The state government will show it's lack of concern for the people of Maitland if it tears up the train line into Newcastle before the March election, Opposition Leader John Robertson says.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The government will close the rail line between Wickham and Newcastle stations from Boxing Day so work can begin to permanently remove the infrastructure.
Mr Robertson renewed calls this week to postpone work until after the March election and labelled the plan as vandalism.
He said the government needed to seek a mandate for the rail removal at the next election.
"Any government that rips up a direct rail line into Newcastle clearly has no concern for the people of Maitland," he said.
"The people of Maitland have every right to vote on the future on the rail line.
"If the Baird government dares to dismantle the rail line before the election, it would be the ultimate act of vandalism.
"There have been appalling revelations at ICAC and now the government has serious questions to answer before a parliamentary inquiry."
Mr Robertson will be in Newcastle today where he will continue to advocate for the work to be delayed.
"The Liberals have forgotten that it is everyday people who catch the train," he said.
"I'm thinking of workers commuting in from places like Muswellbrook and Maitland, students trying to get to campus, senior citizens, people with disabilities and mums and dads with prams."
Greens MLC David Shoebridge passed a motion in Parliament last week to establish a select committee to investigate recent planning decisions in Newcastle, including the proposed rail cut, given corruption allegations against multiple Hunter Coalition MPs.
It is expected to deliver its findings early next year.
But Mr Shoebridge told the Mercury earlier this month that the committee would not have the power to force the government to postpone cutting the rail line until after the inquiry.
There are plans to eventually replace the train tracks with a light rail network into the CBD, but there is no timeline for the new transport system to be up and running.
Rail commuters from Maitland will have to change to buses at Broadmeadow to reach Newcastle CBD after December 26.