Wednesday 29 July 2009

A dodgy election promise...

Sydney Labor has, once again, pushed back a plan to upgrade Broadmeadow Railway Station.

I wonder if this will feature in the "community newsletter" of the local Sydney Labor MP, the Hon. Jodi Leyanne MCKAY, MP?

Cost of Broadmeadow station upgrade doubles to $12m
BY MICHELLE HARRIS
28/07/2009 4:00:00 AM
THE cost of a State Government 2007 election commitment to upgrade access to Broadmeadow railway station has doubled to $12 million and work will not begin until 2015.

Government documents tabled to State Parliament also reveal Cardiff station has missed out for the next six years on works to make the station easier to access.

The documents show that RailCorp intends to pull its development application for the Broadmeadow upgrade from Newcastle City Council and seek approval under the infrastructure State Environmental Planning Policy.

It is understood RailCorp has been frustrated by delays in the council assessment procedure caused by public objections to the closure of the station's passenger subway and replacement with an overhead bridge.

The Broadmeadow upgrade, to improve access for the elderly and people with disabilities or prams, was announced in January 2007 and was initially expected to cost about $5.5 million, although no completion date was given.

The documents, tabled this month in response to a "call for papers" about the CityRail Easy Access Program, list Broadmeadow among "Category B upgrades that are planned or announced but are not yet funded".

Handwritten notes on the list rank Broadmeadow as 153 on the upgrade priority list.

A Broadmeadow project report, dated May 13, noted in a section called "key milestones during construction with rough guide of possible media opportunities" that tenders were called in April for detailed design work, but the required $12 million for construction would not be available until 2015-16 and 2016-17.


See the full Newcastle Herald report here.

How many times will we hear this "promise" announced and re-announced?

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