THERE'S still no indication when - or even if - a report that looked at the viability of a fast rail line through Bathurst, among other routes, will be released publicly.
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But a clue as to the priority for any future works on the line has been provided by the report's author, who told the Sydney Morning Herald that the people to the west of Sydney "just need a decent train service".
It might have all but been forgotten in Bathurst by now, but the NSW Government announced with some fanfare in the lead-up to the 2019 election that it would be asking a UK expert to prepare a report on four potential fast rail routes in NSW - one of which was Sydney to Parkes (via Bathurst).
A trip from Bathurst to Sydney could be two-and-a-half hours on a fast train, the government said at the time.
The report - by Professor Andrew McNaughton - was completed but not released to the public, though Member for Bathurst Paul Toole provided an assurance in May last year that the western route had not been forgotten.
He has also previously said that the route through Bathurst would be more likely to get incremental improvements rather than an investment to make it a fast rail line.
In an interview with Professor McNaughton that was published in the Herald on the weekend, the UK expert said linking Newcastle and Wollongong to Sydney by fast rail would "change the face of NSW", while fast rail to Goulburn and Canberra would "make a difference" but should not be a top priority.
And to the west of Sydney? "People just need a decent train service," he told the paper.
He said this could be achieved through selective track upgrades at a fairly modest cost.
Professor McNaughton told the Herald that his fast rail report had been accepted by then-NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and was due to be released when she resigned from the top job in 2021.
He said the NSW Government then asked him to record a launch video a few months ago, but it had also never seen the light of day.
Though improvements to the line to speed up the trip to Sydney remain elusive, 2022 was a notable year for rail in the region in a number of ways.
As well as the 10th anniversary of the Bathurst Bullet being celebrated, there was the announcement of the return of train services to Wallerawang and the start of work on a restoration of a branch line that, it is hoped, will become a tourist attraction.
