Sydney-bound journeys from Morisset and local stations are set to be cut by more than three hours a week with the introduction of faster services on the Central Coast & Newcastle Line.
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The upgraded train times were announced on Monday by Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Scot MacDonald, who acknowledged that travel times had been a hot topic among commuters from Morisset, and Wyong.
It’s not a permanent fixture on the Monday-Friday travel schedule however – the faster trains travelling from the new Newcastle Interchange to the Sydney CBD and passing through Morisset and Wyong will be on a “probation period” before being confirmed full-time.
“Once these services hit the tracks they will operate as part of a six-month trial, so I encourage customers to get on board tomorrow morning and show their support for faster services,” MacDonald said.
“We’ve made sure these services are timed perfectly for the eight-hour work day, and by tweaking existing operations, we’ll be using more modern and reliable Oscar trains. [The aim is] to make this a permanent service for customers so we’ll be monitoring the trial, customer feedback and Opal data closely.”
The new service is set to replace the 4.40am Hamilton service, and will leave the Newcastle Interchange at 5.03am.
It will take 33 minutes for the train to travel from Newcastle to Morisset and arrive at 5:39am, and 15 minutes to arrive in Wyong at 5:54am.
The early morning train service will then arrive at in Sydney at 7.26am – a 107 minute trip for Morisset commuters.
A similar reduction in travel time will be implemented for the afternoon trains as well, MacDonald revealed, with the 3:45pm service, departing from Central, will arrive at Wyong at 5:18pm and Morisset at 5:32pm.
It is predicted that three hours will be saved by Morisset commuters each week.
As well as the service time changes, MacDonald announced on Monday that Intercity improvements would be available from 2019.
“And with the brand new Intercity fleet hitting the tracks from 2019, Newcastle customers can look forward to faster services in the future,” MacDonald said.
The new services will also be linked to wider station selections that are not currently in the trial through local hubs at Morisset, Wyong and Gosford.
The upgrades and changes come as part of the NSW Government’s $1.5 billion More Trains More Services Program.
Isaac McIntyre
Got a story or a tip that you want to send through? Contact me at isaac.mcintyre@fairfaxmedia.com.au
Got a story or a tip that you want to send through? Contact me at isaac.mcintyre@fairfaxmedia.com.au
