Christmas Newcastle Rail Closure must be stopped

The Rail, Tram and Bus Union has today backed calls for the Baird Government to halt its plans to dismantle the Newcastle rail line.

RTBU Secretary Alex Claassens said he welcomed the Opposition and Greens party leaders’ calls for a parliamentary inquiry into the issue to be held, and for work to rip up the line to be stopped.

“It beggars belief that the Baird Government is still proposing to push ahead with its plans to rip up the rail line into Newcastle,” Mr Claassens said.

“The plan was flawed from the very beginning, but the recent revelations of serious corruption coming out of ICAC have cast an even greater shadow over the Government’s project.

“If there was ever a time not to rush a project through, surely it is now.

Mr Claassens said he is hopeful a parliamentary inquiry will shine a light on the planning process behind the Newcastle decision.

“It’s critical that the people of NSW, particularly those in Newcastle, have an opportunity see exactly how these key planning decisions that will impact on the region as a whole for many years to come have been reached.

“The travelling public deserve to know that any major planning decisions are being made in their best interests, and not the interests of a few developers.”