With total assets of $13.9 billion, General Property Trust is one of Australia’s largest property groups.
Its retail property portfolio, including Charlestown Square is worth $6-billion and now it wants to invest another $650-million in Newcastle.
For the second part of this week’s special series, NBN’s Jane Goldsmith travels to Sydney to meet with GPT’s Head of Retail.
Should the Newcastle rail line be cut at Wickham?
- No (61%, )
- Yes (39%, )
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The existing rail corridor is an essential piece of infrastructure that has been in place since I can remember. I’m Newcastle born and almost 66 years of age. If dismantled like so much of our railway infrastructure in this state, it would never be replaced. They have their eye on the land for redevelopment for profit. If this company is so hell bent to terminate the heavy rail at Wickham, then create an interchange at Wickham or maybe Hamilton or Broadmeadow but retain the corridor and use the existing tracks and overhead power for light rail into Newcastle.
If the rail is to be cut it should be cut before Hamilton station to eliminate the two rail crossings at Beaumont St and Stewart Ave, also the dangours overpass on Maitland Rd could be eliminated.
What about a compromise?It’s clearly in Newcastle inner city to have an upgrade to bring back custormers to the mall and other inner city facilities, yet it is an historic and important piece of transport infrastructure. Why not replace the Wickam to City section of the line with a slot tunnel which would be relatively cheap to build, and the costs of which could be re-couped from sale of property above the current line. In years to come, perhaps the line could be extended underground to places like the beaches so young people could get access to them cheaply.
Cutting the line at Wickham is a great idea, there is no need for heavy rail in the heart of our city. A light rail tram system through-out Newcastle will our city centre a far more pleasant and viberant place. Ending the rail at Wickham doesn’t mean the end of transport into the CBD, it just means the removal of an eye-sore.
I must say that I’m surprised that NBN is treating this as a new idea, considering the Architecture department of the Univeristy of Newcastle has been in favour of such a plan for at least the last 2 years. I wonder if NBN will be interveiwing any of the university academics of local Architects before this series ends.
Hi
Cutting the rail off is a bad idea beause i use the train and bus into newcaslte all the time because I don’t drive. look I say think of the children because the young one the like to surf or just go into to town have a far way to walk. I took a group of children into Newcaslte Town Hall and it made it so easy to get of at civic and walk across the road. But it just save walking so far. Anyway if the company wants to put a new shopping area for newcaslte how about doing up the empty shops that are all ready there. Please don’t get rid of the train line. Newcaslte Train Station won’t be known for Surf fest. Like Maitland It’s name after streamfest and it’s great train. DON’T take away newcaslte history.
“Moove on” all the people that want the train line to remain are old fashioned and short sighted. They must think of the community as a whole not just worrying about their loss of convenience or how things were. Buisness in Newcastle has been struggling too long without any assistance from Government. Now is the time to act and support this injection of prosperity.
To keep the line would in fact be farsighted. We are facing a far different future.Public transport will be a vital tool in the future infrastructure of our city. We need to keep every inch of Railway we have and extend it as much as we can. THink of our children and their children.
Interchanges don’t work. Every time I exit Fassifern Station, the Toronto bus has just left. Handling surfboards, walking frames and wheelchairs are all difficult with interchanges. The surveys say 46% of railusers will revert to their cars. We already have a parking problem in Newcastle so perhaps GPT needs to be rethink there stance.
Newcastle station should stay–If I can’t drive my car and park free for shoping I don’t go–I have been shopping in everincreasing distances from Newcastle
I give each shopping centre a miss as the first augmentation takes place and shops are put in the car park–I now live up the valley–when I go to Newcastle the train is my preferred option if the timetable suits or I do not need to travel elese where–however I tend not to shop as I do not wish to carry much on the train
Upper hunter persons have a need to get to Newcastle (beach ,court,specialists etc) we do not want an added fare from Wickham–my daughters seem to want to shop in Newcastle (I think that will wear off as time becomes prescious) and they use the train
I believe that no buildings should have ever beem put on the eastern side of the old warf road I believe ALL of this ground should have been verry low level public use –I believe the three or so new buildings should be stopped and the Crown Plazza removed–this sight is spoiling the city and I am entitled to my view
If you do not remove the rail line there will be no future for Newcastle CBD. The Goverment has expressed no intention of investing in the city, look at the amount of people catching empty three car carriges into town. The train timetable is still shown on old analouge clocks. Two of the city lines are used for carriage storage,If we do not support investment there will be no city to transport to. Newcastle has more to offer than beaches.Look to the future or die in the past.
Cities all over the world are extending their rail lines, see London at Shepherds Bush. Newcastle is considering an alternative that will pollute our city with increased petrol and diesel fumes. Disabled people in wheelchairs, mothers with prams, partially sighted people, surfers with the boards, and elderly people with luggage cannot easily use buses. We sacrifice them so that prominent developers can erect row s of towering apartment blocks in the rail corridor.
Just tell me. How is removing the heavy rail going to revitalise the CBD??? Keeping the heavy rail in San Diego hasn’t stopped that city revitalising and why do people supporting GPT’s demands keep mentioning Vancouver? Vancouvers foreshores are cut off by high rise and busy roads – similar to what Newcastle is becoming.