New rail maintenance centre goes to Dubbo

This will mean a boost of about 70 jobs for Dubbo as the entire regional fleet of XPT, Endeavour and Xplorer trains are to be replaced and serving NSW passengers by the early 2020s. 

Deputy Premier John Barilaro made the announcement on August 14, saying an expression of interest would soon be issued for the design, construction and maintenance of the new trains and a new maintenance facility.  

Transport for NSW cited “operational, engineering, environmental and construction” considerations as the reason Dubbo was identified as the preferred site. 

“Another consideration was a requirement for the facility to reduce congestion on the network by minimising the distance empty trains travel to their start and finish locations,” they said.

The selection was made on a “Multi Criteria Analysis” after a “comprehensive analysis of potential sites” including Goulburn. 

Member for Goulburn Pru Goward said she had asked Mr Barilaro directly why Dubbo got the centre instead of Goulburn and he told her it was due mostly to congestion on the rail network here. 

“I asked him directly about it and he told me the Southern Line is the third most congested line in NSW,” Ms Goward said.

“They felt they could not get trains in and out of a maintenance centre based here quickly enough.

“They kept running the numbers over various potential sites and Dubbo kept coming up on top.

“I am disappointed about the decision, but I was surprised it had been decided this early.”

Southern Tablelands Rail User Group (STRUG) president Greg Price questioned the choice of Dubbo as the site.

“It does not make sense to me because they will have to run empty trains hundreds of kilometres out there just to get them serviced,” Mr Price said. 

“The council also lobbied the state government for the centre as well. In October last year a manufacturer assessed Goulburn for its suitability  - they just did their assessment and quietly left town.”  

Mr Price said despite this decision, Goulburn could still be considered as a secondary maintenance site. 

“I am glad Dubbo got it, but I still think they will have to have a second maintenance centre and the ideal location would be Goulburn because and as they run trains down here they can carry passengers,” he said. 

“This is good for regional NSW because wherever they are set up they create jobs and give a better economic base to the city they are in, but the reality is they will have to build another maintenance centre.”