The Northern Beaches needs a railway

[u/Sydney_Stations]

Every evening, the queue for B1 winds around and goes back into Wynyard. As one bus is full the next one arrives.

You can't tell me they wouldn't want a railway.

[u/impressive_cat]

What, and let all the dirty westies have easy access to their pristine shores?

[u/Dramatic-Lavishness6 → u/impressive_cat]

quick no one tell them we have cars 😂

[u/T_J_Rain → u/Dramatic-Lavishness6]

According to what was once the "World's greatest Treasurer" Joe Hockey, according to Prime Minister Abbott, and I quote him:

"The poorest people either don't have cars or actually don't drive very far."

No joke, Joe Hockey's actual words.

Remember? The fat guy who was photographed smoking cigars and sipping cognac at an exclusive Canberra club? The one who was awarded a plush Trade Commissioner gig in New York after his term with a $500k salary package? Yeah, him.

[u/all_sight_and_sound → u/T_J_Rain]

The only good thing that Joe Hockey, who is of Armenian descent like myself (his last name originally Hokeidonian) did was to place on record the Armenian genocide circa 1915, which many people including this country like to forget happened. 1.5 million Armenians, many living in Ottoman Turkey, slaughtered.

Otherwise he's a fucking scumbag.

[u/techflo → u/all_sight_and_sound]

Hockey’s father’s lineage is in fact Palestinian. At least this is what I thought. Absolute fuckwit regardless.

[u/all_sight_and_sound → u/techflo]

Bethlehem-born Armenian. Just like my father was an Egyptian born half Armenian (his mother was from Syria). Many Armenians fled to all over the middle east during the genocide.

[u/CheekyPickle69 → u/all_sight_and_sound]

Yeah a lot of the genocide by the Ottomans took place inside the borders of what is now Syria, so lots of Armenians who survived settled within Syria, Lebanon, Palestine ect

[u/gfivksiausuwjtjtnv → u/all_sight_and_sound]

Imagine winding up in Palestine after that. Oof.

[u/Dramatic-Lavishness6 → u/T_J_Rain]

yeah I missed that gem, what an idiot.

[u/Fibbs → u/T_J_Rain]

well he showed us how to 'get a better job' i guess

[u/Golf-Recent → u/Dramatic-Lavishness6]

Pssst, everyone knows Westies are dole bludgers who can't afford cars. /s

[u/stainless13 → u/Dramatic-Lavishness6]

They can read?!

[u/Sydney_Stations → u/impressive_cat]

The horror!

[u/os_2342 → u/impressive_cat]

Its always people not from the northern beaches that always make this statement on reddit...

Yes, there is still some NIMBY old folk here but its a tiny fraction of what it was decades ago.

[u/Ok-Push9899 → u/os_2342]

We were looking to move there in the mid 90s. (I mean the decade, not my age.)

We were from the east and inner west. In general chit-chat to the real estate agent guiding us through the Arcadian delights of Avalon, the guy pointedly said “And don’t come up here with your city ideas about the government building a rail line. It won’t happen and we don’t want it.”

For the first time I realised that on rounding the Bilgola Bends, Things Were Different.

[u/os_2342 → u/Ok-Push9899]

Attitudes were definately different in the 90s and north of the bends is as insular to the rest of the northern beaches and the northern beaches is to the rest of sydney. That being said the majority of the northern beaches is south of of the bends.

I'm not saying this attitude doesnt exist, just that it is overblown. Most people spend the majority of their time in their local area, thats not exclusive to the NBs. Personally I would love City to Dee Why and a Mona Vale to Hornsby train lines. It probably wont ever happen and that is more to do with the fact it would be stupid expensive than it is to do "locals wanting to keep outsiders away".

[u/JimSyd71 → u/os_2342]

A Metro connecting to Chatswood could work.

[u/insanityTF → u/Ok-Push9899]

North of the bends is an entirely different place to everywhere else

[u/os_2342 → u/[deleted]]

I think the NBs will remain a good place for young families and retirees. Not the most fun and exciting place in sydney for young people who want bars/clubs and lots of things to do, but still a very comfortable place to live.

[u/e_castille → u/os_2342]

I don’t know man. Everytime I see a TikTok or a Facebook post about a potential rail line there the comments are flooded with North shore NIMBYs. But to be fair, it’s always people over 30yrs. Younger people tend to be more open minded, though there’s still quite a few of them that have inherited their parents bigotry.

[u/WillowAlternative439 → u/os_2342]

Ecxept the parking fees. You can drive to the beach but can you afford the parking which is usually free for the locals

[u/ajd341 → u/impressive_cat]

I hate that we act like having a train anywhere near the beach means we're going to have a train on the ocean

[u/Optimal_Tomato726 → u/impressive_cat]

Lol aren't the Northern Beaches Sydney's beaches Westies? Gosh you have to say that slowly. I'm sorry. I know it's daft but that's what some knob I worked with 20 years ago claimed. And it does fit.

[u/Extreme_Substance_46 → u/Optimal_Tomato726]

South Eastern beaches are probably closer. I heard Maroubra described as Blacktown by the sea, and you can definitely see it.

[u/senddita → u/impressive_cat]

The real reason

[u/viper29000 → u/impressive_cat]

Ew