HUNDREDS of travellers are fed up with waiting for the Sydney to Griffith train, and they have signed a petition to demand more train services into the area.
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The change.org petition urges the government to increase the number of Sydney to Griffith services from once per week to twice per week, and it has already gathered hundreds of signatures in a few days.
The petition was started by Sydney-based train enthusiast Phil Buckley, who said country towns like Griffith were being neglected by politicians.
“They’re spending money in Sydney like there’s no tomorrow, why can’t rural NSW get the same benefit?” Mr Buckley said.
“Country towns are getting some infrastructure, but only in marginal seats for the most part.
“With the election coming up the only way you can effect change is making petitions or making the government aware that people are unhappy.”
Mr Buckley said there was a growing need for passenger train services into towns such as Stockinbingal, Temora, Ariah Park, Barellan, and Yenda, which are no longer serviced by the Griffith to Cootamundra line.
Mr Buckley said that train services to these areas would bring in much needed tourism and reduce the number of cars and freight trucks on the roads to regional areas.
After speaking with people from regional areas around Griffith, Mr Buckley said many of them pined for the “good old days” when many of the old branch train lines were still up and running.
“It would be a huge benefit not only to the people in those towns, but also tourists wanting to visit the countryside.”
The change.org petition can be found under the title: “Reinstatement of public railway services in southern NSW”.