Regions need transport infrastructure plan

Regional needs should be factored into the long term planning for transport infrastructure in NSW, Member for Northern Tablelands Richard Torbay said today.
Significant funding was required for both the rail system and the community transport network.
“Rural and regional communities should not be sidelined because of metro priorities ,” he said.
“It happened in the run up to the 2000 Olympics when the money for projects outside Sydney just dried up.
“We do not want a repeat scenario of that , particularly in the catch-up on the huge wastage of public money in scrapping the Sydney Metro scheme and finding the funding for a new urban transport plan.
“Even a proportion of the $300 million plus that has been wasted would have had a big impact on improving transport services in rural and regional NSW.”
Mr Torbay said both the government and opposition needed reminding that “NSW is a state not a city”.
Many people living outside Sydney relied on rail and community transport to access medical and other vital services.
“There is a compelling case made by centralised bureaucracies to bring people to the services rather than the services to the people,” he said.
“But that only works if people can access transport at a reasonable cost. Many living in remote and isolated areas do not have cars and rely on either rail or hard pressed community transport to get to see their doctors and access other services.”
The MP said country based Independent MPs would be pushing the government and the opposition to submit a long term regional transport infrastructure policy prior to next year’s State election.
“This should include as many options as possible for future services and a guarantee that rail infrastructure will be maintained and upgraded, more trains provided and the community transport network be better funded and extended,” he said.