NSW Regional Transport Minister Jenny Aitchison and ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr are confident work is progressing to improve the train trip between Canberra and Sydney – but Federal help will be needed to make big changes. Photo: Claire Fenwicke.
Orange trains will soon be speeding along regional tracks and into Canberra as the NSW Government receives nine new vehicles.
The former Liberal-National NSW Government promised the trains would be in service in 2023. Now, two of the trains are running on sections of the network as part of testing requirements.
NSW Regional Transport Minister Jenny Aitchison said it was all part of work to improve rolling stock, rail infrastructure and bringing the journey from Canberra to Sydney – and across NSW – up to speed.
“[The new trains are] bi-modal … so it will work on the diesel and the electric network and that will enable us to really lift up that service capacity by having brand new modern trains,” she said.
“Once we get the rolling stock and the rail infrastructure right, then we can really work on the timetable, because once trains get delayed beyond a certain point they have to step back and that impacts on the efficiency of the network.
“It’s a big complicated piece of work.”
Federal Government funding will be needed before the train ride from Canberra to Sydney becomes faster than taking the bus.
Ms Aitchison couldn’t give a timeframe on when the Capital region could expect faster train services but she insisted the government was working on it.
“Obviously the difference between now and three years ago is there was not that will of the government to actually get this work done,” she said.
“It’s taken a lot in building relationships across all of the rail infrastructure managers, the rolling stock operators, the State Government and the Territory government and the Federal Government to get that work actually prioritised.”
Eventually a full fleet of 29 trains will replace long-distance regional services operating across NSW and into the ACT, Victoria and Queensland.
In the meantime, accessibility upgrade designs for the Canberra and Yass train stations have opened for consultation.
The NSW Government funded $900,000 each for the investigations, design development and to obtain planning approvals for both station upgrades.
Proposed upgrades to the Canberra station (which is a NSW Government-owned asset) include upgraded footpaths and landscaping, new accessible parking spaces, a new “kiss and ride” drop-off zone, a new roundabout allowing buses and cars to complete a U-turn, modifying the toilets and levelling the flooring of the main entrance.
The Yass Junction station could see the platform widened, a new bike shelter, toilet upgrades, a new combined taxi and kiss and ride zone, a new bus stop shelter and upgrades to the stairs and ramps outside the station.
“[It’s] a whole suite of upgrades to bring [the stations] into the 21st century,” Ms Atchison said.
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the promised improvements represented an “encouraging first step” in the broader work being undertaken to improve the rail trip between Canberra and Sydney.
“I think, longer-term, people can be optimistic about what we’re going to see here, both in terms of the station, short and medium term and the train services as well,” he said.
Neither station upgrade has funding allocated to carry out the works and timelines are subject to future budget decisions.
But Ms Aitchison was insistent both Canberra and Yass wouldn’t have to wait several years to benefit from the accessibility upgrades, as had been the case for other regions.
“We are a government of delivery. Every single day in this portfolio I spend challenging the people who were working on our projects to do them quicker,” she said.
“What we’re saying is, whenever we go out to community, we want to be very clear with them, we want to listen to them, we want to act on their feedback and then we [will] have projects we can deliver on time and on budget.”
Consultation on the Canberra train station and Yass Junction station designs is open until 31 March. For more information, call 1800 684 490 or email [email protected].
Original Article published by Claire Fenwicke on Region Canberra.
