IT'S appropriate that it was a railway station open day that drew a crowd to Tarana last weekend because this really is the little village that could.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
There are many stories about struggling country communities, but the only stories that seem to come out of Tarana are those of the good news variety.
The rail renaissance at the village has been well-documented, beginning with the installation of an Opal Card reader and continuing with the decision to add Tarana (and Rydal) as stops on both Bathurst Bullets.
Then there is Transport for NSW's restoration work at the station and the NSW Government's bus service that takes Oberon travellers to Tarana to meet one of the two Bullets (and takes them back to Oberon again).
Quite apart from trains and buses, there is also the popular monthly markets event at Tarana and the annual Easter charity dog trial at the pub.
Transport for NSW head honcho Howard Collins' visit to the village on the weekend for the station open day was actually the second time he had been at Tarana in just over 18 months - which isn't bad when you're talking about a man who was once the boss of the London Underground.
On the one hand, it seems unlikely that Tarana has found itself as a sort of transport hub in this region, where travellers from around that district are arriving to jump on the train to head off to Sydney.
But on the other hand, it's not so surprising at all.
That was, after all, the point of rail: spreading the population across the countryside; creating new communities; allowing people to live in regional areas while still having a direct link to the cities.
Rail's decline was long and miserable, but there's no doubt there's some life in the old transport mode yet - as seen in everything from the driverless metro lines being built in Sydney to the light rail that has rolled out in Newcastle and Canberra in recent years.
And in the case of country rail services like the Bathurst Bullets, the patronage is not just about romanticism or affordability.
People are using these services because it suits them: because they can be delivered right into the heart of Sydney without worrying about parking or traffic or toll roads.
It's unlikely that Transport for NSW's Mr Collins has made his last visit to the region.
And it's unlikely that we have heard the last of the good news stories to come out of Tarana.
