DEAR News Of The Area,
THE XPT service from Grafton to Sydney has been taken off the rails and replaced with coaches for twelve months.
Pensioners, seniors, students without a car and children all rely on this daylight service.
The majority of these people would prefer to travel by train for the comfort it provides including a buffet car and multiple toilets.
This service was ideal for people in the Hastings region affording superb scenery, support from onboard staff and reaching Sydney in daylight.
There are new regional trains being trialled presently.
Surely one of these trains can be fast-tracked and used to replace the Grafton XPT.
Alternatively, the government should lease a regional train from Victoria and get people off the highway and back on ribbons of steel.
Coaches might be less expensive to operate but they are statistically more dangerous and they provide less comfort than a train.
Without a train, NSW TrainLink services are second class and customers’ needs are still in the waiting room.
Regards,
Geoff RICHARDSON,
Port Macquarie.
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According to transport NSW, they’re still running four out of the six services as trains.
“To allow for these essential upgrades of the XPT fleet, NSW TrainLink will operate two out of the six
daily rail services between Grafton and Sydney with premium coaches for approximately 12 months
from mid-March 2025. The remaining four daily rail services will continue to operate with XPT trains.
NSW TrainLink is going through a public tender process to secure a coach provider to provide
premium wheelchair accessible vehicles for this service.
This will provide travellers from Grafton the opportunity to choose between premium quality coach
services or rail options, depending on their time of travel.”