Epping to Chatswood Rail Link

Ms GLADYS BEREJIKLIAN: I direct my question to the Minister for Transport. In light of revelations that carriages set to run on the Epping to Chatswood rail line are so deafening that they breach RailCorp's standards, will the Minister guarantee that this latest bungle on the project will not result in further delays in its delivery, or another budget blow out?

Mr DAVID CAMPBELL: At last I have a question from the member for Willoughby about transport instead of listening to her whinging, whining and bleating as she is want to do, and which has led to her being placed on three calls to order, which is nothing unusual. The Epping to Chatswood rail link is the single largest infrastructure project under construction in New South Wales. The capital expenditure is $2.3 billion, on a project expected to provide rail services for approximately 12,000 passengers a day. When completed, the project will take pressure off the northern and western lines.

The SPEAKER: Order! I call the member for Hawkesbury to order.

Mr DAVID CAMPBELL: This $2.3 billion of infrastructure will provide rail services to parts of Sydney that currently have no rail services. I welcome and celebrate this project. Members will appreciate that delivering such a big piece of infrastructure is a complex task and they would expect there to be testing of it. Members would also expect trial trains would run on it to make sure that it is working properly and that is exactly what is underway. Members would also expect that if a new rail line were introduced into the complex RailCorp network, work needs to be done at junction points to make sure it is efficient.

A couple of weeks ago when about 400 people spent their weekend working on that project, who whinged, whined and complained about it? The Opposition whinged, whined and complained that work was going on so that this particular project could be commissioned. The advice that has been given to the community is that a shuttle service—Epping to Chatswood—will run from early next year, as part of the commissioning of this project. The advice I have from RailCorp and the Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation is that the shuttle service is on track to occur. The community and I have advice that the integrated timetable, expected to take effect from about mid next year, is also on track to occur. While the Government expends $2.3 billion on an important piece of infrastructure, the Opposition whinges, whines and complains every single step of the way.