The Greens Sustainable Transport - Package for Rural NSW

To restore equity, rejuvenate rural rail and protect the environment

The Greens are working to shift funds away from metropolitan motorways and towards investment in clean green affordable public transport options in rural and regional NSW.

Reopen Casino to Murwillumbah rail line

The Greens are working with community groups to ­

• introduce a local passenger service on the Casino to Murwillumbah rail line,
• integrate these services with the XPT and other transport services, and for bicycles to travel free, and
• extend the line, in the long term, from Murwillumbah to the Gold Coast, to connect with Queensland rail services.

Integrated and comprehensive public transport system

The Greens are working with community groups to develop an overall transport strategy for regional NSW that includes ­

• the development of commuter rail services between regional areas,
• an increase in the frequency of bus services and the extension of services after hours and on weekends, and
• a review of ticket prices to ensure all these services are affordable.

Reopen rail branch lines

The Greens are working with farming and community groups ­

• to achieve an increase in funding to open rural freight rail branch lines recently closed, and upgrade existing lines, and
• to require that the government investigates the possibility of passenger services being extended to these branch lines where there is sufficient demand.

A solid funding base for CountryLink

The Greens are calling for an increase in funding for rural rail maintenance. The 2004 Auditor-General’s report on rural rail maintenance revealed a $596 million backlog of maintenance works.

Get freight back on track, phase out B-Doubles

The Greens are calling for ­

• the immediate removal of the subsidised registration fee for B-Double trucks in NSW,
• removal of all B-Doubles from NSW roads by 2011, and
• the upgrading and expansion of rail freight services.

Transport equity ­ transport options for young people and the elderly

The Greens support -

• free passage on public transport for bikes and require that new buses and trains provide bicycle storage,
• the removal of the unfair CountryLink fee-booking fees levied on pensioner travel vouchers,
• concessions for low-income Health Care Card holders, people on Temporary Protection Visas, and the extension of the Pensioner Excursion Ticket beyond Sydney, and
• the adjustment of bus fares so no rural and regional fares cost more than an equivalent Sydney trip.

NSW Transport Co-ordination Authority

The Greens will move a private members bill to remove the RTA’s planning and consent powers on major infrastructure projects, and to set up the NSW Transport Co-ordination Authority (TCA) to ensure that NSW has a world leading public transport system that incorporates the views of transport workers and the community.

Fundamental change in transport planning and investment

The money to undertake these projects should come from the federal government’s AusLink program. Public transport should receive more funding than road expansion. If the federal government will not co-operate with the states the NSW government should raise this money through a series of Green Bonds.