Newcastle Railway Part One
Length: 2:55
Description: In January 2005 the five kilometre passenger railway into Newcastle NSW was facing closure by the state Labor government under Minister of Transport Michael Costa and Premier Bob Carr. It seemed extraordinary in an era of supposed support for public transport and concern about global warming that one of the only regional rail transport networks in Australia should be truncated at its hub and replaced by diesel buses for the sake of real estate deals. But then, six other country freight lines had been or were about to be closed over a period of two years. I went to film what was happening at Newcastle in what were anticipated to be the last months of the line. The line has had a reprieve since, but its long-term future is uncertain. The old 620/720 class railcars were still running to Telarah and other points on the unelectrified Hunter Valley routes. There was a great deal of movement in and out of Newcastle, with trains ranging from the 620/720 railcars, replaced in 2007, Endeavour diesel railcar sets, two-car electric sets shuttling to and from Morisset, to four, six and eight car electric sets running to and from Sydney. Part One shows movements in the evening of Tuesday 11 January at Newcastle station.
Author: horizonstaraus
Source: YouTube
