Newcastle light rail, renewal & integrated transport

[boronia]

Tim Crakanthorp MP

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Finally, there is movement on securing a future light rail corridor!
Newcastle will receive a share of $3 million that has been allocated to light rail outside Sydney, which will go towards securing the corridor for future expansion.
Granted, it won't go exceptionally far, but for all the meetings I've had with Transport for NSW about this it's good to see we are finally moving in the right direction.

[Swift]

The novocastrian system is crying to be lengthened.
The DISTANCE was disgracefully short for the LENGTH OF TIME of, and inconvenience caused by construction.

[ScaniaGrenda]

I'm just in dismay & scratching my head right this moment, so they chuck 3 Million at a possible extension for the Newcastle Light rail but this might not even happen for what? 10-15-20 years? Not only that, the price to acquire whatever land their building their extension to will have tripled in that time & for an extension that isn't realistically going to happen anytime soon, the money would've been better invested on the Hunter Line train services but that's for another topic.

I'm still young however that doesn't mean I am not aware of government track records when it comes to these things. 100% this is a fantasy dream right up there with the mystical High Speed rail and this will not take place anytime soon. My stance still strongly remains that because we're not Sydney, whatever does come our way is definitely poorly done & undercooked (In other words, I'm trying to say the state isn't serious about upgrading or building anything outside of Sydney).

[boronia]

Where else would be "sharing" in this largesse? What other light rail is there "outside Sydney"?

[Bus 400]

Where else would be "sharing" in this largesse? What other light rail is there "outside Sydney"?

Without sounding cynical, whatever seat the Liberals/Nationals are close to loosing at the election in March.

[Swift]

Why else would they close a railway line except to make developers way richer? This state resembles a poorly run South American country, except by an English speaking Anglo Saxon dominated membership, such is the corruption woven through it.
It's really ¾ Sydney metropolitan area government.

[ScaniaGrenda]

To be fair on the other hand, Tim is right that it is a start although when you look at what is being invested In Sydney & then look back at here, It's hard not to feel rightfully let down or disappointed. 3 Million just tells me the state isn't seriously committed to the future of the Newcastle Light Rail but wants to look like they are.

The excuse of "Your not Sydney" gets used a fair amount as to why we've got what we've got & to excuse why we shouldn't fix anything but why should that matter if we're the levels of Sydney or not? What happened to building & ensuring infrastructure & Transport Networks that were fit for purpose?

This is why I really get upset, you see the millions being set for the Metro & Parramatta Light Rail but what is a drop in the ocean here that is buckley's chance of taking place, no commitment & no planning. Really says a lot about how much the state cares or notices about those outside of Sydney. No doubting that we'll see another Sydney light rail build to somewhere else before Newcastles extension ever sees the light of day.

[tonyp]

There needs to be some major urban planning framework around any light rail extension. Newcastle has been a town planning disaster for many decades and is now decentralised to buggery with several suburban centres that have replaced the old city centre, most of them not even near a station (of which Glendale is an obvious candidate for a station but no government has acted on that). It's basically a car-dependent city. Even the new Newcastle Hospital, which could have been a strong public transport focus, is located in the stupidest place imaginable.

It's hard to imagine where a tram could go unless there is a major rezoning along the corridor that allows for major residential densification and development of new centres. The most obvious one of these would be due west past Broadmeadow and on to the hospital (if it can get up that hill). Like Sydney, it's a tragedy that the old tram system was abandoned, in this case particularly the Plattsburg (Wallsend) line which was a fast, almost interurban, service. That would have been another good one, filling in a gap that rail doesn't serve.

There is a lot of potential for attracting people back to public transport in a regional city, as the Gong Shuttle demonstrates in Wollongong, a city that has a better layout with a strong north-south axis, with the Shuttle performing a link that draws together several key activity centres on an east-west axis not served by rail.

The other issue with Newcastle light rail that has to be addressed before extension is Constance's wire-free cerebral flatulence that requires the tram to wait at each stop before proceeding to the next. This adds two minutes to that short ten minute journey, so it would add a significant factor more if heading to somewhere like the hospital (and that hill again). That technological issue needs to be addressed first.

[Swift]

Attracting them? They crave it but our useless dithering bludger-ments put special interest groups like oil companies, car manufacturers, the roads lobby and developers first. There's a refusal to give their voters what they know damned they are after.
Just when Sydney is at bursting point and we need the outside cities to take the slack, the useless [censored] still won't invest in preparedness for the migration to regions.

[ScaniaGrenda]

And so I dig up this Newcastle thread regarding our regions very beloved 2.7KM light rail network, The recent Newcastle Herald article exposes the ongoing issues surrounding CAF LRV 2155, which has been out of service for almost two years and already mentioned to being "salvaged for parts". Despite the plethora of excuses and finger-pointing, there seems to be a notable absence of accountability. Transport for NSW's reluctance to provide transparent and forthright information further complicates the matter. Moreover, it's worth noting that CAF has a history of issues with their LRVs, adding another layer of complexity to the situation.

Dispute with Spanish maker leaves Newcastle tram laid up for two years
https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/stor ... two-years/

The number 2155 tram has been parked outside the Keolis Downer maintenance depot in Newcastle West since June 2022.

The vehicle appears to be missing the rooftop "onboard energy storage system" which helps charge its battery at stops along the Newcastle light rail route.

Multiple sources told the Newcastle Herald that the vehicle was being used for components due to an ongoing dispute between Keolis Downer and Spanish manufacturer CAF over supplying parts.

One source said the trams' battery storage system was "very problematic" and Keolis Downer had encountered difficulty sourcing parts from CAF.

The source said the Spanish manufacturer had not been willing to provide adequate technical support and was trying to create "leverage" to take over the maintenance contract when the government's agreement with Keolis Downer expired in 2027.

The Herald understands Keolis Downer is responsible for all problems with the trams under its operation and maintenance contract with the government.

A source said spare parts could be arriving soon to fix 2155 after more than 12 months of delays.

Heavy rain had caused some issues for the trams, and parts were wearing out quickly on the flexible pantograph charging mechanism at each light rail stop.

The Herald has seen written evidence of recent "pantograph motor failures" on the tram line and other reliability issues affecting services.

Keolis Downer is contracted to run and maintain six CAF Urbos trams on the route.

Four of these are meant to run on the track at any one time in seven-minute intervals from 7am to 7pm.

One is held in reserve in case of a breakdown while another enters the workshop for routine servicing.

The absence of tram 2155 is resulting in some 15-minute intervals between services when the fleet encounters problems.

Transport for NSW did not answer questions about why tram 2155 had been out of action for so long, whether it had been scavenged for parts and if the government or Keolis Downer was in dispute with CAF.

"The safety of passengers and staff is the highest priority for Transport for NSW," a Transport for NSW spokesperson said.

"We are aware that, on occasion, services have operated at reduced frequency due to maintenance of the fleet.

"Every effort is made to ensure passengers are informed of any disruptions this may cause."

Transport for NSW has been embroiled in a long-running dispute with CAF over the design and cost of the state's new long-distance trains replacing the XPT fleet.

The department found cracking on all six CAF Urbos trams on Sydney's Inner West Light Rail route in 2021 but subsequent checks of the Newcastle vehicles found no such issues.

One source who spoke to the Herald this week said all six Newcastle vehicles were experiencing chassis cracking but the problems were not yet severe enough to warrant repairs.

Other Urbos vehicles around the world have experienced cracking around their bogie boxes.

The Inner West trams are powered by more conventional overhead wires instead of rapid-charging onboard batteries.

Keolis Downer said some of the factors contributing to service disruptions included "regular fleet maintenance coinciding with unplanned disruptions such as extreme weather events".

[tonyp]

It all boils down to TfNSW's longstanding poor capability for procuring the best vehicles/vessels/designs/suppliers for the job. This is but one example.

[ScaniaGrenda]

It all boils down to TfNSW's longstanding poor capability for procuring the best vehicles/vessels/designs/suppliers for the job.

sadly of which was done and precured under the previous government. I really don't think members of the public are all too keen to see this finger pointing, Instead they just want to get to their A-B's and B to A's reliability without too many hitches and if issues is ran into rectified with appropriate measures.

I really don't pay attention to the Newcastle Light Rail network admittedly, it's a bland 2.7KM total track that If I'm in the city will only use on weekdays (as weekend 15 minute frequency just means it's quicker to walk down to the next stop or two). I wasn't aware 2155 had been sitting idle for an extended lengthy period of time to begin with.

TNSW should just come out and say this was something that the whole situation boils down to decisions & deals made by a previous leadership and that present options due to still existing contracts are limited in action that can be taken however we are working with CAF / Keolis Downer to continue / investigate the situation regarding this particular LRV as to why it continues to remain out of service and endeavor to provide more information in due time where appropriate. Now I'd sit with that response instead of this "sorry we can't confirm or deny what the future of 2155 is".

And the continued use of the cliché line of "Safety & wellbeing of our customers & staff is our #1 priority", right, so what else is hiding that their not telling us as well?

[Randomness]

Didn’t CAF maintenance do the same to Variobahns on the IWLR? (Overcost/Restrict Variobahn parts to make ordering new Urbos’s more attractive). I wouldn’t be surprised if they were also restricting parts for all Urbos systems to encourage just ordering new trams because it would mean higher margins for them

[tonyp]

Didn’t CAF maintenance do the same to Variobahns on the IWLR? (Overcost/Restrict Variobahn parts to make ordering new Urbos’s more attractive). I wouldn’t be surprised if they were also restricting parts for all Urbos systems to encourage just ordering new trams because it would mean higher margins for them

You're getting warmer, just that this is not uncommon. TfNSW needs to be more diligent.