire
.
59
(353): 3.
ISSN
0155-1264
.
- ^
"The Trams of the Sydney Tramway Museum"
.
Sydney Tramway Museum
. Retrieved
1 January
2024
.
- ^
McCarthy, K. (April 1983).
"NEWCASTLE TRAMWAYS: Expansion proposals in all directions"
(PDF)
.
Trolley Wire
.
24
(205): 27.
ISSN
0155-1264
.
- ^
Working group releases Newcastle city rail report
Archived
20 February 2011 at the
Wayback Machine
ABC News
21 November 2003
- ^
Iemma backflips on Newcastle rail decision as Cabinet set to meet
Archived
16 February 2011 at the
Wayback Machine
ABC News
21 February 2006
- ^
The deepest cut...Newcastle's rail line to go
Archived
14 December 2013 at the
Wayback Machine
ABC News
14 December 2012
- ^
"Revitalisation of Newcastle CBD underway with truncation to begin on Boxing Day"
. Transport for NSW. 3 July 2014. Archived from
the original
on 14 July 2014
. Retrieved
3 July
2014
.
- ^
Tender awarded to design and construct new Wickham interchange
Transport for NSW 18 December 2014
- ^
Newcastle Light Rail Announced
Transport for NSW 23 May 2014
- ^
Light rail route for city finally unveiled
Archived
19 February 2018 at the
Wayback Machine
ABC News
23 May 2014
- ^
Map
Archived
24 May 2014 at the
Wayback Machine
Fairfax Regional
- ^
Light rail decision draws mixed reactions
Archived
24 May 2014 at the
Wayback Machine
Newcastle Herald
23 May 2014
- ^
Bielby, Nick (22 October 2014).
"Premier Mike Baird refused to rule out development of the Newcastle rail corridor after the truncation of the line at Wickham"
.
The Maitland Mercury
.
Archived
from the original on 3 July 2015
. Retrieved
3 July
2015
.
- ^
Nicholls, Nick (17 February 2015).
"NSW parliamentary inquiry to examine Newcastle rail line cabinet documents found in disgraced MP's office"
.
The Sydney Morning Herald
.
Archived
from the original on 18 February 2015
. Retrieved
3 July
2015
.
- ^
Nicholls, Sean (21 February 2015).
"Gladys Berejiklian backed preferred Newcastle light rail route in draft consultation document"
.
The Sydney Morning Herald
.
Archived
from the original on 24 September 2015
. Retrieved
21 February
2015
.
- ^
Revitalisation of Newcastle: The People's Project
Archived
16 December 2014 at the
Wayback Machine
Transport for NSW 4 December 2014
- ^
"Help preserve the rail line linking the Hunter to Newcastle"
.
Maitland Mercury
. 7 September 2014.
Archived
from the original on 3 July 2015
. Retrieved
3 July
2015
.
- ^
Council switches track on rail plan
Archived
3 July 2015 at the
Wayback Machine
Newcastle Herald
11 December 2014
- ^
a
b
"Transforming Newcastle: Call for industry to design and build light rail"
. Transport for NSW. 21 January 2016.
Archived
from the original on 29 January 2016
. Retrieved
21 January
2016
.
- ^
New era for Newcastle
Archived
26 December 2014 at the
Wayback Machine
Transport for NSW 26 December 2014
- ^
"Newcastle Light Rail report and expansion options released"
. Transport for NSW. 7 April 2016. Archived from
the original
on 17 April 2016.
- ^
Newcastle LightRail
Archived
12 July 2018 at the
Wayback Machine
Transport for NSW
- ^
"Light rail rakes another step to major construction"
. Transport for NSW. 27 February 2017. Archived from
the original
on 9 March 2017.
- ^
Tender released for light rail technical advisor
Archived
14 August 2015 at the
Wayback Machine
Transport for NSW 4 August 2015
- ^
a
b
Transforming Newcastle: Community to have its say on next steps to revitalise city transport
Transport for New South Wales 5 April 2016
- ^
Light rail route confirmed as government releases new detail | video
Archived
10 April 2016 at the
Wayback Machine
Sydney Morning Herald
5 April 2016
- ^
Newcastle light rail stops to be named
Archived
12 July 2018 at the
Wayback Machine
The Herald 12 July 2018
- ^
NSW, Transport for (21 April 2017).
"Shortlist announced for Managing Contractor of Newcastle Light Rail"
.
www.transport.nsw.gov.au
.
Archived
from the original on 26 June 2017
. Retrieved
23 April
2019
.
- ^
"Change on track for Newcastle Light Rail"
.
Revitalising Newcastle
. Revitalising Newcastle. 9 August 2016.
Archived
from the original on 16 December 2017
. Retrieved
23 April
2019
.
- ^
"Newcastle Light Rail goes wire free"
. Transport for NSW. 18 April 2017. Archived from
the original
on 20 April 2017
. Retrieved
19 April
2017
.
- ^
Newcastle Light Rail finished by end of the month
Archived
20 September 2018 at the
Wayback Machine
Transport for NSW 17 September 2018
- ^
It's a date ? free community open day for Newcastle Light Rail on 17 February
Archived
31 January 2019 at the
Wayback Machine
Transport for NSW 31 January 2019
- ^
Light rail in Newcastle opening from Monday 18 February
Transport for NSW 3 February 2019
- ^
McKinney, Max (27 October 2019).
"Newcastle Transport operator Keolis Downer confirms light rail services will be revved up for Newcastle 500"
. Newcastle Herald.
Archived
from the original on 3 November 2019
. Retrieved
3 November
2019
.
- ^
Keolis Downer awarded contract to run light rail, buses and ferries says Baird government
Archived
20 December 2016 at the
Wayback Machine
Newcastle Herald
12 December 2016
- ^
Nedwcastle Light Rail
Archived
3 September 2017 at the
Wayback Machine
Revitaling Newcastle
- ^
Light rail depot on way as end arrives for Wickham station
Archived
11 June 2017 at the
Wayback Machine
Newcastle Herald
10 May 2017
- ^
Wickham station demolition underway ahead of light rail depot
Archived
26 May 2017 at the
Wayback Machine
Newcastle Herald
26 May 2017
- ^
Baird government announces progress on Newcastle light rail
Archived
29 October 2016 at the
Wayback Machine
Newcastle Herald
21 June 2016
- ^
"First half year results 2016"
(PDF)
. Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles. 27 July 2016. p. 3.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 20 December 2016
. Retrieved
14 December
2016
.
- ^
"Newcastle Light Rail"
. Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles.
Archived
from the original on 20 December 2016
. Retrieved
14 December
2016
.
- ^
Newcastle Light Rail Vehicle Unveiled
Archived
31 March 2017 at the
Wayback Machine
Newcastle Herald
29 March 2017
- ^
McKinney, Max (7 September 2018).
"First light rail vehicle due to arrive after intercontinental trip"
.
Newcastle Herald
.
Archived
from the original on 8 September 2018
. Retrieved
7 September
2018
.
- ^
"Newcastle Light Rail"
(PDF)
.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 28 March 2019
. Retrieved
2 July
2019
.
- ^
Newcastle Interchange
Archived
28 June 2018 at the
Wayback Machine
Transport for NSW
- ^
"Google Maps"
.
Google Maps
.
Archived
from the original on 3 July 2022
. Retrieved
4 July
2022
.
- ^
Honeysuckle Light Rail
Archived
18 February 2019 at the
Wayback Machine
Transport for NSW
- ^
"Newcastle Transport route 10X"
. Transport for NSW.
Archived
from the original on 8 August 2022
. Retrieved
3 July
2022
.
- ^
"Newcastle Transport route 11"
. Transport for NSW.
- ^
"Newcastle Transport route 13"
. Transport for NSW.
- ^
CARR, MATT (14 June 2018).
"Civic Theatre is the first completed Newcastle light rail stop"
.
Newcastle Herald
.
Archived
from the original on 1 July 2018
. Retrieved
30 June
2018
.
- ^
Civic Light Rail
Archived
18 February 2019 at the
Wayback Machine
Transport for NSW
- ^
Crown Street Light Rail
Archived
18 February 2019 at the
Wayback Machine
Transport for NSW
- ^
"Google Maps"
.
Google Maps
.
Archived
from the original on 18 April 2023
. Retrieved
30 June
2018
.
- ^
Queens Wharf light rail stop
Archived
23 November 2018 at the
Wayback Machine
NSW Geographical Names Board
- ^
Queens Wharf Light Rail
Archived
18 February 2019 at the
Wayback Machine
Transport for NSW
- ^
Newcastle Beach light rail stop
Archived
23 November 2018 at the
Wayback Machine
NSW Geographical Names Board
- ^
Newcastle Beach Light Rail
Archived
18 February 2019 at the
Wayback Machine
Transport for NSW
- ^
a
b
"Newcastle's public transport future ? April 2016"
. Transport for NSW & UrbanGrowth NSW. Archived from
the original
on 18 April 2016
. Retrieved
8 April
2016
.
- ^
"Newcastle Light Rail Extension Strategic Business Case Summary Report"
(PDF)
. Transport for NSW.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 29 November 2020
. Retrieved
18 September
2020
.
- ^
"Plan identifies most suitable route for Newcastle light rail extension"
. Rail Express. 30 March 2020.
Archived
from the original on 3 August 2021
. Retrieved
2 May
2020
.
External links
[
edit
]
Official operator website
Official project website
Media related to
Light rail in Newcastle, New South Wales
at Wikimedia Commons
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