The woman was one of thousands of people who are supporting a petition by Orange Rail Action Group to step up its campaign for improved rail services to the Central West.

The group is calling on the NSW government to introduce an early-morning express passenger train direct from Orange to Sydney and its return in the evening.

The petition also calls on the government to fund rail infrastructure upgrades on the main western line between Lithgow, Bathurst and Orange to support faster passenger rail and freight services.

This would considerably reduce travel time.

The petition so far has been signed by more than 4,200 people, but 10,000 are needed for it to be debated in parliament.

A Bathurst couple said they didn’t want the Bullet to come on to Orange because there wouldn’t be any seats left when it got back to Bathurst, but signed the petition after they agreed it would be OK if a third car was added.

An ex-rail employee said the Bullet could be parked undercover in Orange in the old OPR siding and could be re-fuelled here from a bunker, while a Millthorpe man signed because he wanted to be able to catch the bullet from there if it came to Orange.

A Cowra man said he would catch the Bullet at Blayney if it stopped there.

Several people who signed the petition believed the XPT should start each morning from Dubbo rather than from Sydney.

They said faced two night’s accommodation if they wanted to spend a day in Sydney to see a doctor.