"We've been sold a duck by the last government, so who's looking after us now?" asked Chris Osman about the Pacific National train support facility adjoining residential areas.

"We thought all the questionable dealings in the last days of that government were going to be looked at, so why is this going ahead when it's such an obviously crook deal for this community?"

Work has begun on a coal train maintenance facility that will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to service up to 14 empty trains a day returning to the coalfields from Newcastle.

Reports to the Department of Planning, including reports from other government departments, criticised the facility's location on traffic, environmental, heritage, water, noise and light grounds, and raised questions about the likelihood of it affecting the movement of trains on the main rail line.

Its location close to the proposed Huntlee and Anvil Creek major residential developments is also a significant issue, objectors said.

Questions have been asked about the timing of the approval by department director-general Sam Haddad on March 18, during the election caretaker period of the Keneally government.

Greta residents such as Mr Osman, Cheryl Olive and Maureen Condran want to know why the controversial project was approved so close to the election, but they are just as concerned about what this government will do to protect them from its problems.

A noise report that has been criticised for being "glib" and seriously conservative about potential effects on the community, particularly at night, found 475 households faced sleep disturbance at times when the facility is operational, and even greater problems for some during the construction phase.

The households are already described as experiencing noise levels "greatly in excess" of sleep disturbance criteria because of the Hunter Expressway and rail line noise, the report found.

Pacific National spokesman Phil Duvollet said the Greta site was chosen because there was no other suitable site available.

Mr Hazzard declined to comment.