Cr Tucker who has put his hand up to be mayor wants to lock down a rail cooridor in the next three-year term of council before the M1 extension to Raymond Terrace is completed.

"My big picture for being mayor is to get the state government to sign on the dotted line for rail to the airport," he said.

"Not just light rail, heavy rail, so we can get freight there too."

While previous ideas had involved a line over Kooragang Cr Tucker, who holds a masters in engineering, said it would be cost prohibitive to build on a swamp.

The most cost effective option he said was to include a rail bridge over the Hunter River at Hexham incorpated with the two new bridges planned for the M1 extension.

"We need to have a corridor running along the expressway before those bridges are built.

"If we haven't got the corridor in place before the M1 extension is built we'll never see rail in Raymond Terrace in our lifetime. The next opportunity mightn't come along for 20 years."

Newcastle Airport is amid development of a 20-year master plan that will firmly put rail on its wish list.

CEO Peter Cock said the draft master plan identified Tomago/Hexham as the likely corridor for a future a heavy rail link.

But he noted that light rail could even use the existing road corridors.

“Newcastle Airport supports the development of long term planning strategies that support the growth of the region and its social inclusion within the national and international landscape,” he said.

“Should the NSW Government choose to develop a rail corridor to the Williamtown area Newcastle Airport would support the development of the corridor.”

The Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Scot MacDonald said Cr Tucker’s wish to set aside the land had merit.

“I get what he’s saying about corridors, it’s bedeviled us everywhere else, especially in Sydney,” Mr MacDonald said. 

“If it’s going to happen at some point there needs to be some planning.”

Mr MacDonald said he was involved in the compulsory acquisition of homes for Sydney’s south west rail link. 

“It’s a terrible process to go back and acquire land.”