The Hon. KAYEE GRIFFIN: I address my question without notice to the Minister for Transport. Will the Minister inform the House about the arrival of the new Outer Suburban Train Carriages [OSCars]?

The Hon. JOHN ROBERTSON: The New South Wales Government is delivering on our promise to make rail travel simpler and more comfortable for commuters. It was with great pleasure that I joined the Premier earlier this month to take delivery of the newest Outer Suburban Train Carriages, the first four-car set to be delivered as part of stage 3 of the project.

The Hon. Robyn Parker: How long did that take?

The Hon. JOHN ROBERTSON: If you listen, I will tell you. It is good news; you will hate it.

The Hon. Robyn Parker: Was it on time?

The Hon. JOHN ROBERTSON: No, it was not on time.

The Hon. John Hatzistergos: There was a great cartoon in the Newcastle Herald today. Did you see it?

The Hon. JOHN ROBERTSON: I did actually see a cartoon.

The Hon. Eric Roozendaal: Do you mean this one, John? Here is a bigger one if you cannot see the first one.

The PRESIDENT: Order! The Treasurer will put the cartoons away or I will place him on a call to order.

The Hon. JOHN ROBERTSON: The Government is investing a total of $820 million in 196 new OSCARs to service the Central Coast, the Western line, Illawarra, South Coast and lower Blue Mountains, and 122 new OSCARs have already been delivered onto the CityRail network.

The Hon. Melinda Pavey: Is this the one where they had to upgrade the electricity, or is that another one?

The Hon. JOHN ROBERTSON: Ask me a question Melinda and you will get an answer. Rail commuters from the Central Coast, Blue Mountains and the Illawarra have been enjoying the benefits offered by these modern state-of-the-art trains. The $370 million contract for stage 3 of the OSCars was originally for 72 carriages but the Government has been able to acquire two additional carriages within the budget, taking the total number of carriages that will be delivered to 74. On top of this, the first four-car train was delivered a fortnight ago—five weeks ahead of schedule. All this is excellent news for commuters.

OSCars have become enormously popular with passengers, performing well and operating improved services every day for thousands of commuters. OSCars are equipped with CCTV and help points for added passenger security, air conditioning, toilet access for people with disabilities, on-board passenger information screens and reversible seats with graffiti and fire-resistant coverings. The new OSCars will provide extra capacity on the network, as well as replace older carriages. OSCars are about further improving safety, capacity, reliability and comfort for passengers across the CityRail network. While the new OSCars are clearly good news for commuters, they are also great news for New South Wales workers and local industry. The construction of the 74 new OSCars has provided a boost for manufacturing in New South Wales, supporting around 200 jobs in the Newcastle area and 40 jobs in Taree.

The new OSCars are helping to provide new services as part of CityRail's new timetable for the South Coast, Eastern Suburbs and Illawarra lines that commenced on Sunday 10 October 2010. OSCars operate from the Sydney central business district to Kiama and Wollongong on the South Coast, to Gosford and Wyong on the Central Coast, and west as far as Springwood on the Blue Mountains line. With the introduction of the new timetable on 10 October 2010, OSCar services increased from 878 to 1,123 services per week, delivering hundreds of more comfortable services for commuters. OSCars are replacing diesel trains between Kiama and Wollongong as part of the new timetable, providing passengers with a more comfortable journey. In fact, the new train that the Premier and I inspected earlier this month operated its first scheduled service between Kiama and Central yesterday. The OSCars will be used with the new late-night guardian services on the western, Central Coast, South Coast and Illawarra lines.

The Hon. KAYEE GRIFFIN: I ask a supplementary question. Could the Minister elucidate his answer?

The Hon. JOHN ROBERTSON: With their closed-circuit television capability on board OSCar carriages are ideal for use with guardian services, which will have extra transit officers travelling on board and constant monitoring of closed-circuit television cameras by staff on the trains. The Government is delivering more comfortable carriages for passengers right now, and commuters from the south coast, the Central Coast and the lower Blue Mountains are seeing the benefits of stage 3 OSCars right now.