Lord Mayoral Minute Impact of South Coast Line Railway Timetable ...
Lord Mayoral Minute Impact of South Coast Line Railway Timetable ... Lord Mayoral Minute Impact of South Coast Line Railway Timetable ...
Ordinary Meeting of Council 25 November 2013 A1ITEM BFile: CO-910.05.01.009LORD MAYORAL MINUTE – IMPACT OF SOUTH COAST LINERAILWAY TIMETABLE CHANGES ON NORTHERN SUBURBSOn 17 September, 2013 the NSW Government announced a new train timetable toprovide a simpler timetable with 1,000 additional services a week across the wholenetwork and fewer stopping patterns, with the object of customers receiving moreconsistent and reliable service times, particularly in peak periods.This initiative was identified as a result of the State Infrastructure Strategy 2012-2013released by Infrastructure NSW and, in particular, the Mainline Acceleration Program.This strategy identifies there are significant markets where journey times are a moreimportant driver of demand. These include the Central Coast, Hunter and Illawarra.Faster trains to these destinations would effectively expand the catchment area fromwhich people can access jobs in Sydney and spread Sydney’s growing populationacross a larger area.We welcome and commend the Government’s commitment to implement a phasedapproach to accelerate rail times incrementally year-by-year with a target of 1 hourjourney times to Sydney from Wollongong and a focus on operational improvementssupported by targeted capital works ($500M) to reduce journey times.The phased approach recommended is:• A pilot program for acceleration on the South Coast Line between Sydney andWollongong over the first five years to develop the new approach without interferingwith the core of the network• Extension of the concept to the Central Coast between years 5 and 10, with furtherincremental improvements to Wollongong services• More capital works after year 10 and extension of the program to NewcastleservicesThe early stages focus on incremental operational changes, including tighter timetablingand fewer intermediate stops.The first of the incremental changes was introduced on 20 October 2013 with changesto rail timetables through tighter timetabling and fewer intermediate stops.Changes on the South Coast Line have resulted in faster rail times, with express trainsto Sydney only stopping at Thirroul and Helensburgh Stations, providing a travel time ofapproximately 1 hour 30 minutes to Town Hall from North Wollongong.The improved rail times is appreciated by commuters, however has had someunintended consequences, with Wollongong commuters now congregating at ThirroulStation to access the express train from the northern suburbs. The effect of thiscongregation is the choking of Thirroul streets with commuters’ cars which are parkedall day. This congregation into one suburb impacts on the economy of Thirroul ascustomers of businesses and retailers in Thirroul struggle to find parking.
Ordinary Meeting <strong>of</strong> Council 25 November 2013 A1ITEM BFile: CO-910.05.01.009LORD MAYORAL MINUTE – IMPACT OF SOUTH COAST LINERAILWAY TIMETABLE CHANGES ON NORTHERN SUBURBSOn 17 September, 2013 the NSW Government announced a new train timetable toprovide a simpler timetable with 1,000 additional services a week across the wholenetwork and fewer stopping patterns, with the object <strong>of</strong> customers receiving moreconsistent and reliable service times, particularly in peak periods.This initiative was identified as a result <strong>of</strong> the State Infrastructure Strategy 2012-2013released by Infrastructure NSW and, in particular, the Mainline Acceleration Program.This strategy identifies there are significant markets where journey times are a moreimportant driver <strong>of</strong> demand. These include the Central <strong>Coast</strong>, Hunter and Illawarra.Faster trains to these destinations would effectively expand the catchment area fromwhich people can access jobs in Sydney and spread Sydney’s growing populationacross a larger area.We welcome and commend the Government’s commitment to implement a phasedapproach to accelerate rail times incrementally year-by-year with a target <strong>of</strong> 1 hourjourney times to Sydney from Wollongong and a focus on operational improvementssupported by targeted capital works ($500M) to reduce journey times.The phased approach recommended is:• A pilot program for acceleration on the <strong>South</strong> <strong>Coast</strong> <strong>Line</strong> between Sydney andWollongong over the first five years to develop the new approach without interferingwith the core <strong>of</strong> the network• Extension <strong>of</strong> the concept to the Central <strong>Coast</strong> between years 5 and 10, with furtherincremental improvements to Wollongong services• More capital works after year 10 and extension <strong>of</strong> the program to NewcastleservicesThe early stages focus on incremental operational changes, including tighter timetablingand fewer intermediate stops.The first <strong>of</strong> the incremental changes was introduced on 20 October 2013 with changesto rail timetables through tighter timetabling and fewer intermediate stops.Changes on the <strong>South</strong> <strong>Coast</strong> <strong>Line</strong> have resulted in faster rail times, with express trainsto Sydney only stopping at Thirroul and Helensburgh Stations, providing a travel time <strong>of</strong>approximately 1 hour 30 minutes to Town Hall from North Wollongong.The improved rail times is appreciated by commuters, however has had someunintended consequences, with Wollongong commuters now congregating at ThirroulStation to access the express train from the northern suburbs. The effect <strong>of</strong> thiscongregation is the choking <strong>of</strong> Thirroul streets with commuters’ cars which are parkedall day. This congregation into one suburb impacts on the economy <strong>of</strong> Thirroul ascustomers <strong>of</strong> businesses and retailers in Thirroul struggle to find parking.
Ordinary Meeting <strong>of</strong> Council 25 November 2013 A2I THEREFORE MOVE that the <strong>Lord</strong> Mayor and General Manager meet with the NSWMinister for Transport, The Hon. Gladys Berejiklian, to discuss the need for an urgentreview <strong>of</strong> the <strong>South</strong> <strong>Coast</strong> <strong>Line</strong> timetable with the objective <strong>of</strong> addressing the impact <strong>of</strong>timetable changes on commuters between Wollongong and Sydney and morespecifically those in the Northern Suburbs <strong>of</strong> Wollongong. Wollongong City Councilcalls upon all Local State Members <strong>of</strong> Parliament to support Council in this need for areview for fast and better coordinated rail services.
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