Transport

Getting to Newcastle

By car:

Newcastle is located on the Pacific Highway, around 2 hours north of Sydney, and 90 minutes south of Taree.  It is also on the end of the New England Highway from the west.

If you are coming from the north, follow the Pacific Highway (National Route 1 to Hexham, then State Route 111) straight into Newcastle.

From the south, take the Sydney-Newcastle F3 Freeway (National Route 1) north.  The best exit to take is the “Newcastle/Wallsend” exit at the Newcastle interchange.  This is located about 1km after the Cardiff exit.  This will lead you onto the Newcastle Link Road which leads into Wallsend.  This is the most direct route to the University and Newcastle city.

There are two other alternatives:

If you are coming from the west, take the New England Highway and follow it into Newcastle (it will change name to the Pacific Highway around Hexham).

If you require further information, visit your local NRMA/RACV/RACQ/etc for a touring map, your local bookshop for a Newcastle street directory, or contact the tournament organisers.

By train:

Newcastle is serviced by the XPT and Xplorer long-distance train services.  The Xplorer operates from Armidale/Tamworth and Moree/Gunnedah to Sydney via Newcastle.  The XPT runs from Brisbane and Murwillumbah to Sydney via Newcastle.  All services stop at Broadmeadow station in Newcastle. See CountryLink (http://www.countrylink.nsw.gov.au) for more information.

If you do not live near these routes, then you can travel to Brisbane or Sydney and then catch one of these services.  CountryLink operate services from Sydney to Canberra and Melbourne, whilst Great Southern Railways (http://www.gsr.com.au) operate the Indian Pacific, which runs from Sydney to Perth via Adelaide, and The Overland From Sydney to Alice Springs via Adelaide.  For connections to Brisbane, have a look at Queensland Rail Traveltrain web site (http://www.traveltrain.qr.com.au).  

Also, there are inter-suburban trains running frequently between Sydney and Newcastle stations.  You can also interchange with the Newcastle-Hunter suburban trains.  Visit CityRail (http://www.cityrail.nsw.gov.au) for more information.

By coach:

If there are several nearby teams looking for long-distance transport, then you may wish to consider chartering a coach.  Good savings in cost and time can be made if 3-4 teams travel together (as well as the fun of having a coach full of frisbee players!).

Otherwise, Newcastle is serviced by several coach companies with regular services.  These are:

There are also many coach services to Sydney. From there, you can catch an inter-suburban train to Newcastle (see ‘By train’). Companies servicing Sydney include:

By air:

Newcastle’s main airport is only a short distance from the city centre at Williamtown.  Impulse Airlines, Eastern Australia Airlines, and QANTAS service the airport, with daily flights to Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Canberra and regional NSW.

Aeropelican operates from Belmont Airport, just south of Newcastle, with 14 daily flights to Sydney.

Sydney Harbour Seaplanes provide flights on weekdays between Newcastle Harbour and Rose Bay, Sydney Harbour.

Transport – Getting around Newcastle

By car:

The University is located on University Drive in Callaghan, around 15-20 minutes from the Newcastle city centre.  Any good Newcastle street directory should provide easy-to-follow directions.  You can also consult WhereIs (http://www.whereis.com.au) or the NUdiscs web site (http://www.nudiscs.com).  Parking is available for $1.50/day in any car park marked as general parking (i.e. not staff or reserved parking).  Ticket machines are located throughout the campus at most car parks. See the campus map (http://www.newcastle.edu.au/cwis/Admin/ppe/maps/mapprint.gif) for more details.  Please note that carpark C10 provides only limited parking, whilst C11 is mostly for residents only.  Also, carparks C9, C12 and C13 are 2-hour parking only, and carparks C7 and C14 are staff only.  Parking on the street is permitted, but is not monitored by the University security staff.

By train:

The fields are only 5-10 minutes from Warabrook (University) station, located on the Hunter line. You can interconnect with trains on the main Newcastle line. See CityRail (http://www.cityrail.nsw.gov.au) for more information.

By bus:

Newcastle is well serviced by a government bus service.  Newcastle buses operate on time-based fares, where $1.20 ($2.40 for non-students) will give you 1 hour of unlimited travel, including any transfers.  The university is serviced by routes 100, 103, 226, 227, 228, 229, 236, 239, 336, and 366. Visit the Transport Infoline (http://www.131500.com.au) for timetables. (Note: The TripFinder on the Infoline web site lists the University as being located in Waratah, not Callaghan).  If these services are not convenient, you can usually catch a bus to the city, and then change for one of these services to the University.  The buses stop at the Maths and Design bus stops.  The best stop is Design (located at L8 on the campus map) as it is only a short walk to the ovals.

There are also several private bus companies with services to the University:

Transport – Student Discounts

All government and many private services offer significant discounts to students. A Railways Of Australia Student Card or student ID card with silver transport sticker (NSW only) are normally accepted for student discounts.  The Committee are seeking advice on obtaining discount cards for interstate competitors.