A welcome sound returned to Armidale last week, with the Countrylink Xplorer train service rattling into Armidale after a lengthy interruption to the service for extensive trackwork on the North Western Line.
Over the two-month upgrade, Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) replaced approximately 90,000 timber sleepers with concrete sleepers on the track between Muswellbrook and Murrurundi.
“The completion of these upgrades is great news for our CountryLink passengers on the North Western Line. The trackwork reduces the need for ongoing maintenance, meaning there will be fewer interruptions to services in the future,” said RailCorp Director Operations Tony Eid.
Greg Smith, President of the 23-year-old local rail advocacy group, Friends of the Northern Railway, welcomes the return of the Xplorer train service from Armidale to Sydney and is encouraging everyone to use the service or lose it.
“Friends of the Northern Railway hope that Armidale people will get behind the Xplorer and once again demonstrate their support for the valuable service it provides,” Mr Smith said.
“With the Xplorer the sole train using the line between Armidale and Tamworth, we can never afford to relax,” Mr Smith said.
“There is a current parliamentary review of CountryLink services, to which FONR made a submission, which we hope is looking for avenues of improvement rather than excision, but we know we’ve had to defend the train service on crucial occasions in the past.”
