Here’s why we’re stuck with XPTs

An increase in the frequency of passenger rail services between Canberra and Sydney, as well as other long-distance routes in NSW, is being stymied by a lack of trains in the state government’s fleet and long delays to new orders.

Passengers have the choice of just three services per day between Sydney and Canberra in each direction, which has been unchanged for decades. The 320-kilometre journey takes more than four hours by train, compared with about three hours by car.

Years-long delays to the rollout of new intercity trains, as well as Spanish-built regional trains, have forced the NSW government to keep decades-old fleets in service for longer. Up to $40 million is now being spent on upgrading the XPT fleet, which was originally meant to be retired by 2023.

Regional Transport Minister Jenny Aitchison said the state government did not have enough trains for extra services on the Sydney-Canberra route, blaming its Coalition predecessor for delays to the new fleets.

“We just don’t have rolling stock to put on additional trains,” she said in response to questions from Greens MP Cate Faehrmann at a budget estimates hearing last week.

Transport for NSW regional integration head Anthony Hayes said reducing travel times between Sydney and Canberra had been a key priority of a working group established with the ACT government.

“The main priority has not been to look at increasing the number of services; it’s been to try to make the current service perform more efficiently,” he said.

Asked what could be done to reduce travel times, Hayes said it depended on the amount of money the government was willing to spend, noting that sections of the line would require “significant investment” to speed up journeys.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr, who has long campaigned for improvements to train services between the nation’s capital and Sydney, said a reduction in the journey time, increased frequency and an improved schedule were short-term improvements it was working towards. “New rolling stock on the route would help achieve these objectives,” he said.