THE announcement of a new train fleet for the Central West has given rise to hopes of a morning train service from Orange to Sydney.
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NSW Deputy premier John Barilaro was in Dubbo on Monday to announce the replacement of the state’s ageing regional trains.
The state Nationals leader said the upgraded trains would give “greater flexibility” in the timetables for services at Orange and across regional NSW, and part of the program would be looking at all the scheduling of services, including the Central West’s XPT train.
Orange is currently served by an XPT that leaves Central Station in Sydney 7.15am, arrives at Dubbo at 12pm, returns to the city at about 4pm before arriving in Sydney 8.45pm.
When asked if the government’s move meant a morning XPT service travelling east was a possibility, Mr Barilaro said the new fleet gave “the opportunity to look at new options”.
“We want to see more people on rail and now I think the opportunity will be there in the next few years,” Mr Barilaro said.
The first XPT rolled on to the tracks in 1982 and the government last year announced it would bring forward the replacement of the ageing fleet.
Mr Barilaro, who also announced the replacement of the Endeavour and Xplorer trains, said the upgrade was overdue.
“A lot of them (trains) are very old, they’re expensive to maintain. We spend a lot of money on them maintaining them every single year,” he said.
“And that’s why we brought forward the procurement of new trains because it gives us the ability to do that quickly.”
Mr Barilaro said he expected the new trains to be travelling on Orange’s and the Central West’s tracks “starting 2020”.
Mr Barilaro also announced the construction of a brand new rail maintenance facility in regional NSW, with Dubbo identified as the preferred location.
Mr Barilaro said companies would have to “tender with Dubbo in mind”.
“We want to see 100 per cent of that final assembly in NSW,” he said.