TIME and again, Rail Action Bathurst has proven to be our region's little engine room that could.
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Few community lobby groups could boast the same record of success that the action group has achieved over the years, and members - led by the unstoppable John Hollis (pictured) - show no signs of resting on their laurels any time soon.
Of course, nothing the group might achieve in the years to come is ever going to top the introduction of the Bathurst Bullet daily return rail service between Bathurst and Sydney.
Rail Action Bathurst had lobbied for more than a decade to make the service a reality, along the way ignoring every government MP who told them it would never happen.
But in 2012 it finally did happen, and what a success it has proved to be.
Fears that the carriages would be empty for the morning trip to Sydney were quickly forgotten as hundreds of people every week took advantage of the opportunity to leave their car at home when attending medical appointments, school trips or sporting events.
In fact, the service proved so popular that 12 months ago the state government - following continued lobbying from the action group - introduced a second daily return service that leaves Bathurst a little later and returns a little earlier.
Again, it's proved a wonderful success and still the action group is not completely satisfied.
They've now set their sights on a third Bathurst Bullet, this time leaving Sydney in the morning and returning in the afternoon.
The popularity of the two existing services suggests there's bound to be a market for Bullet 3.0 and history tells us that Rail Action Bathurst will tenaciously pursue a third service for as long as it takes.
It would be a brave punter indeed who bet against it ever happening.
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