STATE Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian is expected to advise next month how and when the government will upgrade the Armidale to Sydney train service with train-tilt technology, free wi-fi and bicycle racks.
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These are just some of the recommendations made by a parliamentary inquiry into inter-regional public transport services earlier this year.
Parliamentarians urged Ms Berejiklian to buy more modern carriages for the train fleet and introduce shorter train sets for intra-regional trips, such as Armidale to Tamworth.
They also recommended upgrading the Xplorer’s on-board facilities to include free wi-fi and bicycle racks for the 25,000 passengrs who use the service annually.
But on Thursday Ms Berejiklian stopped short of providing a timetable for upgrading the 21-year-old fleet, although she has until September 19 to provide a response to the committee’s recommendations.
Ms Berejiklian’s spokesman said the fleet’s passenger seats, lighting and air conditioning had been overhauled in 2008. Carpets and curtains had also been replaced and toilets refurbished.
But there was no commitment to buying new stock with train-tilting technology, nor to upgrading on-board amenities.
That is in spite of a six per cent passenger increase in the past year.
Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall has reiterated calls for Ms Berejiklian to respond to the committee’s recommendations.
On average, the Armidale train is more than half full each day and about half of all passengers disembark at either Central Station or Tamworth, again emphasising the importantance of intra as well as inter-regional transport links.
Yesterday, Mr Marshall said: “My focus is to continue working to improve the quality of the service (including the fleet) and speed into the future as well as looking at other ways to use the train to attract more people to our region.
“This make take the form of provision for bicycle racks should we one day have a rail trail in the region, or have the intra-regional service between Tamworth and Armidale and stopping at Walcha Road, so that people can come for day trips etc. Certainly having wi-fi would be an incentive for UNE students and more young people to use the service.”
He said some improvements could be made with the existing fleet and some with new carriages.
“What is certain, however, is that we have an ageing community across the region and I can only see the train service becoming more important for our seniors, to travel to Sydney and back, but also between destinations in country NSW.”
