The state's plans to establish a $12 billion passenger train manufacturing pipeline in the Hunter to build NSW's new fleets has been lauded as one of the most significant economic boons for the Hunter since the closure of BHP Steelworks.
The NSW government has promised the Hunter will be revived as a manufacturing powerhouse as it returns rolling stock manufacturing to domestic shores over 15 years.
"This is a huge vote of confidence from the NSW government in the Hunter's industrial capability and their desire to see that strength upheld," Business Hunter chief executive Bob Hawes said.
"The proposal's model seeks to activate public and private sector investment, which should set the facility to not only fulfil orders for trains in NSW but potentially look for other opportunities in Australia, meaning continuity of work is not solely dependent on NSW government orders."
"It makes sense that the state government is a major investor and customer rather than the owner so there is flexibility in the operating model."
Mr Hawes said manufacturing was in the region's DNA, and its future economy would require a mix of traditional and new industries to thrive and continue to adapt.
"It's difficult to think of an industry better-placed than train building on which to build on that traditional strength," he said. "Trains will always be needed and we've got the skills, technology and innovative approach to build them now and into the future."
"We'll be tracking this proposal carefully. There will be detractors who will argue the government should just look for the cheapest price when it spends taxpayer funds, but the long chain economic impacts of backing facilities like this are significant.
"There is a real and demonstrable benefit to not only this industry but many different sectors that will feed into it."
City of Newcastle lord mayor Gavin Morris lauded the move forecast to create 550 manufacturing jobs and hundreds more to construct the facility.
An expanded apprenticeship program has also been promised, with another 400 government-funded roles open for students and school leavers to study and learn on the job.
Cr Morris said the investment represented the state's confidence in the region's capability and skilled workforce, as well as the city's long-held reputation as the heart of Australian manufacturing.
"Our city has a long and proud history of producing world-class rolling stock, supported by one of the most skilled manufacturing workforces in the country," he said.
"This commitment gives our region the opportunity to put those skills back to work, ensuring Newcastle remains at the heart of Australian manufacturing."
The multibillion-dollar pledge to resurrect local train-building and cut reliance on overseas outsourcing comes as the Minns government prepares for an election in March 2027.
In a speech to the NSW Labor conference on Saturday, July 4, Mr Minns boasted the "best trains in the world" were built in NSW until 2012, when the last domestically-built stock rolled out of Broadmeadow and the industry shifted offshore.
"The Hunter knows how to build trains. Our job is to make sure it has the opportunity to build them again," Mr Minns said.
The state had hired more than 300 workers at Cardiff, Auburn and Flemington to extend the operating lives of the state's Tangara fleet, but Mr Minns said a new fleet was needed soon to secure the long-term viability of the state's network.
"We're going to build those trains right here," he said. "We've identified two sites in Teralba and Broadmeadow and we're going to pick one of them."
"Whichever is chosen, it will be based at the home of train building, the Hunter."
The manufacturing workers' union joined the state's announcement at the weekend, saying the move would secure skilled jobs for decades.
The undertaking comes after the NSW government announced in March that work to extend the life of the existing state fleet would be done in Cardiff.
"As the AMWU we made a commitment to Hunter rail workers that we would fight for the revitalisation of rail manufacturing in the region, and we've worked tirelessly to honour that commitment," Australian Manufacturing Workers Union NSW state secretary Brad Pidgeon said at the time.
The union welcomed the weekend's announcement, while Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp said the decision between the two candidate sites for the manufacturing facility would be subject to consultation.
Regardless of location, he said the hub was expected to anchor 30 years of train building in the region.
"Following construction of the new Tangara fleet, the pipeline will continue with the replacement of the Millennium and OSCAR fleets in the 2040s, before the Waratah fleet in the 2050s," he said.
Mr Crakanthorp lauded the move, and said it would address decades economic and industrial shift in the region, including changes to the mining industry and bus manufacturing, since the close of BHP Steelworks.
