NSW Government Promise High Speed Rail Ahead Of March Election

BY JARROD MELMETH

The NSW Government have promised to start work on a fast rail network which could include Newcastle to Sydney services, should they be re-elected in March.

The bold plans announced on Tuesday proposed two types of trains, faster rail which would travel at speeds of up to 200km/h and High-Speed Rail which would travel at speeds of up to 250km/h.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said a faster rail network will give people greater choice about where they live and how they commute to work.

"We know a fast rail network will transform NSW unlike any other project and we will make it a reality.

"We need to make it easier for people to consider moving to regional NSW and there is no better way to do it than building a fast rail network," Ms Berejiklian said. 

The four routes identified by the state government are Northern Route including the Central Coast and Newcastle; Southern Inland Route including Goulburn and Canberra; Western Route including Lithgow, Bathurst and Orange/Parkes; and Southern Coastal Route including Wollongong and Nowra.

The NSW Government has appointed Professor Andrew McNaughton to lead an expert panel to provide advice to the Premier on how the government should best deliver a fast rail network.
Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Scot MacDonald said the commute to Sydney from Newcastle could soon be just 45 minutes.

"Obviously this has to go through a technical case, and they have to go through a business case. This is a commitment we will be following through if we win government in March.

"Following the work to be done by Prof McNaughton, the government will take it to the next stage about what we can do. This could mean faster rail or high-speed rail," Mr MacDonald said.

NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance said in the long term, high-speed rail would see the development of new alignments and lines, providing speeds of over 250km/h, giving the potential to cut travel times by up to 75 per cent.

Artists impression of the planned high-speed rail.

Light Rail On Track To Be Laid Over The Weekend

BY MATT JOHNSTON

Following the arrival of 12 kilometres of light rail track in Newcastle last Thursday, preparations are underway to have the track laid by the beginning of next week.A track slab will be poured at the intersection of Hunter and Merewether streets on the weekend, followed by the installation of the first tracks in the embattled project.

Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Andrew Constance is claiming this as an important milestone for the project. He's praised the team involved with the project for their hard work trying to maintain the works schedule. He says "it's all systems go" down at the site.

Mr Constance is claiming it as a win for the Berejiklian government, saying they're determined to just "[get] on with the job".

"It'll be a project that progresses very quickly, and at the end of the day,  the city is going to get a fantastic light rail project that is going to transform the community."

The work is "tracking along nicely", and although nothing can be guaranteed, Mr Constance is confident the rest of the light rail work will be delivered on time. He says this will not only benefit the wider community, but also the businesses that have seen a downturn in profit as a result of construction.

Both the Andrew Constance and Michael Cassel, program director for Revitalising Newcastle, are urging people to support the affected businesses. To show Novocastrains the CBD is still open for business, Revitalising Newcastle will be hosting a Christmas program that features rides and Christmas displays in Wheeler Place, story readings at Newcastle Museum, a treasure hunt, and Santa photos.

For more details, visit the Revitalising Newcastle calendar.

Photo credit: Revitalising Newcastle

Keolis Downer Confident it Will Bring Newcastle World-Class Transport

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Newcastle's private transport operator Keolis Downer has responded to claims they are still underpaying drivers and cancelling services.

The Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) says there are still problems occurring two months after dozens of bus drivers were underpaid hundreds of dollars.

Keolis Downer admits there were problems with the payroll system, but the incidence of workers being underpaid are much less than they were three months ago when they first took over Newcastle's transport system.

"The pay roll that was run Wednesday last week for a total workforce of around 350 people we had only nine errors within that payroll run, some of those were overpayments, some of those were underpayments. Where we had underpayments the corrective payment has been made within days of the error being identified,"

"So this issue has certainly reduced down to a point where we have only a handful of errors on the most recent payroll run," said Keolis Downer Chief Executive Campbell Mason.

Several of the Hunter's Labor MPs met with the RTBU and workers yesterday, calling for action from Transport Minister Andrew Constance on the operator. The call for action comes after he promised Newcastle and the Hunter a world-class transport system, but MPs are all in agreeance that Keolis Downer is failing to provide it.

Another problem is services being cancelled, often without notice.

"The worst month that we had for cancelled services was August when the flu spike was at its worst and certainly the cancellations have stabilised since then. So its nothing like the problem that it was in August, and we have also recruited additional drivers into our workforce so that we are more resilient and more able to deal with those sorts of shocks should they happen again," said Campbell Mason.

Despite all of the criticism, Campbell Mason is confident Keolis Downer will be a world-class transport operator in Newcastle and bring the people what they want.

"I've used teething problems to describe the system issues that we've been addressing, there are some broader based issues within the business where we need to driver longer-term improvement and change so I don't see us putting a time frame on turning the business around as such. Some of the things can be readily fixed, other things will take time to fix."

Just another Problem for Keolis Downer in Newcastle

BY JESSICA ROUSE

There appears to be even more problems with Newcastle's private transport operator Keolis Downer.

Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp has been told by parents at St Pius X High School that buses have failed to pick their children up leaving them with no choice but to take them to school themselves.

On one occasion, a parent says the 816 bus that takes her son from The Junction to St Pius X High School failed to turn up twice.

Tim Crakanthorp says it's just not on.

"There's a lot wrong with this private operator at this point, but I've got real concerns with school kids being left alone on the side of the road with buses not turning up. That's a real problem."

Keolis Downer is already facing a lot of criticism across the board for their treatment of their drivers by underpaying them, not directly paying payments to superannuation and private healthcare, and also not handing over complete uniforms.

"It's up to this government to pull them into line, they've got a contract with them and there are rewards for increasing patronage, but I want to know if there are any penalties for missing kids, leaving kids on the side of the road and putting their health and safety at risk. That's what I want to know," said Tim Crakanthorp.

He says he'll be raising the issue in Parliament this week.

"I'm calling on Minister Constance to take control of this situation as we've had kids missed for buses for school on numerous occasions. So with over 300 bus services missed this minister really needs to step in ad pull this company into line. It's just not good enough."

Blame game for Newcastle's bus drivers

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Newcastle's transport operator are facing blame from all sides for workers being underpaid and mismanaged.

Transport Minister, Andrew Constance has put operator Keolis Downer on notice after bus drivers were again underpaid this week. They've reportedly failed to pay more than a dozen drivers their correct pay and entitlements.

It comes after more than 70 workers were underpaid last month.

But the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RBTU) are today putting the blame on Andrew Constance saying it's another example of his incompetence. The union is labeling the situation as disgusting and claim from day one workers haven't been paid correctly.

"The Transport Minister is the one who came out and announced privatisation and what a wonderful beast it was going to be and how things would improve and he's obviously given the tender to a company who can't put in place a payroll system that can correctly pay their employees," said President of the Tram and Bus union division of the RTBU David Woollams.

The RBTU have taken the issue to the Fair Work Commission to have a system put in place whereby the workers, once they realise they've been underpaid, can go to Keolis Downer and get the pay rectified.

"Workers shouldn't have to be doing that in the first instance, You can accept you know a couple of dollars here and so forth - but not when we're talking about $500 dollars. Most of us just live from pay to pay," said David Woollmans.

Keolis Downer's CEo Campbell Mason is hitting back at the union, saying they're working to fix the problem before the end of business today.

"It is our highest priority to correct those underpayments, there will be an off-cycle payroll made today to correct those payments but we are very apologetic to our staff and we appreciate how frustrating it is. And it is our highest priority to get the system fixed so we don't have a recurrence of these types of problems," said Campbell Mason.

He isn't passing any blame onto the Transport Minister.

"The Minister has made clear it is for us, Keolis Downer, to fix this problem and he's right it is our payroll and its up to us to get it fixed and its our highest priority to get it fixed."

Newcastle Bus Drivers Underpaid Again!

BY IAN CROUCH

Transport Minister, Andrew Constance has put Newcastle's private transport operator on notice after bus drivers were again underpaid this week.

The Herald reports Keolis Downer failed to pay more than a dozen drivers their correct pay and entitlements .

It comes after more than 70 workers were underpaid last month.

Andrew Constance has demanded the company rectify the problem, saying "Keolis Downer needs to fix this, and fix it quick".

Keolis Downer chief executive, Campbell Mason said there have been problems with the migration of data between rostering and payroll systems and an eight-person taskforce has been working to address the issues which have caused these problems.

It's the latest in a series of problems for the private transport operator, with several bus services cancelled in recent weeks due to drivers being off on sick leave. 

Newcastle Airport ready for overseas travel

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Although there aren't any announcements on the horizon for international flights, Newcastle Airport today unveiled their international terminal fit-out.

The $1.6 million worth of facilities include security and IT equipment, passenger screening technology and furniture for border security agencies.

Transport and Infrastructure Minister Andrew Constance opened the terminal this morning with the majority of which funded by the NSW Government.

"The opportunities are absolutely boundless and I know if Singapore airlines can fly thorough Canberra to New Zealand there is no reason why you won't see some of those international carriers having a very long hard think about the opportunities here, which are here, they're real and they're profound," said Andrew Constance.

The fit out was completed ahead of schedule and marks the completion of the upgrades at the terminal which started in 2015.

Andrew Constance says it's not just about moving people in and out, but the whole region benefiting through their industries as well.

'This one is a bit controversial, but I actually name it the Hunter International Airport because it does need to be a truly international airport. It's the state's second  international airport now, you guys beat Badgerys Creek so the key to it is absolutely the whole region."

Airport CEO Dr Peter Cock is on cloud nine and very happy to say the airport can now cater for international flights should the opportunity arise in the future.

"To see such a high calibre crowd here and driving along the way to this event I think it shows what an important asset this is for the region. It's a game changer. Facilities like this allow us to get international traffic and what we can be sure of is if we don't have this you can't get international flights."

Image newcastleairport.com.au

Light Rail Project To Begin This Year

BY IAN CROUCH

The state government has confirmed construction of the first stage of Newcastle's light rail project will begin in September.

The work will get under way in Hunter Street and will be completed in stages.

Hunter Street will be closed between Auckland and Darby Streets until the end of the year.

Although it will create disruptions for traffic, the government says the construction will be completed three months earlier than originally expected.

It's expected trams will start running on the line by early 2019.