The Future Transport 2056 plan is open for public comment and Orange Rail Action Group member Dr Peter Bilenkij said steady lobbying for better rail services had paid off.

“It’s a pretty fair recognition of our wishlist,” he said.

“They’ve got 40 years and 10 government changes to talk about it, but at least we’re on the list.”

The plan has included rail line upgrades on the main west line to Parkes within the next 10 years, including passing loops, better signalling and bridge upgrades, to increase freight capacity.

”We have said all along it would be a shame to have a brand new sparkling train on old tracks, going no faster than the old trains,” Dr Bilenkij said.

It has also flagged potentially expanding intercity rail services beyond Lithgow to Bathurst, including electrification of the rail line within the next 20 years.

Beyond those, no timeframes have been identified. 

The plan would investigate extending the Bathurst Bullet to Orange, which the action group has lobbied for.

It would also investigate better connections between Dubbo and Orange, and Orange and Bathurst, covering both road and rail and considering demand. 

“At the moment, you can’t get a train or a bus to Dubbo from Orange in the morning,” Dr Bilenkij said.

The plan also lists new bus and coach service improvements for the region to improve connectivity between regional cities with populations of more than 30,000 and regional centres with smaller populations, in addition to improvements within cities and towns.

For isolated communities, the plan proposes flexible services connecting isolated communities to their nearest regional centre and investigating potential servicing patterns so the replacement XPTs improve connections and day return opportunities between towns. 

Road priorities featured improvements to the Mitchell Highway, including upgrades to the Mount Victoria to Orange corridor, the Newell Highway and Lachlan Valley Way.

Future Transport will meet with Orange City Council on Tuesday and a display will be open to the public at Robertson Park on Thursday, November 2. Visit https://future.transport.nsw.gov.au/