The NSW Government’s plan to work on a faster rail network has been met with skepticism.
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Tuesday’s Mercury covered the NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s announcement that the South Coast would be one of four routes investigated for both faster rail and high speed rail – promising at least a 60-minute Wollongong-Sydney trip.
Responses left on the Mercury Facebook page were far from supportive.
Craig Keller and Kareene Eccles expressed their opinion by both posting a GIF of flying pigs.
Kelly Wheeler didn’t put much stock in the promise.
“I will believe it when my butt is sitting on the train,” she wrote.
Nick Triantafillou was equally dubious.
“Nope,” he wrote. “Election time = bring out the train promises.”
Garry Johnson also smelled an election in the air.
“Oh, is there an election coming, I wonder? Wow, some politicians must think we are gullible,” he wrote.
Justin Evans dismissed the idea as something that simply wouldn’t happen – pointing out that it would serve fewer stations than that existing line.
“New track would have to be built that would only service Wollongong and [likely] Thirroul at most,” he wrote.
“Uneconomical and false promises. Longer trains would be a better promise.”
Mick Jones dismissed the announcement as nothing more than a “cheap headline grab”.
“The Libs talk about starting an investigation into a possibility a few months out from when they know they will be swept from government,” he noted.
David Bottin posted a link to a story outlining all the previous times state and federal politicians had pledged to bring in a faster rail service.
David Brown is another who remembered he’d heard this sort of promise before.
“I have seen this so many times my faith has gone,” he said.
One person, however, was upbeat.
“This is so sorely needed,” wrote Patrick Harrison.
“As beautiful a trip as it is, it's outrageous that Illawarra commuters are stuck on Victorian-era infrastructure.”