We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. [41], CountryLink published an in-house journal, Freight Rail & Countrylink Xpress, in conjunction with Freight Rail. The Southern region covers the state's Illawarra, South Coast, Snowy Mountains, South West Slopes, Southern Tablelands, Riverina and Sunraysia regions plus the Australian Capital Territory and parts of Victoria. The final CountryLink fleet consisted of two train types, XPT (19 power cars and 60 carriages) and Xplorers (23 carriages). The Inquiry also noted that in the year ended June 2003, CountryLink incurred $29.9 million in costs associated with advertising, booking and selling tickets, against $43.5 million in fare revenue. Passengers. "This is more than two-thirds of the revenue received from passengers and is excessive," the Inquiry report stated. At the time of the report operating expenditure is around five times as much as revenue gained through ticket sales.[38]. Mr Watkins also said in front of news crew that the refurbishment of the XPTs would also encourage more people to use the trains. [13], In October 1990, the government announced that eight sleeper carriages would be ordered for use on overnight services to Brisbane, Murwillumbah and Melbourne. The Western region covers the Central Tablelands and Western regions. The North Coast region covers the North Coast, Northern Rivers and South East Queensland regions. [14] These were included in an order placed with ABB Transportation, Dandenong in 1991 for four power cars and 13 trailers that was jointly funded by the New South Wales and Victorian Governments. [9], In policy reversal, in June 1990 the government announced that it would purchase 17 Xplorer carriages to reintroduce services to Armidale and Moree and replace locomotive-hauled stock and coaches on services to Canberra. On purely economic grounds, the report recommended closing all country passenger services as they were judged unviable, however this was not politically acceptable. CountryLink was an Australian passenger rail and road service brand operating in regional New South Wales, Canberra, Brisbane and Melbourne. NSW TrainLink train and coach services temporarily ceased operating in/out of Victoria from 7 July due to the temporary closure of the NSW/Victorian border. [1] Originally created as a business unit (or sub-brand) of the State Rail Authority of New South Wales, it later became a subsidiary of RailCorp, a Government of New South Wales entity. Transport NSW has launched a Free Wi-Fi trial program along the Central Coast Line, between Hornsby and Wyong. Enjoy stress-free, great value regional train and coach travel to more than 365 destinations around NSW and beyond with NSW TrainLink. Tickets and fares, timetables, network maps, accessibility, safety and other travel information for travel on NSW TrainLink Regional trains and coaches [10] The Xplorers entered service on the North Western service in October 1993[11] and on the Canberra service in December 1993. A new five day service will begin on 1 June, replacing the Oberon to Mount Victoria coach three day service. This would release an XPT to operate a daily service to operate the Grafton Express replacing a weekly locomotive-hauled service that was reintroduced at the same time. [20][21] With the closure of the Muwillumbah branch, services were cut back to Casino from May 2004.[22][23]. Small regional communities now have more travel choices and better connectivity to nearby centres with six new bus services rolling out across the state. CountryLink was established in January 1989 under the Transport Administration Act 1988 as a business unit of what was then the State Rail Authority to operate all non-metropolitan long distance passenger services. All bus services operated by NSW TrainLink into and out of Victoria ceased from midnight on Tuesday 7 July. The browser you are using is not supported. In March 1996, services were reintroduced to Broken Hill and Griffith using refurbished locomotive-hauled rolling stock honouring an election commitment by the Carr State Government. [33], CountryLink adopted the model used by V/Line in Victoria and contracted out the provision of these services to private operators, with services transferring to the successful bidders between November 1989 and June 1990.[34]. NSW TrainLink operates regional and intercity train and coach services to more than 365 destinations in NSW, Queensland, the ACT and Victoria. Due to the impacts of COVID-19 and low passenger numbers, we have made the difficult decision to suspend or cancel a number of NSW TrainLink trial coach services. Please check your details or select another travel date. North Coast region services appeared on the network map in red. [42], "Major Passenger Train Changes Commence this Month", "XPT trailer cars to be built in Victoria", "Sydney-Melbourne Daylight XPT Commences This Month", "First Broken Hill Passenger Blocked by Freight Derailment", "Murwillumbah XPT to end – line faces closure", "State Rail Coach Services – The Vehicles", "Coach Services of the New South Wales State Rail Authority", Transport Administration Amendment (Rail Agencies) Bill, Closure of the Casino to Murwillumbah rail service, "State Rail Authority Annual Report 2001-02", "State Rail Authority Annual Report 2003-04", "Rail Corporation NSW Annual Report 2007–08", "Rail Corporation NSW Annual Report 2012–13", NSW Ministry of Transport – Ministerial Inquiry into Sustainable Transport (Parry Report), NSW Ministry of Transport: NSW Government's Response to the Final Report of the Parry Inquiry, CountryLink: Reform program offers significant improvements, Final push to get rail users back on track, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=CountryLink&oldid=985313603, Australian companies disestablished in 2013, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, review the allocation of costs to CountryLink to improve the transparency of government railway accounts, seek efficiencies in the marketing of tickets, align subsidies to CountryLink with the benefits to the community, seek to have the ACT Government contribute to the cost of the Sydney-Canberra service, explore alternatives to rail on a case-by-case basis for all rural and regional routes, include CountryLink in integrated regional transport planning, establish "Solutions Teams" to assess various areas of CountryLink's operations, This page was last edited on 25 October 2020, at 07:07. The Xplorer fleet was maintained at the Xplorer-Endeavour Service Centre. All NSW Trainlink trains and buses are operating as normal EXCEPT that trains and buses are NOT operating into Victoria. Coaches were originally painted in CountryLink's grey, white and blue livery. The hub of its operation was Sydney Central railway station. Services ran along the Main South line from Sydney Central station to Albury before continuing on the North East line to Southern Cross station in Melbourne, with the line to Canberra branching off south of Goulburn and the line to Griffith at Junee.[31]. From Wednesday 8 July, NSW temporarily closed its border with Victoria. A new five day service will begin on 1 June, replacing the Oberon to Mount Victoria coach three day service. The main western rail line will be fully operational from Saturday 30 May as repairs to infrastructure from bushfire and flooding damage is completed. Transport for NSW acknowledges the traditional owners and custodians of the land, and respects Elders past, present and future. Hundreds of extra transport staff have been deployed across the network as more people return to work and students return to school. [15][16], In December 1994, a daylight service to Melbourne resumed by extending the Riverina XPT from Albury. More than 300,000 seniors have now successfully signed up for the regional seniors travel card providing $250 to spend on fuel, taxis and pre-booked NSW TrainLink trains and coaches. From Sunday, 5 July 2020 the Newcastle Bus Interchange will open connecting trains, buses, light rail and coaches. In November 1989, the Silver City Comet was withdrawn,[6] while in February 1990 the Brisbane Limited and Pacific Coast Motorail were withdrawn and replaced by XPT services, the Canberra XPT was withdrawn and replaced by locomotive-hauled stock and the Northern Tablelands Express was truncated to Tamworth with road coaches introduced from Sydney to Armidale. [36][37], "CountryLink currently operates a number of train services that move relatively small numbers of passengers," the inquiry has concluded, noting that the high cost of maintenance and the need to replace rolling stock "makes these services very expensive ... they are expected to become even more expensive in the future." Western region services appeared on the network map in yellow. While closures are in place, the XPT train service will only operate between Albury and Sydney Central Station. However the Opposition questioned how price increases would increase patronage. Australia's financial years start on 1 July and end on 30 June. The North Western region covers the state's Hunter, Northern Tablelands and North West regions. Accordingly, the Government of Queensland made a contribution to the provision of these services. CountryLink was established in January 1989 under the Transport Administration Act 1988 as a business unit of what was then the State Rail Authority to operate all non-metropolitan long distance passenger services. The browser you are using is not supported. [7] The Intercapital Daylight ceased in August 1991[8] and the Sydney/Melbourne Express in November 1993 was replaced by an XPT in November 1993 following the delivery of additional stock. Please wear a face mask on public transport. Due to the impacts of COVID-19 and low passenger numbers, we have made the difficult decision to suspend or cancel a number of NSW TrainLink trial coach services. From Sunday, 5 July 2020 the Newcastle Bus Interchange will open connecting trains, buses, light rail and coaches. [32] The XPT fleet was maintained at the purpose built XPT Service Centre. Following the election of the Greiner State Government in March 1988, consultants Booz Allen Hamilton were commissioned to prepare a report into NSW rail services. The Australian Government has made an app called COVIDSafe to speed up contacting people exposed to coronavirus (COVID-19). It also took on the Intercity services operating from the Sydney CBD formerly operated by CityRail (now known as Sydney Trains) Services ran along the Main North and North Coast lines from Sydney Central station to Roma Street station in Brisbane.[28]. The Australian Government has made an app called COVIDSafe to speed up contacting people exposed to coronavirus (COVID-19). Hundreds of extra transport staff have been deployed across the network as more people return to work and students return to school. Services ran along the Main North line from Sydney Central station to Werris Creek where the service divided for Armidale and Moree.[29]. Principal stations served by Xplorer trains were: Cities and towns served by CountryLink coaches connecting off North Western services included: Wee Waa, Inverell, Grafton, Glen Innes and Tenterfield. Known as the "Parry Report" it recommended refocusing CountryLink, and to adjust fare structures. Coaches replaced many branch line rail services over the next few years and by 1987 the State Rail Authority had 36 Denning, Hino and Scania coaches operating throughout the state. Broken Hill residents will continue to have access to an important NSW TrainLink coach service connecting them to Adelaide. Not all features will work as expected, please. Please wear a face mask on public transport. [40], In May 2012, the newly elected O'Farrell State Government announced RailCorp would be restructured, with CountryLink and the regional services of CityRail incorporated into NSW TrainLink in July 2013.