Wollongong MP, Paul Scully has welcomed the Parliamentary Secretary for the Illawarra and South Coast, Gareth Ward’s support for his proposal to use train carriages from the Newcastle and Central Coast Lines to be recommissioned on the South Coast Line to finally address overcrowding.
Mr Ward is quoted in the Illawarra Mercury online suggesting:
“When you add the new trains to the Central Coast, you can use the trains that are no longer used on that line to come to other parts of the network, and that’s what I’ll be seeking to do.”
Mr Scully put this very same proposal to the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Andrew Constance MP months ago and has repeated the proposal since in direct letters to the Minister and in the NSW Parliament.
The Minister, however, has been hiding behind standard responses from Transport for NSW which only suggest the overcrowding problem can be solved when the intercity fleet is commissioned on the South Coast Line. To date Minister Constance has not responded to Mr Scully’s suggestions to reduce overcrowding on trains on the South Coast Line.
Initially, it was proposed that the new intercity fleet would be commissioned for use on the South Coast Line in 2019, but that timetable has now blown out to at least 2021 in public comments from Transport for NSW. The Minister refuses to confirm the Transport for NSW timetable.
In the meantime, commuters on the South Coast Line, particularly on peak afternoon services from Central to Wollongong, are forced to continue with the frustration of overcrowded trains on the hour and half journey.
Comments attributable to Paul Scully MP:
“I’m very pleased to see the Parliamentary Secretary for the Illawarra and South Coast has jumped on board and adopted my proposal, which I have pushing with the Transport Minister for months now.
“They say that imitation is the best form of flattery.
“I call on Gareth Ward to work with me and Ryan Park and help to arrange a meeting with the Transport Minister so we can get this overcrowding problem on the South Coast Line fixed.
“There is now very clear bipartisan political support to solve the overcrowding on the South Coast Line.”
“There is now no political excuse for the Minister not to adopt my proposal.”
