Transport for NSW has halved the length of scheduled trackwork of the Blue Mountains rail line, to reduce further impact on communities already affected by the ongoing closure of the Great Western Highway at Victoria Pass.
Scheduled prior to the unforeseen closure of the Great Western Highway in March, the trackwork was planned to last two weeks. The trackwork has now been reduced to one week by delaying all non-time critical work.
Intercity passenger rail services will not operate between Mt Victoria and Lithgow from 2am on Monday 25 May to 2am on Monday 1 June and on the weekend of Saturday 30 May and Sunday 31 May, the closure will extend between Lithgow and Blacktown.
The safety critical works include overhead wire renewal on vulnerable parts of the network which use an older fixed tension system and are vulnerable to the extreme temperature changes during the Blue Mountains winter. Critical works also include rail grinding, rail welding, and track defect removal.
Replacement buses will operate with an additional 25 trips during the week and two Bathurst peak‑hour services will continue to operate from Lithgow Station in the morning, departing at 6:50am and 8:48am. In the afternoon, two peak‑hour services will run from Bathurst to Lithgow, arriving at 5:46pm and 8:12pm.
In response to the 2025 Independent Rail Review the Minns Labor Government has invested $423.4 million over the next four years towards an asset renewal program targeted at upgrading rail tracks, signalling, and overhead wiring across the network as well as drainage in flood-prone areas.
As the rail reliability investment rolls out, the Minns Labor Government is also accelerating the re-opening of Mitchells Causeway on the Great Western Highway, with two consortia led by Seymour Whyte and Gamuda shortlisted to deliver the safest and fastest solution.
The NSW Government acknowledges the significant impact for communities across the Blue Mountains and Central West and has committed $50 million towards improving the safety and resilience of key detour routes through the Blue Mountains and Central West. More than $15 million worth of work has already been completed.
Public transport uplifts introduced earlier this year will remain in place during the closure including NSW TrainLink's free turn-up-and-go coach services currently used by more than 300 passengers each week.
Passenger are encouraged to allow extra travel time and plan ahead by visiting transportnsw.info/trip-planner or downloading the Opal Travel App.
Minister for Transport John Graham said:
"We know the Victoria Pass closure is causing a lot of pain for communities either side of mountains. We're sorry this trackwork will add to that disruption, which is why we've cut it as short as we can by delaying any non-time critical work.
"As we learnt with the big Homebush rail shut down last May, overhead wire faults can lead to enormous disruption. We can not let that happen at a time where the train line is a critical alternative to the Great Western Highway.
"Rail reliability is a key focus for our government, which is why we're investing $424.4 million into network maintenance and improvements, and that includes the Blue Mountains line which is more important than ever during the Mitchell Causeway closure."
Minister Roads and Regional Transport Jenny Aitchison said:
"Maintenance on our rail lines is critical, and our Government continues to get on with the job of important, and targeted rail maintenance programs to ensure people can get to work, to appointments and to school.
"We acknowledge the ongoing impacts for Blue Mountains and Central West communities as a result of the closure of the Great Western Highway at Victoria Pass.
"As we work towards a fix for the Highway, this rail maintenance program will ensure the Blue Mountains line can continue to be a reliable transport option for communities."
Member for Blue Mountains Trish Doyle:
"Thank you so much to everyone in my community for their patience during this extraordinarily disruptive time.
"The train service is a crucial part of daily life in the Blue Mountains, especially as we live through the road closure, but we can't afford to let it deteriorate and add further long-term pain to our transport situation.
"I want to thank my colleagues for finding a way to halve the shutdown time and thank the community for their understanding."
Sydney Trains Chief Executive Matt Longland said:
"Sydney Trains is carrying out planned critical upgrades and essential maintenance work to improve service reliability.
"During this time, passengers impacted by the closure of the rail line and the Great Westen Highway can use free turn-up-and-go coach services daily between Bathurst and Katoomba, stopping at Mt Victoria and Lithgow Stations.
"Trackwork is planned 12 months in advance so as much can be carried out at once to minimise the number of shutdowns in each area of the network.
"Sydney Trains apologises for the inconvenience and thanks passengers for their patience as we carry out this essential work."
