Mrs SALLY QUINNELL (Camden) (19:15): I speak on an important historical feature of Camden that contains relevant lessons for modern planning in our growing communities. Affectionately known to locals as Pansy, the Camden railway line was constructed in 1881 and opened in March 1882. It ran between Campbelltown and Camden through eight different stations to serve suburbs and communities in the Camden area. The line was closed in 1963 and that lack of foresight reveals that planning throughout south-west Sydney, and in my electorate, has lacked long-term vision for some time. The Camden railway line was originally built to connect Campbelltown and what was, back then, the rural township of Camden.

Starting the journey at Campbelltown Station, it ran through a total of nine stations, including Maryfields Platform, Kenny Hill Platform, Currans Hill Platform, Narellan Station, Grahams Hill Station, Kirkham Station, Elderslie Station and terminating at Camden Station. The line was usually mixed, carrying both passengers and freight often along a single track and using a single train. At its peak the Camden line carried six daily services and achieved an approximate travel time of 40 minutes across the entire route to Campbelltown. During the final years of its service the first train departed Camden at 5.47 a.m. to connect passengers with the Sydney-bound train from Campbelltown, which would depart later in the morning. At night the last train would leave Campbelltown at 9.44 p.m. and arrive approximately 40 minutes later at Camden Station.

The Camden line was continuously neglected throughout its history due to the exceedingly small rural population of the area that it served. Camden railway's ultimate demise was its inability to become profitable. With a small population to serve, its main customers became a coal loader located in Narellan and a dairy farmer's depot in Camden that transported milk from the farms that ran throughout the area to the more populous areas that lie to the east. The railway was often besieged with other problems. One was the steepness of the line between Campbelltown Station and Kenny Hill. Often passengers would be forced to disembark the train they were commuting on and walk alongside it so it could successfully ascend the hill. This became a common inconvenience for passengers, who experienced significant delays and disruptions in their daily commute. The steep gradient of the line meant that the train could not carry large loads of freight or passengers, further contributing to the line's lack of profitability and ultimate demise.

The rise of motor vehicles in the post-World War II boom meant that it became more attractive for passengers to drive themselves to their destination, and for goods formerly transported by freight to be moved by truck. Pansy was closed on 1 January 1963 as a cost-cutting exercise by the Heffron Government. It was a time where cars were the new kings of the road and diesel was slowly becoming the king of rail. The severe lack of foresight in closing the Camden railway line foreshadowed further planning issues that have only worsened as the surrounding population in Camden has ballooned.

I think back to when the Sydney tram network, once the largest in Australia, was torn up in favour of road traffic. The same can be said in Camden. While the population was still relatively small when Pansy was closed, it should have been clear that public transport was a way forward in transporting people across the vast Cumberland Plain. Today Camden is faced with a lack of infrastructure and transport services, while the area's population has grown at one of the fastest rates anywhere across New South Wales. The rail line operated right through suburbs that now have large populations calling them home.

I know that residents of Camden and its surrounding suburbs today would kill for greater access to public transportation to service the region's growing population and effectively connect our community to other areas across Sydney without having to rely exclusively on road transport. Under the previous Coalition Government, infrastructure in my electorate failed to keep up with development in the area. My electorate and surrounding areas serve as a case study of development without adequate infrastructure, and I hope that the same mistakes will not be repeated in the future.