A former coal mine in the Hunter region is set to become the centrepiece of New South Wales’ A$12 billion plan to rebuild domestic train manufacturing.
The NSW Government has selected the former Teralba coal mine site at Lake Macquarie as its preferred location for a new state-owned train manufacturing facility.
The plant is expected to build, assemble, commission and test the next generation of NSW passenger trains, beginning with replacements for the ageing Tangara fleet.
The government selected Teralba over the Broadmeadow locomotive depot after concluding the former mining site offered more space and flexibility for manufacturing and future expansion.
Up to 780 jobs are expected to be supported during construction, with about 550 ongoing positions across the factory and associated supply chains.
Manufacturing returns to Hunter
The project forms part of the state’s Future Fleet Program, which aims to rebuild train manufacturing capability after decades in which much of Australia’s passenger rolling stock was sourced internationally.
The Hunter has a long history of railway manufacturing.
Newcastle-based Goninan manufactured Tangara trains during the late 1980s and 1990s and later built the Millennium fleet at Cardiff.
The new facility would draw on existing engineering, manufacturing and transport expertise across the region.
The choice of a former coal mine also reflects a wider economic transition underway in parts of regional Australia.
Governments are looking for new industries capable of providing skilled employment in regions historically dependent on mining and heavy industry.
Detailed site investigations and due diligence are now underway before the Teralba development proceeds to construction.
