Two-week closure of part of Blue Mountains rail line looks likely following derailment

Blue Mountains MP Trish Doyle said she had received advice the damage will require at least two weeks of repairs.

"So far, 113 breaks in the rail have been found and thousands of concrete sleepers have been damaged," she posted on Facebook on December 15.

"These will all need to be repaired before the line can reopen. This is on top of possible hundreds of other small repairs that haven't yet been identified.

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"Obviously, even though this only affects one set of rails, the entire corridor must be closed to all passenger and freight trains while major repair works are undertaken by the infrastructure team."

Transport for NSW has put on replacement buses between Katoomba and Springwood.

"Obviously this is a terrible thing to happen on the eve of the summer school holidays and it will have a massive impact on commuters and tourism businesses," Ms Doyle said.

"[It] is just the latest challenge for our community after massive infrastructure losses during fires and floods in recent years."

The freight train derailed at Linden about 5am on Wednesday, December 14.

Trains continue to run between Lithgow and Katoomba as well as between Springwood and Penrith, however these may not run as timetabled.

Transport for NSW recommends people allow plenty of extra travel time, listen for announcements and check transport apps for service updates.

For updates, visit Transport for NSW.

This week's problems on the Blue Mountains rail line follow a landslip in July near Blackheath that closed the line and which took weeks to repair.

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