Newcastle Light Rail
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The Newcastle Light Rail is a light rail system in
Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle ( ; Awabakal: ) is a metropolitan area and the second most populated city in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas, and is the hub of the Greater Newcastle area, w ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, running from
Newcastle Interchange Newcastle Interchange is a transport interchange serving the city of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. It serves as the termini for NSW TrainLink's Central Coast & Newcastle Line and Hunter Line train services, Newcastle Light Rail ser ...
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 Newcastle Transport is a public transport operator in Newcastle, New South Wales. A subsidiary of Keolis Downer, it operates bus, ferry and light rail services under contract to Transport for NSW. History and operations In November 2015, ...
for
Transport for NSW Transport for NSW, sometimes abbreviated to TfNSW, and pronounced as Transport for New South Wales, is an agency of the New South Wales Government established on 1 November 2011, and is the leading transport and roads agency in New South Wales, ...
.


History


Trams

Newcastle first had trams from 1887 until 1950, when the final line, the Waratah line, was replaced by buses. At its peak, the system ran to
Speers Point Speers Point is a suburb of Greater Newcastle, and the location of the council seat of the City of Lake Macquarie local government area in New South Wales, Australia. It is west-southwest of the city of Newcastle on the northern shore of Lake M ...
and
West Wallsend West Wallsend is a suburb and small town in the City of Lake Macquarie, Greater Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia. It is near the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway and the western suburbs of Newcastle. History The Awabakal are the traditional p ...
. It was mostly served by trams of the LP design, 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 The Sydney Tramway Museum (operated by the South Pacific Electric Railway) is Australia's oldest tramway museum and the largest in the southern hemisphere. It is located at Loftus in the southern suburbs of Sydney. History Construction of th ...
. 284 is located at the
Newcastle Museum Newcastle Museum is in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. History The Newcastle Museum was founded in 1988. It was originally located in the old Castlemaine Brewery building on Hunter Street until 2008. In 2011 it reopened in its presen ...
.


Railway line

For decades the
Newcastle railway line The Newcastle railway line is a branch railway line in the city of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. The line branches off the Main North line at Broadmeadow and travels in an easterly direction through the inner suburbs to Newcastle Inte ...
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 The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governmen ...
announced its intention to close the line east of Wickham with the closure of Wickham,
Civic Civic is something related to a city or municipality. It also can refer to multiple other things: General *Civics, the science of comparative government *Civic engagement, the connection one feels with their larger community *Civic center, a comm ...
and
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
stations. The line closed between
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...
and Newcastle stations on 25 December 2014. A permanent terminus,
Newcastle Interchange Newcastle Interchange is a transport interchange serving the city of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. It serves as the termini for NSW TrainLink's Central Coast & Newcastle Line and Hunter Line train services, Newcastle Light Rail ser ...
, was constructed adjacent to the former Wickham station, 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 of the existing rail corridor east of Wickham station was reused, before the light rail proceeds along Scott and
Hunter Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...
Streets to terminate at Pacific Park in
Newcastle East Newcastle East is an inner city suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located immediately east of Newcastle's central business district at the mouth of the Hunter River. The Awabakal and Worimi peoples are acknowledged by City of New ...
. 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. 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 Newcastle City Council is the local government authority for the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne. The council consists of 78 councillors, three for each of the 26 wards in the city. It is currently controlled by the Labou ...
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 The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its tributaries with highland areas to the north and so ...
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 had 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 started around the middle of 2017. 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.Transforming Newcastle: Community to have its say on next steps to revitalise city transport
Transport for New South Wales 5 April 2016
In July 2018 an alternate list of names was published where Market St could be Queens Wharf and Pacific Park could be Newcastle Beach. In April 2016
CPB Contractors CIMIC Group Limited (formerly Leighton Holdings) is an Australian construction contractor. It is active in the telecommunications, engineering and infrastructure, building and property, mining and resources, and environmental services industries ...
,
Downer Group Downer Group is an integrated services company active in Australia and New Zealand. Listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and New Zealand Stock Exchange as Downer EDI (DOW), Downer is an ASX 100 company. Downer Group employs approximat ...
, John Holland, Laing O'Rourke and
McConnell Dowell McConnell Dowell is a major infrastructure construction company founded in New Zealand in 1961. In 2003 it became a wholly owned subsidiary of Aveng, which is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in South Africa. History McConnell Dowell was ...
were shortlisted to bid for the contract to build the infrastructure. Downer was awarded the contract in August. The government announced in April 2017 that the trams would use on board energy storage technology to allow the majority of the line to operate without overhead wires. This differs from the approach used in the wire-free section of Sydney's
CBD and South East Light Rail The CBD and South East Light Rail is a light rail line in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Construction commenced in October 2015, with services between Circular Quay and Randwick commencing on 14 December 2019 as the L2 Randwick Line, and ...
, which powers the trams via a proprietary
ground-level power supply Ground-level power supply, also known as surface current collection or, in French, ''alimentation par le sol'' ("feeding via the ground"), is a concept and group of technologies whereby electric vehicles collect electric power at ground level fro ...
technology. Construction of the light rail was completed by the end of September 2018. A free community open day for the public was held on 17 February 2019 with regular services commencing the next day. Every November, when the Newcastle 500
Supercars Championship The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport. Supercars events take place in all Australian ...
event takes place, services terminate at Queens Wharf; this is due to the Newcastle Beach stop being located inside the circuit.


Operation

Services are operated by
Newcastle Transport Newcastle Transport is a public transport operator in Newcastle, New South Wales. A subsidiary of Keolis Downer, it operates bus, ferry and light rail services under contract to Transport for NSW. History and operations In November 2015, ...
. A depot was built on the site of the former Wickham railway station.


Rolling stock

A fleet of six Urbos 100 trams operate the service. The trams consist of five modules and are 33 metres long. The trams were purchased by exercising an option under the rolling stock contract for Sydney's
Inner West Light Rail The Inner West Light Rail is a light rail line in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, running from Central railway station through the Inner West to Dulwich Hill and serving 23 stops. It is the original line of the Sydney light rail network ...
. The Newcastle variant of the vehicles includes technology to enable wire-free operation, onboard surfboard racks and a different livery.


Frequency

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 7am to midnight, and 30 minutes in the early morning. On Sundays, trams operate every 15 minutes from 7am to midnight, and 30 minutes in the early morning.


Stops


Newcastle Interchange

Newcastle Interchange Newcastle Interchange is a transport interchange serving the city of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. It serves as the termini for NSW TrainLink's Central Coast & Newcastle Line and Hunter Line train services, Newcastle Light Rail ser ...
is a
transport interchange A transport hub is a place where passengers and cargo are exchanged between vehicles and/or between transport modes. Public transport hubs include railway stations, rapid transit stations, bus stops, tram stops, airports and ferry slips. F ...
situated in the inner suburb of Wickham. It serves as the termini for
NSW TrainLink NSW TrainLink is a train and coach operator in Australia, providing services throughout New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, along with limited interstate services into Victoria, Queensland and South Australia. Its primary interc ...
's
Central Coast & Newcastle Line The Central Coast & Newcastle Line is a NSW TrainLink passenger train service that runs along the Main North railway line in New South Wales, connecting the state's two largest cities, Sydney and Newcastle. The service runs from through to o ...
and
Hunter Line The Hunter Line is a commuter train line operated by NSW TrainLink, running from Newcastle to Dungog and Scone in the New South Wales Hunter Region. It operates on the Newcastle, Main North and North Coast lines. Description of Route Hunter ...
train services, Newcastle Light Rail services and a number of
Newcastle Transport Newcastle Transport is a public transport operator in Newcastle, New South Wales. A subsidiary of Keolis Downer, it operates bus, ferry and light rail services under contract to Transport for NSW. History and operations In November 2015, ...
bus routes.


Honeysuckle

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 located not far from the station on Hunter Street.


Civic

The Civic stop was constructed in front of the former
Civic railway station Civic railway station was located on the Newcastle line in New South Wales, Australia. It served the Civic part of Newcastle's central business district, opening on 22 December 1935. The station had the smallest signal box in the state to cont ...
on Hunter Street. The railway station was originally built in 1935 and was serviced by the
Newcastle railway line The Newcastle railway line is a branch railway line in the city of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. The line branches off the Main North line at Broadmeadow and travels in an easterly direction through the inner suburbs to Newcastle Inte ...
until 2014 when it permanently closed as a railway station. The new light rail stop was built strategically in the geographical heart of Newcastle. Civic light rail stop is located on Hunter Street in the Newcastle CBD providing direct access to a number of inner-city attractions including
Newcastle City Hall The Newcastle City Hall (currently known as O2 City Hall Newcastle for sponsorship reasons) is a concert hall located in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It has hosted many popular music and classical artists throughout the years, as well as stan ...
,
Newcastle Museum Newcastle Museum is in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. History The Newcastle Museum was founded in 1988. It was originally located in the old Castlemaine Brewery building on Hunter Street until 2008. In 2011 it reopened in its presen ...
and Newcastle Civic Park.


Crown Street

The Crown Street stop is located adjacent to the Hunter Street and Crown Street intersection in the Newcastle CBD precinct.


Queens Wharf

The Queens Wharf stop is located on Scott Street and provides access to Market Street retail precinct and the Queens Wharf ferry terminal. It was initially to have been named Market St. See
Queens Wharf Queens Wharf is a multi-purpose venue in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia with a cafe, pub, restaurant, observation tower and ferry wharf built as part of the redevelopment of the Hunter River foreshore. Opened in May 1988 by Queen Elizabe ...
for transport connections.


Newcastle Beach

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 Newcastle East is an inner city suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located immediately east of Newcastle's central business district at the mouth of the Hunter River. The Awabakal and Worimi peoples are acknowledged by City of New ...
. Other attractions nearby include the Foreshore Park located on Wharf Road. It was initially to have been named Pacific Park.


Potential extensions

Several options to extend the network were released in April 2016. The options were: *Newcastle Interchange to Broadmeadow station **Broadmeadow station to
Hunter Stadium Newcastle International Sports Centre, known as McDonald Jones Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose sports stadium located in Newcastle, Australia. The ground is home to the Newcastle Knights (National Rugby League) and Newca ...
**Broadmeadow station to Adamstown *Newcastle Interchange to Mayfield Other proposals made by the community include extensions to
John Hunter Hospital The John Hunter Hospital and John Hunter Children's Hospital (sometimes known as the JHH and JHCH respectively, or more colloquially The John Hunter) is the principal referral centre and a tertiary hospital for Newcastle, and northern New South ...
, University of Newcastle at Callaghan,
Newcastle Airport Newcastle or New Castle Airport may refer to: * Newcastle International Airport, an airport in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, UK ** Newcastle Airport metro station, the Tyne and Wear metro station serving the airport * Newcastle Airport (Nevis), no ...
,
Glendale Glendale is the anglicised version of the Gaelic Gleann Dail, which means ''valley of fertile, low-lying arable land''. It may refer to: Places Australia * Glendale, New South Wales ** Stockland Glendale, a shopping centre *Glendale, Queensland, ...
,
Merewether Merewether () is a former Municipality and today a suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located from Newcastle's central business district with a population of around 11,000. The suburb stretches from Merewether Beach in the east ...
and a CBD loop. Transport for NSW stated that these routes suffered from high costs and engineering challenges. In March 2020 an updated report was released by Transport for NSW on the business case for extension of the line. Media reporting identified that the "most suitable" route for an extension is from Newcastle Interchange to
John Hunter Hospital The John Hunter Hospital and John Hunter Children's Hospital (sometimes known as the JHH and JHCH respectively, or more colloquially The John Hunter) is the principal referral centre and a tertiary hospital for Newcastle, and northern New South ...
, but that there was "no urgent need" to extend stage one following economic assessments.


References


External links

{{Outer Metropolitan Sydney public transport, state=collapsed Light rail in Australia Rail transport in the Hunter Region Railway lines opened in 2019 Transport in Newcastle, New South Wales 2019 establishments in Australia