Lower Hunter Freight Corridor

Reviewed

The Lower Hunter Freight Corridor (LHFC) will provide a dedicated freight rail line between Fassifern and Hexham, that will bypass Newcastle’s urban areas. Separating rail freight from the passenger rail line is a government initiative to reduce Newcastle’s network congestion, and to improve travel times and reliability for rail freight and passenger rail services.

In 2021, the Corridors team engaged in ground-breaking community consultation with local Aboriginal knowledge holders, enabling Transport to recognise traditional cultural values in their assessment and early option planning of corridor routes.

Yarns Parai - Stories on Country

This artwork by Saretta Fielding shares traditional Awabakal Stories and values of the land covered by the corridor investigation. It depicts country through traditional sandstone engravings that are reflective of contours found on geological maps.

Three prominent landscapes (Mount Sugarloaf, Lake Macquarie and Hexham Swamp) are featured within the artwork design and depict traditional sites of significance to the cultural practices of traditional owners.

See Yarns Parai - Stories on Country for more information about the artwork and the Yarns Parai consultation.

Yarns Parai consultation

In 2021, Transport for NSW engaged in ground-breaking community consultation with local Aboriginal knowledge holders, enabling Transport to recognise traditional cultural values in their assessment and early option planning of corridor routes.

The corridor travels across the lands of the Awabakal and Wonnarua people and Transport for NSW worked with local Aboriginal knowledge holders to create an interactive Story Map. The map outlined Aboriginal Cultural Values within the corridor footprint. The groups we worked with were Biraban, Mindaribba and Awabakal Local Aboriginal Land Councils and the Pambalong knowledge keepers.  

During investigations of the Lower Hunter Freight Corridor, it was identified that significant sites were located along potential routes that were being considered. The engagement directly influenced corridor option selection, and the area of investigation was relocated, to avoid the significant sites. The process affirmed Aboriginal leadership on issues affecting them and their heritage. It also improved connections between Transport strategic planners, Aboriginal cultural knowledge holders and Aboriginal businesses.

We are now implementing this process for other corridor identification projects.

For more information, see Yarns Parai - Cultural Stories of the Lower Hunter Region.

 

 

Explore our Corridors interactive map

See full-size map

Key benefits

  • The Lower Hunter Freight Corridor will support economic growth across the Lower Hunter region.
  • The dedicated freight rail line will bypass Newcastle’s urban areas and reduce heavy vehicle traffic on roads.
  • Separating passenger rail lines from freight trains will enable more frequent, reliable and speedier journeys for rail passengers.
  • Improved movement of goods on the freight line.

What's happening now

Transport considered the key concerns raised during the 2021 community consultation and some refinements to the corridor alignment were made before it was protected in 2022.

Next steps

We will share updates as they become available.

Acquisitions

There is no need for Transport to acquire land until close to the time the transport infrastructure is required. In the meantime, landowners can continue to live on and use their land.
 
For more information on property acquisition, see Property Acquisitions on the Corridors home page.

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Get in touch

Please reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns.

Call: 1800 684 490

Email: projects@transport.nsw.gov.au

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