Orange brushed as Wallerawang named as latest Bathurst Bullet stop as part of station's $7 million upgrade

Three years after Tarana and Rydal were added to the itinerary, the NSW Government has announced Wallerawang, near Lithgow, is going to become the latest addition.

Deputy Premier Paul Toole and Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Sam Farraway were at the village on Monday morning to announce the Wallerawang Railway Station, which closed more than 30 years ago, would be given a $7 million upgrade.

Its train services are expected to restart in a year's time.

However, calls for Orange to be added to the rail service continue to go unheard.

Member for Orange Phil Donato tabled a 10,000-strong signature petition in 2019 on behalf of the Orange Rail Action Group.

Mr Donato says the ORAG has "advocated tirelessly" to extend the daily bullet service to Orange since it first kicked off in 2012.

The petition was debated on the floor of NSW Parliament and, Mr Donato says, the Government's solution was to add a second daily bullet service for Bathurst and provide Orange a coach service to connect with the Bathurst Bullet.

"Whilst this is a slight improvement, it hasn't delivered Orange what the 10,000-plus petitioners called for," he said.

He believes a report into the promise of high speed rail in regional NSW needs to be made public.

"Our regional passenger rail services are not reflective of community needs and the timetabling has long needed to be revised," Mr Donato said.

"Minister Sam Farraway needs to address regional rail issues, publicly release the McNaughton report and outline his government's time frame to deliver passenger rail services in line with community expectations."

On Monday, Mr Toole said similar repeated calls from the community to provide a passenger service to Wallerawang were finally being heard.

"And I'm excited that our government will make that happen," Mr Toole said.

"This upgrade will mean Wallerawang station will be able to be a timetabled stop on the Bathurst Bullet twice daily train services between Bathurst and Sydney, offering a better service for commuters.

The Wallerawang station's reopening will continue a rail renaissance in the Bathurst region that includes the addition of the Rydal and Tarana stops, restoration work at the Tarana station, an extension to the car park at Bathurst Railway Station and the opening of the Bathurst Rail Museum.

As well, restoration has begun on part of a branch line in the area.

"Right across the state, we've invested to improve transport connectivity - from adding stops on the Bullet at Rydal and Tarana to a weekly train service to Griffith and two extra services for Singleton," Mr Toole said.

The NSW Government says work is anticipated to start next year following community consultation, feasibility assessments and design work to confirm the scope of work needed to bring the heritage station back into service.

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