Re: Freight to Richmond (NSW)

[dbromage@metz.une.edu.au (David Bromage)]

Barry Campbell (campblbm@ozemail.com.au) wrote:
>Air freight is typically in fairly small consignments (in rail terms,
>anyway) in addition, using rail would require an additional hub for
>transshipment from rail to road or vice versa for consignments in the
>Sydney/Newcastle/Wollongong region. It seems unrealistic.

My guess is the RAAF is looking for some extra income and renting space at
Richmond to commercial operators is an attractive option. Richmond would
seem the obvious location being relatively close to Sydney and right next
to a railway. Bankstown and Hoxton Park can't take heavy aircraft and
Kingsford Smith is overloaded as it is. Williamtown, Canberra and
Townsville show that military and civilian aircraft can co-exist at a
relatively small airfield. Williamtown has the civilian and military
facilities on oposite sides of the runway, and fortunately the opposite
side to the military facilities at Richmond is right near the railway.

Williamtown would also be suitable as an air freight hub but it is a long
way from Sydney and doesn't have rail. This does reinforce my long held
belief that there should be a railway from Newcastle (somewhere near
Sandgate?) to Port Stephens via Williamtown. 

Cheers
David