NEW SERVICE: This service is the result of a government pre-election commitment and is part of the NSW government’s “Fixing the Trains Program”, but what about the lines that are closed?
IT is to be applauded that the O'Farrell government is to introduce a diesel Endeavour train express service Bathurst to Sydney return, seven days a week, from October 2012.
This service is the result of a government pre-election commitment and is part of the NSW government’s “Fixing the Trains Program”. This is equivalent to the same introduction by the Labor government in 1995 of the Outback Explorer rail service to Broken Hill.
What is disappointing is that, as with the federal Labor government’s Infrastructure Australia, formed in 2007, Infrastructure NSW has now been formed. Neither of these two organisations identify rail infrastructure separately as they do road, as being in need of attention.
It appears there is no such thing as a “Fixing the Rail Infrastructure Program”, thus trains only run on the few railway lines left in use and these, perhaps, will be fixed.
It is well known that the many closed railway lines in the central west exacerbate road problems, as trains cannot operate thereby removing much road congestion.
Railway lines which are closed in the central west include:
● Kandos/Mudgee/Gulgong
● Blayney/Cowra/Young/Demondrille
● Cowra/Eugowra
● Koorawatha/Greenethorpe/Grenfell
● Molong Cumnock /Yeoval /Toongi/Dubbo
There seems to exist a head-in-the-sand approach to what is a very real problem caused by heavy road transport. It is hoped it will perhaps just disappear.
Bill Barwood,
Canowindra
