Local train commuters have recently been writing to him to express their anger towards Sydney Trains, after they were not given enough notice about trackwork which occurred on Monday morning.

“I honestly don’t know how anyone in NSW Trains can advocate passenger rail in Goulburn with a straight face!” he said.

“Even XPT passengers (including sleeping car customers travelling from Melbourne) were recently turned out of their train on arrival in Goulburn at 4:13am, which has happened two weekends since, the last time being last weekend.”

Mr Oberg also said that at a STRUG committee meeting held on Monday night he tabled a letter from Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian about a STRUG request for buses between Goulburn and Moss Vale.

“This is something we didn’t even ask for, we advocated for trains,” he said.

“When I read out this letter, committee members were astounded, and sat there open-mouthed!” One of these passengers, Southern Tablelands Rail Users Group (STRUG) member Ruth Cook told the Post she was ‘pretty steamed up’ about the issue, so much so that she visited Member for Goulburn Pru Goward’s new office in Auburn St to express her concerns.

“When I arrived at Goulburn station to catch the 7:40am train for an 11am appointment in the city, I was stunned to find out that there was trackwork and that a bus would not be leaving Goulburn until 8:20am,” Mrs Cook said of her experience on Monday.

“We were then offloaded at Moss Vale and told the next one wouldn’t be leaving until 9:50am! But then a short time later, an announcement came over the tannoy that a coach waiting in the Moss Vale station car park was about to leave for Sydney, so we all rushed to get on it.

Fortunately, the coach ride was pleasant enough and relatively quiet.

“We ended up arriving in Sydney at 11:27am, and I got to my appointment by 11:45am- 45 mins late! I think it’s just appalling that there is such a lack of communication between staff at each station.”

Marulan commuters Barbara Shannon and Mark Fenton-Jones were also angry at the lack of communication by Sydney Trains staff about changes to the Monday morning service.

“The Moss Vale staff were giving out conflicting information and admitted to us that the trackwork had only been sprung on them that day!” Ms Shannon said.

“What happened? And how come no one had any information?” Transport NSW says that there was ample information provided on their website and on posters at stations about the proposed trackwork.

In correspondence sent to the Post, it states that trains were scheduled to leave Goulburn 25 minutes earlier (both the 5:31am service, scheduled for departure at 5:10am, and the 7:40am service, which was scheduled to depart at 7:15am).

It also stated that from 5:20am-4:45pm buses would replace most trains from Campbelltown to Moss Vale/Goulburn.

“Not everyone in Marulan uses the Internet,” Mr Fenton- Jones said.

New state Labor candidate for Goulburn Dr Ursula Stephens, vowed that if she is voted in next March there needed to be an ambitious plan for improved public transport in Goulburn for the next 20 years, also taking into account the city’s projected growth.

“One option that has been expressed is for electrification of the line all the way to Canberra, and this is just one of many other constructive ideas put forward,” she said.

“So we need to see some initiative, instead of bandaid solutions which the current Transport Minister has been using.”

Mayor Geoff Kettle says he has been “working with STRUG and talking to local commuters in recent times to try and get a better train service for this city.”

“So far I’ve been pretty disappointed at the responses I have received from the transport minister about this issue, and I have reminded her on more than one occasion that the train service goes further than just Moss Vale,” he said.

“I will be continuing to lobby the Transport Minister to get a better train service for Goulburn.”

A statement from MP Pru Goward on rail:

“I am lobbying for improved rolling stock to improve reliability. Labor let the state’s rolling stock deteriorate to an alarming degree and refused to invest in our part of the network for sixteen years. Now that the state’s Budget is back under control and we have retained our Triple A credit rating, we are in a better position to invest in better trains and carriages, something Labor could never achieve.

We need to remember that a single train or piece of rolling stock costs millions of dollars so we need to lobby hard to ensure our service receives the upgrade it deserves, which I continue to do.

If Labor returned to power I can guarantee that they would again fritter and waste tax payers’ money and any chance of better rolling stock for our line would be lost.Our City Rail service is part of the largest metropolitan network in Australia and timetable changes are extremely difficult to achieve but I continue to make the case for improvements.

I understand my constituents’ frustration and I am fighting hard for improvements and new trains to service Goulburn.”