Planning to travel to the Blue Mountains or Sydney by rail in late November?

Transport for NSW (TFNSW) has announced that critical track work will take place on the Blue Mountains Line and Country Regional Linx line over a nine-day period between Saturday, November 21 and Sunday, November 29, impacting rail services.

Communities in the central west and Blue Mountains are being advised to plan ahead of the maintenance, deemed necessary to “keep rail services safe, reliable and resilient”.

Some train services will replaced by buses or road coaches while others will have changed timings and stopping patterns, TFNSW indicated in a statement.

“However, every day won’t be the same over the nine days, so passengers are advised to carefully check times and services ahead of their intended day of travel,” the statement said.

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Between 21/11–26/11

From Saturday, November 21, to Thursday, November 26, Sydney Trains will carry out a significant package of maintenance, renewal and upgrade activities between Lithgow and Mount Victoria.

In addition, maintenance by UGL Regional Linx on the Country Regional Network will impact services to Bathurst on some of these days.

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27/11–29/11

On Friday, November 27, work on the rail line will extend between Bathurst and Katoomba. Then on the weekend of Saturday, November 28, and Sunday, November 29, there will be a full shutdown of the Blue Mountains Line for a major maintenance blitz.

“NSW TrainLink’s free turn up and go coach shuttles between Bathurst and Katoomba will keep running during the rail maintenance period,” the TFNSW statement indicated.

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Critical work

The work to be undertake includes overhead wiring inspections; ballast cleaning; rerailing at Zig Zag, Bowenfels and Lithgow; high-voltage electrical pole replacement at Zig Zag; retaining wall strengthening works at Lithgow; turnout renewal at St Marys; track circuit upgrades; a culvert upgrade at Medlow Bath; New Intercity Fleet enabling works at Valley Heights and Lawson; upgrades at Katoomba Cutting including rockfall mesh installation, plain track and turnout resurfacing; rail grinding, and defect removal and maintenance across overhead wiring, signalling and track at various locations.

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Disruptions noted, but needed

Sydney Trains Chief Executive Matt Longland said the works being undertaken are critical for the passengers who depend on the railway to get over the mountains.

“The Blue Mountains corridor is a complex part of the rail network, with challenging terrain, ageing assets and infrastructure that requires regular, planned access to maintain and renew properly,” he said.

“We recognise trackwork is disruptive and understand the impacts it will have on the Blue Mountains and central west communities already affected by the Great Western Highway closure at Victoria Pass, but it’s essential we complete these significant infrastructure works now,” he added.

“This access to the corridor allows our teams to complete essential signalling, trackwork, overhead wiring and civil upgrades safely and efficiently, which in turn will reduce the risk of equipment failures and unplanned service disruptions.

"This will support more reliable journeys for customers and a stronger network into the future.

Mr Longland said while there will be a range of service disruptions over the nine-day period, the biggest impact to travel will be over the weekend of November 28-29.

“[This is] when the magnitude of the work means it can’t be safely delivered while trains are running, so we have a whole track shutdown.”

The works will include:

Information about changed services during the trackwork period can be found online at transportnsw.info. Community members can also subscribe to receive trackwork email alerts from Sydney Trains.

Passengers are urged to plan ahead and allow extra travel time for unexpected delays, checking transport apps before leaving for the most up to date details and follow station and onboard advice throughout the disruption period.