THE timetable for the daily XPT service from Sydney to Orange “isn’t too bad” compared to others in the state, according to Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian.
Central west residents have called for the timetable to be switched so the train leaves Dubbo in the morning, passes through Orange and arrives in Sydney in the afternoon.
“This timetable is not too bad for this daily service but when I went to Albury I ended up in Albury at 4am in the morning,” she said.
“There are opportunities for us to look at regional passenger services and how we can better manage the timetables.”
Ms Berejiklian said wholesale reform of RailCorp announced recently would include CountryLink and future timetabling.
She again ruled out the privatisation of the service but said the government would look at ways to make it more economically sustainable for the future.
“The main thing we’re focusing on is customer service... looking at a timetable is a positive way that doesn’t require a lot of resources but looks at what are people’s movements like, when is the demand, when are people wanting to use rail services,” she said.
“There are a lots of ways you can improve things on the resources you have.”
Ms Berejiklian said travellers who catch a coach to Lithgow to connect with CityRail services rather than the CountryLink XPT were “trying to make the best of what’s available”.
“There’s certainly room for improvement,” she said.
“We are looking at a re-write of how we do things in RailCorp.”