FOR a service that some thought this city didn't need, the Bathurst Bullet is proving remarkably successful.
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The daily return train service to Sydney, introduced in 2012 after years of lobbying, was in the news twice last week as the NSW Government continued its pitch to local voters ahead of next month's election.
Last Tuesday came the news that a second Bullet service would run daily next year, leaving later in the morning and returning earlier in the afternoon to provide more options for those visiting the state capital.
And last Wednesday came the news that this new service would stop at Tarana, between Bathurst and Lithgow - which is something the residents of nearby Oberon have been seeking since the first service kicked off.
Not only will Tarana be getting a Bullet stop, it will be getting all the required Opal infrastructure - which is sure to change the sleepy little village just off the Great Western Highway.
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It's another example of the growing links between Bathurst and the biggest city in Australia - links that are setting Bathurst up for a period of incredible change and growth.
Improvements to the Great Western Highway and Bells Line of Road in recent years have been chipping away at the journey time between Bathurst and Sydney and there is more to come as the highway gets widened between Kelso and Raglan.
The ambitious infrastructure makeover for western and north-western Sydney - the soon-to-open new train line at Rouse Hill, the new airport at Badgerys Creek, the Western Sydney Stadium, the push to make Parramatta a true second CBD - will bring many of the big smoke's attractions (transport, sport, air travel) closer again.
As this newspaper has said before, Bathurst's biggest challenge in coming years is simply going to be managing its growth.
The city has a chance to enjoy the best of both worlds - the charm and community feel of a country city, with a city of five million just a short drive away - but it is going to take care, planning and quite a bit of luck to ensure that balance can be achieved.
But back to that second Bathurst Bullet.
Amid the announcements last week, John Hollis of Rail Action Bathurst, who has been the face of the Bullet since it was introduced, would have been entitled to a wry smile.
It was the service that Bathurst didn't need, supposedly. Well, try telling that to the thousands who use it each year.
