REDWatch Submission to Review of Tourism in NSW July 2007

Submission to Review of Tourism in New South Wales by Mr John O’Neill AO

REDWatch welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to the Review of Tourism in NSW being conducted by Mr John O’Neill AO. Our submission addresses issues covered by items three, four and five of the Review’s terms of reference.

REDWatch is a residents and friends group covering Redfern Eveleigh Darlington and Waterloo (the same area covered by the Redfern Waterloo Authority). REDWatch monitors government activities such as the RWA and seeks to ensure community involvement in all decisions made about the area.

The main focus of REDWatch’s submission is to encourage the Review to examine the state and regional tourism potential for heritage rail tourism in NSW.

The Large Erecting Shop (LES) at Eveleigh has been the base for a successful heritage rail tourist operation providing rail tours out of Sydney to regional NSW for almost two decades through 3801 Ltd; the LES has also provided a base for training apprentices in heritage rail skills and in providing opportunities for heritage volunteers which significantly assists the cost structure of the activities.

The tourist experience of 3801 Ltd demonstrates the viability of operating rail heritage tours out of Sydney in a cost effective manner. The provision of specialist tours like those for Glebe Books for the launch of Harry Potter books or trips to rural centers and heritage rail events such as Steamfest provided an important base building block for both heritage rail and regional NSW tourism.

The operation of these tours out of the LES at Eveleigh were central to being able to provide efficient tour schedules with minimum impact on the rest of the rail system and on the locomotives concerned. 3801 Ltd have previously proposed that the LES could be adapted with a mezzanine viewing platform and other infrastructure that could also make the functioning workshop a tourist destination. This could be linked to other heritage sites in the area including the Australian Technology Park.

There seems to be a lot of support in the heritage and wider community for the LES to remain a rail heritage asset and for it to be used both for active heritage rail uses as well as for it to form a part of a centrally located tourist destination similar to Midland in Western Australia or York in the UK. REDWatch supports such a use for the LES.

The LES is in good condition and an adequacy report on the building found that $3 million over five years could address all building issues relating to its continuing operation. Additional funds would be needed for any modifications necessary for it to also operate as a tourist destination.

The NSW Government recently established an Office of Rail Heritage to handle RailCorp’s heritage assets.  The Office of Rail Heritage currently proposes to relocate its key moveable rail heritage assets to the Rail Transport Museum (RTM) at Thirlmere. It also proposes to transfer the Eveleigh Rail Workshops, including the LES, to the Redfern Waterloo Authority for adaptive reuse or re-development.

The Locomotive 3801 moved from Eveleigh to Thirlmere in late 2006 following the end of its lease by the RTM to 3801 Ltd. This has disrupted the operations of 3801 Ltd however the 3801 locomotive has continued to operate a similar programme in 2007 out of Thirlmere to that operated previously by 3801 Ltd out of Eveleigh. Operations from Thirlmere however have increased the wear and tear on the engine and created stabling issues as the locomotive has to travel from Thirlmere to Sydney prior to starting any major trip drawing on the Sydney basin. The train then has to return to Thirlmere when trips are completed. This has meant the locomotive having to overnight and re-coal at renovated Mortuary Station which was not intended for this purpose.

We understand that while the tour schedule has been maintained in 2007 that 2008 may see a significant decrease in trips due in part to the higher RTM costs and in part due to different operating philosophies about the importance of such tours and how much use heritage assets should get. There is also a general concern that the location of the RTM at Thirlmere is not readily accessible for tourists or volunteers and that considerable money needs to be expended by the NSW Government if they are to protect rail heritage assets from the weather and bush fire dangers.

REDWatch is aware that the non-renewal of the 3801 locomotive lease have created tensions between 3801 Ltd, RTM and the Office of Rail Heritage. REDWatch is concerned that the tensions over who operates a specific locomotive and how much it should be used are distracting from the important tourism lesson to be learnt from the 3801 Ltd experience.

This lesson was that it is possible to run rail heritage tours out of Sydney in a cost effective and sustainable manner. The question we would like the Review to consider is how can the fledgling success of rail tourism in NSW be enhanced and strengthened to improve rail and heritage tourism to Sydney and NSW regional areas.

REDWatch submits that the Review into Tourism in NSW should recommend that a detailed study be undertaken into the state and regional tourism potential for active rail heritage use. The study should also investigate the potential for linking such rail tourism together with regional festivals and activities that would be of interest to domestic and international tourists with an interest in heritage rail.

We understand that tourist markets like Japan potentially can supply a large number of tourists who have an interest in rail tourism. The requested study should investigate the extent of the international market for rail heritage and rail tourism and investigate how other countries have used their rail heritage to tap into this market.

University of New South Wales Associate Professor Lucy Taksa in speaking to REDWatch and in a recent article in the South Sydney Herald has said that the NSW Government is out of step with governments elsewhere in the country in their approach to Rail Heritage. Queensland is redeveloping the Ipswich Railway workshops which contain a functional museum, alongside an operational railway workshop where heritage work continues. Western Australia has developed the Midlands site in a similar manner.

Professor Taksa is one of the people who believe that there is considerable potential for the LES to continue to be used for rail heritage purposes and for this to be expanded to incorporate social history and heritage tourism elements.

An examination of the potential for heritage rail tourism is time critical as currently Eveleigh contains some of the infrastructure necessary to provide a city base for such tourism. This will be lost should all the land currently earmarked for disposal from RailCorp to the Redfern Waterloo proceed before the review was undertaken.

REDWatch is of the view that the LES could be developed as both a tourist destination as well as an operational and service hub servicing heritage rail tourism throughout NSW.

Given the potential for such a venture to strengthen regional tourism through train tours and regional festivals and the potential for having an easily accessible tourist location from the city, we urge the Review of Tourism in NSW to recommend a detailed study of the potential for heritage rail tourism in NSW and into the role that Eveleigh’s Large Erecting Shop can play in that strategy if it is retained by the NSW Office of Rail Heritage.

We also urge the review into Tourism in NSW to recommend that the Office of Rail Heritage should establish a Rail Heritage Tourism Strategy in Co-operation with the NSW Tourism Ministry prior to the disposal of any heritage rolling stock or rail heritage sites such as the Large Erecting Shop at Eveleigh.

For Further Information contact:
Geoffrey Turnbull                                                                       
REDWatch Spokesperson
c/- PO Box 1567
Strawberry Hills NSW 2012                                            
Ph Wk: (02) 9318 0824                                                      
email: mail@redwatch.org.au