A LONG-TALKED-ABOUT fast rail line from Sydney to Parkes, via Bathurst, features in a newly released transport strategy document, but there is still no indication of when, or if, it will ever be built.
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The Central West fast rail route, passing through Lithgow, Bathurst and Orange to Parkes, is one of four key fast rail corridors listed in the Future Transport Strategy released by the NSW Government on Monday.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet says the strategy aims to set out "a new vision for transport in our growing and changing state".
A fast route through the Central West was first mentioned by the NSW Government in early 2019 as it asked Professor Andrew McNaughton, an expert on the topic, to prepare a report on fast rail options for the state.
The report was going to be made public in the time since, but it hasn't been released.
The NSW Government has, however, committed $500 million to the first stage of what it says is the fast rail "northern corridor", which will be used to help build two new electrified rail tracks between Tuggerah and Wyong, build new bridges, including over the Wyong River, and safeguard future fast rail connections.
The Future Transport Strategy says fast rail will give people "greater access to and from regional NSW" and fast rail hubs in key cities and centres "could become vibrant centres for business and leisure, and provide affordable housing in fast-growing communities".
The strategy does say, however, that, given the scale of the task, the government will take an incremental approach to fast rail, developing it in sections over two to three decades.
It says the fast rail line between the Central Coast and Greater Sydney will be the first major project for construction.
Member for Bathurst Paul Toole has previously told the Western Advocate that improvements to the rail line to Bathurst might initially involve simply speeding up the journey for passengers rather than turning it into a fast rail service.
Last year's Draft Central West and Orana Regional Transport Plan listed as "for investigation", with a timeframe of one to 10 years, the electrification of the rail corridor between Lithgow and Bathurst; extending the Bathurst Bullet rail service to Orange; and what was described as "fast rail improvements - Sydney to Central West".
