[New date & venue] 5.30 PM, first Tue. of month
at Newcastle Leagues Club (except Jan.)
7.00 PM, second Wed. of month at St. Peters Church Hall East Maitland
SOR rally: "cross the line" to "Fix Our City"
Thursday 3rd June 2010 - 5pm to 6pm at Civic Park
Save Our Rail will rally in Civic Park on Thursday afternoon 5pm to 6pm,
opposite the Fix Our City meeting in Town Hall and in opposition to their
plans to cut the rail line.
On a satirical note, those who arrive beforehand can see the separate
DARC-BICS (Developers Against the Rail Corridor - Building in the Corridor
Soon) "property developer" lobby group performance. DARC-BICS's
rally will be held outside Town Hall from 4.30pm. Their spokesman stated:
"We have waited far too long for the NSW government to remove this
train line so that we can build on it".
Level Crossing Myths Busted: Video of Worth Place event
Thursday 29th April 2010
The "no new level crossing policy" myth has been busted!
Part 1Part 2 (19 mins total)
Event at Worth Place - where you could "cross the line"...
Thursday 29th April 2010 - 12 noon at Worth Place
Save Our Rail will have a sausage sizzle and music event at Worth Place
on Thursday 29th April 2010 at 12 noon. Worth Place is just off Hunter
Street, east of the Union St intersection. There is an old Police Station,
now a family centre, then a vacant block and then the small street which,
in our plans will be a pedestrian level crossing of the rail line.
(click images to enlarge)
NOTE: New monthly meeting times and venues
The Lower Hunter meeting times and venues have changed: Lower Hunter
(Newcastle) meetings are now held on the first Tuesday of
each month at 5.30pm at Newcastle Leagues Club in the second floor
meeting room (National Park Street - opposite Spotlight). This
replaces the Hamilton Station Hotel meeting (we thank them for their
long support). Maitland meeting times and venues remain unchanged
at 7.00 PM, second Wednesday of each month at St. Peters
Church Hall East Maitland.
Busy Newcastle Station - New Year's Eve 2009
Thursday 31st December 2009
No one catches the train to Newcastle? Save Our Rail begs to differ!
HDC's proposed buses -- whether Hunter Street buses, "magical" buses,
"blue shuttle" buses, super-mega-hyper-low emission flying buses
-- could never cope with the peak loads generated by special events.
Note that the Hunter Street buses were also running this evening.
Watch
at YouTube.com (85 seconds).
Our response to the HDC report
12th July 2009
The Hunter Development Corporation (HDC) report does not have adequate reasons
for any removal of the direct heavy rail into Newcastle, therefore we urge the
State Government to ignore this flawed report and to fully examine other options
for Newcastle’s improvement. The proposals put forward by Save Our Rail
for crossings, a viaduct and other improvements would solve connectivity problems
with a greater net benefit to the community than a rail cut.
(left) Save Our Rail proposes pedestrian level crossings at intervals
between Wickham and Civic Stations, the most important being at Steel
Street and Worth Place, but also suggested for Cottage Creek. Further
pedestrian level crossings at key locations between Civic and Newcastle
Stations, especially at Perkins and Market Streets, would enhance retail
success in Hunter Street.
(above) The proposal involves a grade separation of rail and road at
Stewart Avenue.
(above) The re-development of Civic Station to create an open landscaped
concourse would unify the cultural centre from the Region Art Gallery
to the foreshore.
(above) Improved access to Newcastle Station could be gained by re-opening
doorways leading to Bolton Street and a ramp to Newcomen Street.
(left) The heritage Newcastle Station has potential as a vibrant activity
centre with refurbishment of currently unused areas.
(above) Rail line beautification with landscaping of the remaining visible CBD sections
of the rail corridor is suggested. The harbour view from the train as
it arrives at Newcastle Station is often the subject of favourable comment
by visitors to this city.
(above) A new "Harbourlink" Station near the Mall would further commercial
prospects in that precinct. Signalling rationalisation, with all Newcastle
line controls located at Broadmeadow would result in substantial ongoing
annual cost savings.
Newcastle as the Regional Centre
needs sustainable transport connection to new land releases.
Home
