Dear Premier,

I am concerned about the rumoured cuts to CountryLink rail services, especially those to rural New South Wales.

I believe these services represent an important link between our regional centres and Sydney. I feel that their removal will increasingly isolate those who live in the bush.

New South Wales needs a quality and safe infrastructure which only rail can provide. The removal of trains will put more cars on the road, not to mention long distance buses.

This will have an adverse effect on the road toll, especially at peak holiday times, when our roads are already overcrowded.

Please look at making the revitalisation of our rail system a priority. I notice recent improvements to rail services in Queensland and Victoria, yet New South Wales appears set to go backwards.

As a regular user of Xplorer services, I find them to be clean and comfortable. I would suggest that the market of these services could be opened up to private operators, with some incentives to putting passenger services ‘back on the rails’ and keeping them off the road.

My only complaint about these trains is that they don’t go everywhere I go! Should more train services be introduced, I’ll be leaving the car at home.>P? Please look at this issue as a ‘quality of country life’ issue, and at least promise to maintain the services that we still do have.

Yours sincerely