After the closure of Newcastle East railway station in Dec 2014 the railway line ceased at Hamilton. The stations, Newcastle, Civic and Wickham closed and plans were made for a new station to be built at Wickham. This is a photo of the new Newcastle Interchange station at Wickham opened in October 2017 at a cost of approximately $200 million so far.
Passengers who wish to end their journey in the centre of Newcastle have to travel by bus to the centre of the city, a distance of 2.7 km from Newcastle Interchange.
To date the Newcastle Interchange railway station consists of three platforms for trains and a cardboard tram. The tram you will see in tomorrow's photo.
Sometime during 2019 the light rail (tramline) from Newcastle Interchange to the centre of Newcastle will be finished and the estimated cost for the light rail will be a further $400 million, bringing the total cost of the whole operation to approximately $600 million.
Why on earth they had to destroy a perfectly good rail line to replace it at such a cost is beyond me. $200 million a kilometre seems rather excessive to me.
Apparently one of the reasons the rail line was cut is because it crossed several roads and disrupted the road traffic. The replacement light rail will do exactly the same. There's progress for you.
It's just the same here. All fares went up on Jan 1st with some people having to pay over £300 a year more for a season pass. Our trains are so overcrowded in places and not all that great. Seems to me that the people who think they know best - actually don't but won't ask those who do and could make a much better job of it! Luckily for me we live rurally and must use the car as there are very very limited trains. Much better under my own steam. (I feel better now lol)
You really have to wonder who makes these decisions and why? Here in the U.S. it seems we’re wondering about government decisions constantly now. :-(
Nicely composed shot with wonderful silhouettes. :-)
@cruiser@dide@littleconnie@susiemc@hermann@shellee@peterday@sangwann@bella_ss@pcoulson@suzanne234@kathiecb@golftragic Thanks, it is apparently all about trying to revitalise Newcastle. They have been trying for years but not managed it yet. A lot of the old buildings are to be demolished and replaced with high rise living so the people who gain from it all are the developers who will end up with very fat pockets. I am not so sure the light rail will pay its way for an awful long time.
@mandygravil Glad you feel better now Mandy. ha ha. I can't see that the light rail will boost the economy in Newcastle. Fares here aren't too bad but it will be years before the light rail pays its way. The old buildings are being replaced with high rise blocks. It will look like Legoland
It's just the same here. All fares went up on Jan 1st with some people having to pay over £300 a year more for a season pass. Our trains are so overcrowded in places and not all that great. Seems to me that the people who think they know best - actually don't but won't ask those who do and could make a much better job of it! Luckily for me we live rurally and must use the car as there are very very limited trains. Much better under my own steam. (I feel better now lol)
Nicely composed shot with wonderful silhouettes. :-)