MINISTER for Regional Transport and Roads Paul Toole has reassured that a fast rail route between Lithgow and Parkes, via Bathurst, is still under consideration.
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It comes after an infrastructure summit where NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian was reported as saying fast rail and "faster rail" would be built between Sydney and Newcastle, the Central Coast, Goulburn and Nowra.
The "western corridor" from Lithgow to Parkes via Bathurst was previously named as one of four potential routes being investigated by a panel led by rail expert Andrew McNaughton.
Asked about the western route not being mentioned in the reports from the infrastructure summit in Sydney, Mr Toole said a route to Parkes was "still under consideration".
"There's still a strategy and there was $10 million for the western route, which was part of the investigation, but it also will see some of that $10 million being invested into improvements along the western line," he said.
He also said there would be incremental projects happening in the short-term to put the region on the pathway for fast rail in the future.
"The NSW Government's commitment is to develop a blueprint for the delivery of a fast rail network," he said.
"This is a major piece of work that is about shaping the state when it comes to rail. The fast rail strategy is a transformative vision which will seek to link regional centres to each other and to Sydney.
"The NSW Government is taking its time to get the strategy right and the NSW Government is going to continue to update the community on the plan as it develops."
Mr Toole said the government "remains committed to rail services here in the Central West", and that recent projects to improve services demonstrate that.
"Already we've got now two Bathurst Bullets that are operating, we're seeing stops at Rydal, we're seeing stops at Tarana, we've had rail loops that have been installed and there is work on additional rail loops on the main western line," he said.
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