A story over the weekend about Lithgow City Council planning to lobby for extra carriages on the Bathurst Bullet rail service created a few waves, and rightly so.

Lithgow hopes the extra carriages will help alleviate over-crowding, but what that really means is provide more seats for Lithgow residents.

The council also discussed the option of adding an extra stop at either Rydal or Tarana to accommodate rural residents.

Of course, all these suggestions must be viewed through the prism of a by-election in the city and candidates doing what they can to get their name in the news.

But, still, they’re talking nonsense.

As a number of posters on the Western Advocate Facebook page noted, the Bathurst Bullet is a daily service to get Bathurst residents to Sydney.

It took a long fight to bring the service to reality and the support from local commuters has been outstanding.

For years we had been told a Bathurst-to-Sydney rail service was not viable and even this newspaper expressed it doubts. But we’re happy to have been proven wrong and the hundreds of people who ride the Bullet each week should be congratulated for their ongoing support.

So if more carriages are needed, they should only be added for the comfort of Bathurst commuters and those hardy Orange commuters who get out of bed even earlier to catch the coach across each day. That’s not a slight on Lithgow commuters but, rather, an acknowledgment that Lithgow is already well-served for city rail services.

The thought of adding new stops is even more laughable because the last thing Bullet commuters need is an even longer journey.

If anything, we should be aiming for fewer stops so the Bullet’s travel time can in some way resemble the nickname.

As some readers have suggested, stops at Penrith, Parramatta and Central would be nice, though a case could also be made for Strathfield to meet connecting services.

Regardless of how it all plays out, though [and no-one should hold their breath waiting for any of the suggested changes to be taken up], it is heartening to see people are still so passionate about the Bullet and so keen to see the service upgraded and improved.

The Bathurst Bullet was a win for people power and Bathurst people have every right to still think of it as their own.