A Bellbird man has urged the Coalition state government to delay the Newcastle rail line closure until after the March election.
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In a letter to the Mercury, Peter Swinbourne, a self-described pro-conservative voter, wrote that he was extremely disappointed with the decision to cut the line between Wickham and Newcastle station.
"This current plan to remove the heavy rail into Newcastle beggars belief," he said.
"This facility services the people of not only Newcastle but the entire Hunter Valley and Central Coast in a way that the light rail could not. It simply does not make sense.
"Mr Baird, our Premier, tells me that he has Newcastle's best interests at heart. Why on earth would a government remove a public utility that works [and] that does not cost as it is already there?"
Many commuters from the greater Hunter fear they will be left with poor public transport services to access the city after the line is closed.
Repeated public appeals to the government to delay the Boxing Day closure date of the line have fallen on deaf ears.
While a date has been set for the closure, no time frame has been made available for the government's replacement transport into Newcastle CBD - a light rail network.
An environmental impact study on the effects of light rail was announced last week, which is part of the Department of Planning's approval process.
Mr Swinbourne said light rail would fragment the Hunter's public transport at great cost and with little gain.
"I'm not sure where the government was getting its facts, but as a regular rail traveller to Newcastle it seems that all commuters and local people I have spoken to do not want the heavy rail removed," he said.
"At the election in March, let the people of Newcastle and the entire Hunter region decide which changes are appropriate after they have been fully informed about the impact of these development decisions."
