Orange Rail Action Group call on NSW Government to 'take next step' and improve train services to help drive growth in Central West

The Orange Rail Action Group has been lobbying for improved rail services to the Colour City over the past decade and have called on the NSW government to "take the next step."

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With the state election looming on March 25 and discussion about rail largely absent from the campaign, member Peter Bilenkij said solutions were within reach for government.

"We've been working for 10 years for a morning service and to get tracks straightened," he said.

"The number one priority is to get an early morning train from Orange by extending the Bathurst Bullet but that's been knocked back by the government because the travel time between Orange, Bathurst and Lithgow is too long.

"The reason for that is the track has too many tight curves. It was built in Queen Victoria's time and hasn't been changed.

"Coach connections have been made from Orange to Bathurst for which we are very grateful but it's time the government took that next step.

"The action group co-operated with two rail experts, Philip Laird and Max Michell, and they did a report on the same track. They pointed out that 26 mins could be saved by some very basic changes. The current government has all that information."

The topic of transport in the Central West has tended to focus on the long-awaited Great Western Highway upgrade.

In October it was announced that Wallerawang Station would be re-opened after 30 years with $7 million allocated to upgrades. It sits between Bathurst and Lithgow.

However the rail action group believe that improving services in the Bathurst to Orange corridor will help drive growth in the region, as evidenced by a petition and survey conducted in 2019 which culminated in Orange MP Phil Donato handing a 10,000-strong signed petition to parliament.

"We did a survey with the CWD on how many people would use an early morning train," Mr Bilenkij said.

"We calculated that at least 20,000 people from Orange would use the train in a one year period.

"It would promote intra regional transport and provide an alternative to motor vehicles, it would promote regionalisation."

Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Sam Farraway was contacted by the CWD for comment.

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