Blue Mountains MP Roza Sage at Springwood Railway Station on Monday.
A new two-carriage ‘Endeavour’ daily Bathurst to Sydney fast return train service, which will stop at several Blue Mountains stations, is the centrepiece of changes to the CityRail timetable which comes into effect this Sunday.
Member for Blue Mountains Roza Sage said the new service from Bathurst will pick up customers from Lithgow station at 6.53am on weekdays and arrive at Central at 9.25am, stopping at Bell, Mount Victoria, Katoomba, Springwood (set down only), Penrith (set down only) and Parramatta (set down only).
The return service will depart Central at 5.55pm and arrive in Lithgow at 8.35pm on weekdays, stopping at Parramatta (pick up only), Penrith (pick up only), Springwood (pick up only), Katoomba and Mount Victoria.
The extra services will also run on weekends, departing Bathurst at 8.33am and the return service departing Central at 5.50pm.
Pick up and set down restrictions are in place to discourage suburban customers using the intercity service and to maximise seating availability for Blue Mountains and Bathurst customers.
The two-carriage train has 178 seats, a toilet, air-conditioning, wheelchair accessibility and a luggage storage area.
Mrs Sage said the new return service is one of many timetable changes being introduced to improve services for Blue Mountains customers.
The 5.51am Mount Victoria to Central ‘Chips’ service will depart at all stations to Emu Plains one minute earlier in order to make an extra stop at Penrith, departing at 7.22am.
“This small change will provide an extra direct service option for Blue Mountains customers travelling to Penrith, without the need to change at Emu Plains,” Mrs Sage said.
The 7.08am Springwood to Central service will now operate to a faster stopping pattern, stopping all stations to Penrith, then Parramatta, Strathfield, Redfern and arriving at Central at 8.32am, eight minutes earlier than under the old timetable.
“There are also timetable changes to a number of other services on the line, plus a new late night and early morning service between Bathurst and Lithgow,” Mrs Sage said.
Customers are asked to pick up a copy of the new timetable from their station, visit 131500.com or phone the Transport Info Line on 131-500 to find out more.
Mrs Sage said the timetable changes pave the way for a major overhaul of the train timetable which will be introduced by the NSW Government late next year.
“Work is now under way on a significant rewrite of the train timetable which will see widespread improvements across the network, including more express services and faster journey times for commuters.”