Friday, 15 May 2026
Transport for NSW has halved the length of scheduled trackwork of the Blue Mountains rail line, to reduce further impact on communities already affected by the ongoing closure of the Great Western Highway at Victoria Pass.
Scheduled prior to the unforeseen closure of the Great Western Highway in March, the trackwork was planned to last two weeks. The trackwork has now been reduced to one week by delaying all non-time critical work.
Intercity passenger rail services will not operate between Mt Victoria and Lithgow from 2am on Monday 25 May to 2am on Monday 1 June and on the weekend of Saturday 30 May and Sunday 31 May, the closure will extend between Lithgow and Blacktown.
The safety critical works include overhead wire renewal on vulnerable parts of the network which use an older fixed tension system and are vulnerable to the extreme temperature changes during the Blue Mountains winter. Critical works also include rail grinding, rail welding, and track defect removal.
Replacement buses will operate with an additional 25 trips during the week and two Bathurst peak-hour services will continue to operate from Lithgow Station in the morning, departing at 6:50am and 8:48am. In the afternoon, two peak-hour services will run from Bathurst to Lithgow, arriving at 5:46pm and 8:12pm.
In response to the 2025 Independent Rail Review the Minns Labor Government has invested $423.4 million over the next four years towards an asset renewal program targeted at upgrading rail tracks, signalling, and overhead wiring across the network as well as drainage in flood-prone areas.
As the rail reliability investment rolls out, the Minns Labor Government is also accelerating the re-opening of Mitchells Causeway on the Great Western Highway, with two consortia led by Seymour Whyte and Gamuda shortlisted to deliver the safest and fastest solution.
The NSW Government acknowledges the significant impact for communities across the Blue Mountains and Central West and has committed $50 million towards improving the safety and resilience of key detour routes through the Blue Mountains and Central West. More than $15 million worth of work has already been completed.
Public transport uplifts introduced earlier this year will remain in place during the closure including NSW TrainLink’s free turn-up-and-go coach services currently used by more than 300 passengers each week.
Passenger are encouraged to allow extra travel time and plan ahead by visiting transportnsw.info/trip-planner or downloading the Opal Travel App.