When the new service was unveiled last week it was announced that stops would include Lithgow, Mount Victoria and Katoomba. But the Western Advocate has learned the timetable for the express is still to be finalised and up to three stops could be added.

Stops at Penrith, Parramatta and Strathfield would appear the most likely additions.

Calls to pencil-in extra stops, particularly Parramatta, surfaced soon after Premier Barry O’Farrell announced in Bathurst last Monday that a train had been found to kick the service off in October.

Parramatta’s proximity to Westmead Hospital and the family law courts should make it a hot favourite when CityRail sits down to finalise the timetable.

Seven million dollars will be spent refurbishing an Endeavour diesel train with a carrying capacity of 200 seats.

It is expected the government will spend around $1 million a year to keep the service on the rails and deliver on an election promise made by Bathurst MP Paul Toole.

“Nothing has been finalised as yet,” Mr Toole said. “We do know there will be a maximum of six stops and that makes places like Penrith, Parramatta and Strathfield strong contenders.

“I do know the aim is to have that train fully patronised by the time it gets to Central Station.

“The aim is that the service will benefit as many real users as possible, but the good news is that Bathurst residents will get first crack at those seats when it leaves here.”

Mr Toole said he had received nothing but positive feedback since the Premier made the train announcement.

“In my first term in office as the Bathurst MP this will go down as one of the major wins for my electorate,” he said.