MEMBER for Burrinjuck Katrina Hodgkinson has welcomed the release of a Transport for NSW tender to operate and maintain the rail lines between Blayney and Demondrille and Koorawatha to Greenethorpe as an important next step to restoring rail services in this area.
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“The reopening of these rail lines is an outcome on which I, and many others in the Central West, have worked strongly towards for many years,” she said.
“Since the Lachlan Regional Transport Committee first raised this proposal it has gained strong support from the Blayney, Cowra, Weddin, Harden and Young Councils and I have worked hard to represent their views to the NSW Government.”
She said the former State Labor Government withdrew maintenance funding from these railway lines, despite significant local concern, in their November 2008 Mini Budget and allowed them to lapse into a disused, nonoperational state.
“In 2010, I arranged meetings between the Councils and Mr Barry O’Farrell and Ms Gladys Berejiklian who are now the Premier and Minister for Transport respectively,” Ms Hodgkinson said.
“Then in February 2012 I arranged and hosted a meeting in Boorowa between Roads and Ports Minister Duncan Gay and representatives of 10 local government areas during which the Ministerial Task Force report on the reopening of the Blayney-Demondrille Railway Line was presented.
“Last year Transport for NSW and the Councils signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop a sustainable and integrated regional road and rail freight infrastructure model from which was developed the Registrations of Interest process to test private sector interest in this project.
“The tender that has now been released invites proposals from the private sector to restore operate and maintain these railway lines on a commercially sustainable basis.
“This is an innovative project that could lead to the successful tenderer being issued with a licence to operate services on these rail lines by Transport for NSW.
“While this has been a long process, I am very pleased that we are making substantial progress towards reversing this problem created by the failure of the former State Labor Government to properly maintain rail assets in regional NSW,” she said.
The Request for Tender will close on July 25.