Kangy Angy rail facility’s high tech security features revealed after major construction finishes
Major construction of the new Intercity Fleet rail maintenance facility at Kangy Angy has finished. And here’s why it looks so much like a high security prison.
Central Coast
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Two years after it was the scene of protests by angry residents fearful their quiet rural lifestyle would be ruined, major construction at the $265 million Kangy Angy rail maintenance facility has finished.
It comes as never before released security details have emerged about the lengths gone to protect the new facility for the next 15-20 years of its life.
The Express Advocate can reveal the entire site, including its 6km of electric rail lines, is under the watchful guard of more than 140 CCTV cameras.
The fences, some topped with razor wire, have anti-dig beams while the perimeter features a hi-tech intruder detection system linked to the CCTV network.
Transport Minister Andrew Constance and Terrigal State Liberal MP Adam Crouch visited the site on Wednesday to mark the end of major construction.
The facility will be operated by UGL Rail, part of the consortium contracted to design, build and maintain the new fleet, with 90 permanent jobs to be filled over the next 18 months.
Mr Crouch said substantial landscaping had also been done.
“An important part of the construction phase is the revegetation work with a number of Central Coast native species being planted on-site, including 950 trees and more than 200,000 juvenile grasses, shrubs and trees,” he said.
“It’s fantastic to see that within the vegetation being retained, 30 nest boxes were installed to provide habitat for native animals.”
The project features what could be the state’s most expensive “driveway” in the form of a $50 million access road over the train line.
The controversial $265 million project was vehemently opposed by local residents who, two years ago this month, won the fight to save a small stand of trees providing a barrier between their properties and the rail maintenance facility.
It followed two weeks of protests and talks between residents, Central Coast Council, Transport NSW and contractor John Holland, which saw the trees remain on Orchard Rd.
Transport for NSW broke the deadlock when it proposed to reclassify the section of road from “industrial” to “rural” meaning the trees could stay.
However residents said their worst fears have materialised.
Resident Ross Ferrier said the Kangy Angy site was not one of Transport for NSW’s seven preferred locations and residents wished the government listened and chose industrial land at Warnervale.
“It’s pretty clear what our feelings were and they have not changed,” he said.
“None of us wanted it there. It’s had the impact we knew it would have, it’s a dirty great big source of light.”
He said the residents were not complaining about “flood free” access to their properties, nor about the jobs and infrastructure created for the coast.
But he said they were just “steamrolled” and have to put up with the vibration, noise and light.
Closest resident Michelle Nicholson said there had been increased flooding on private properties, the biodiversity targets had not been met and “the noise level from the train facility at night will be unbearable”.
She said Ourimbah and Orchard roads needed proper resurfacing from damage caused by trucks during the construction.
Minister Constance thanked local residence for “their patience” during the construction phase and assured the facility would meet its planning requirements.
“We’ve got our approvals, we’ll meet them and the residents know where they stand,” he said.
Meanwhile the first of the $2 billion fleet of 55 10-car trains, which will service the Central Coast, Newcastle, south coast and Blue Mountains have been undergoing testing.
The first trains to roll off the production line were expected to arrive in March last year but did not dock until December.
The Central Coast and Newcastle line will receive the trains first, months ahead of the Blue Mountains line and more than a year ahead of the south coast.
The new trains will replace the ageing V-sets, which are due to be retired by 2022 after four decades of service.
The new trains are WI-FI enabled, feature device chargers, flip-down tables and improved accessibility and storage spaces.
