Rail supporters organise

BY JANE BECKMANN

NEWCASTLE — Newcastle's Save Our Rail campaign has called a protest for November 19 outside NSW Parliament House in Sydney. The group is protesting the proposal to close rail services between Broadmeadow station and Newcastle city.

"If the rail line goes, public transport will be inconvenient and expensive for many people", Save Our Rail chairperson Geoff Payne told Green Left Weekly. "The state government should be putting people, and the public services we need, before profits, not the other way around."

Ron Bailey also reports from Taree that 150 people attended a protest meeting on November 5, called by the Taree Pensioners Association to protest the replacement of regional rail services with bus transport. The association had been inspired by the 2000-strong protest in Armidale, held last month, to defend its local rail serivce.

On November 8, the NSW Socialist Alliance conference passed a motion of solidarity with the Save Our Rail campaign, condemning the proposed closure and the cuts to Countrylink services across NSW.

From Green Left Weekly, November 12, 2003.

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From GLW issue 561