'Best place': mayor all aboard on bringing train building to ex-coal mine

Lake Macquarie mayor Adam Shultz said Teralba's rail access and capacity made it the "best place" to host the re-establishment of passenger train manufacturing in the Hunter.

The state government announced a $12 billion plan over the weekend to build NSW's new train fleets in the Hunter.

Premier Chris Minns said the government had identified two potential sites: Glencore's former Macquarie Coal mine at Teralba and the Broadmeadow Locomotive Depot behind the Hunter School of Performing Arts.

The manufacturing hub is forecast to employ 780 workers in the construction phase and 550 in permanent jobs.

The chosen site is expected to be revealed later this year.

Labor's Cr Shultz said the return of train manufacturing was an "exciting opportunity" for the Hunter and that Lake Macquarie City Council would continue to advocate for Teralba's Glencore site.

"We think Teralba's the best site given its capacity and given its uniqueness in terms of that direct access to the rail corridor," Cr Shultz said.

"You don't have to cross roads or close roads to get rolling stock on and off.

"It's my role to advocate for the interest of Lake Macquarie, but also the broader Hunter, and we'll put our best foot forward for that."

The state government has already earmarked the central Newcastle suburb of Broadmeadow for major development as a housing and sports and entertainment precinct.

A draft master plan for the Broadmeadow precinct has indicated it has the potential to deliver 20,000 homes and 15,000 jobs in the suburb and a new 12,000-capacity Newcastle entertainment centre.

The Glencore site is north-west of the Teralba township and off Wakefield Road and has a rail loop, but isn't surrounded by residential land.

"If you look at Broadmeadow, Broadmeadow's already slated for the entertainment centre and significant housing," Cr Shultz said.

Cr Shultz also argued that Lake Macquarie already had a skilled workforce at Cardiff, which is helping to extend the operating life of the state's Tangara fleet.

"We already build trains in Cardiff," he said. "This site is unique, but it also provides the opportunity and scale, which would be required.

"We look at this as potentially fulfilling that role again in terms of key economic and employment opportunities in Lake Macquarie.

"With what's been proposed for manufacturing and the transition from energy, this would provide significant economic opportunities for Lake Macquarie and the broader Hunter.

"We're happy to continue to work with Glencore to realise this opportunity for the city alongside the state government and the federal government."

Coal mining ceased at Glencore's Westside open-cut mine in 2012, and 40 hectares of land have since been certified rehabilitated.

Lake Macquarie City Council often cites the $95 million Black Rock Motor Resort under construction at Wakefield as an example of the potential use for disused mining land.

The council has also advocated to the state and federal governments to repurpose disused mining land as a staging zone for the future Sydney to Newcastle fast train.

A spokesperson for Glencore confirmed they were in discussions with the state government.

"Glencore is supportive of NSW government ambitions to transform the former mine site land into future economic, industrial, residential or community hubs," the spokesperson said.

"These discussions are occurring in parallel with the NSW government's Post Mining Land Use Pilot Project for the Macquarie Coal site, which is exploring a range of opportunities for post-mining land use for the site.

"This opportunity highlights the critical need for regulatory reform to facilitate land transition to post-mining land uses through the relinquishment of mining tenements in a timely and flexible manner."