Think big: Rail summit urges cities of the region to work together on train plan

But it was not in relation to the train tracks itself.

Dr Michelle Zeibots - a transport planner and a senior lecturer at the University of Technology Sydney - was invited to speak at the Central West Rail Action Summit held in the Bathurst Regional Council chambers.

And her message was that those who hope to see services improved on the Main Western line through the Blue Mountains, Bathurst and Orange need to get organised and get talking.

"Identifying our points of agreement is something that we need to do - that's the first business that we need to get down to," Dr Zeibots told the Western Advocate after the summit.

"And I think part of that is also about finding how we can collaborate in a highly constructive way with technical people in the state government and with our Regional Transport Minister, Jenny Aitchison."

The summit, hosted by Rail Action Bathurst, was attended by members of the Orange Rail Action Group, who have been pushing for the Bathurst Bullets to begin their journey in their city, and by Upper House MP Sam Farraway, the regional transport minister under the previous Coalition state government.

Dr Zeibots told those at the summit that the key was to know what they wanted and to advocate for that rather than waiting to be part of the community consultation for an already-announced project.

For example, she said one of the two Bathurst Bullets, instead of going all the way to Sydney, might instead shuttle back and forth between Bathurst and Lithgow each day, thus connecting to the regular Blue Mountains services into the metropolitan area.

She said many of those wanting to travel to Sydney will always choose the quickest way - which is by car - but train travel does offer other advantages, such as the ability to work during the trip.

Dr Zeibots said the problem of congestion on the Great Western Highway could be reduced if more people were convinced to use the train, but that would rely on the services suiting potential passengers' needs in terms of the travel time and the frequency.

She emphasised that she was not advocating for any particular idea for improving rail services in the region, but was advocating for the interested groups from the various cities and towns to get together to work out what would be best for the area as a whole.

Mr Farraway, speaking at the end of the summit, said the time was right.

"I've said to John [Hollis, Rail Action Bathurst] and others that I've run into over the last few months that both the Bathurst and Orange rail action groups actually have a huge future and your role is probably more important than ever," he said.

"And it's because of the timing of the new regional fleet [the government replacing the current fleet with new trains].

"Where I left it [the transport ministry] was along the lines that when we have a new fleet, everything is up for negotiation."

He said rail advocates in the region need to be looking beyond what "one city wants and what one city gets".

"We do need to be looking at what's good for Lithgow, good for Bathurst, good for Orange, good for everyone in between," he said.

"And if you want to get the attention of a politician, if you want to make the bureaucrats stand up and listen, you need a vision.

"You need a community-led approach out here that includes all the regions."

Mr Farraway said the first new XPT has arrived at Dubbo, where a new maintenance facility has been built.

"We had that confirmed: one locomotive, six cars," he said.

"It's going to be a bit of a long haul with the testing, but the time is right now for the Bathurst Rail Action Group, Lithgow Rail Action Group, the Orange Rail Action Group to actually figure out what is your Central West plan.

"Because if you have each group and each community and each local member fighting it out, you're not going to get anywhere."

He said there are "huge opportunities with that new fleet".

"All the preventative maintenance will be done in Dubbo.

"There's the opportunity, as we drill down about the operating structures, and some of the change within Transport, about where drivers live, where they're based, where these trains are stabled, where they could initiate, where they're housed.

"All of this is on the table. And that time is coming."