Long Way Round For Northern Access At Metford Train Station Proposal Under Labor

The new state government is being pressured to consider a northern access point for Metford train station.

Maitland Council last month voted to write to local MP and Minister for Regional Transport Jenny Aitchison to get the proposal back on the agenda, after the former government smacked down the suggestion.

Currently residents in the ever expanding Chisholm, Thornton north and Morpeth are forced to commute to Thornton railway station, due to there being no direct access to Metford.

Back in 2020, Jenny Aitchison was quoted in local media saying a northern access point was a no brainer when the property owners of the land on the north side of the station offered to sell the former government a parcel of land for the project.

But when asked about the possibility this week, Ms Aitchison had cooled her language around the proposal, saying the government will consider it as part of a review.

“I want to look strategically,” she said.

“We know we’ve got the hospital which is a point, we’ve got people to the west of Maitland who would also like stations and people across the state who would like stations”

“We are doing reviews of those sorts of issues and it will be part of our planing process.”

The local MP went on to say Maitland had been on the outer under the previous government and she wanted to make sure the electorate was brought into the fold.

“We want to make sure Maitland has a strategic view on the integrated transport planning needs that we have and we haven’t been [previously]. We have been ignored here for 12 years.”

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