MP Paul Toole said the Lithgow Express train, which will make a return trip to Lithgow each weekday, is scheduled to start running in late November. 

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The new eight carriage train service was announced in March. The train will stop at Lithgow, Mount Victoria, Katoomba, Springwood, Penrith, Parramatta and Central and is expected to cut 24 minutes from the trip to Lithgow and 18 minutes from the trip to Central. 

The timetable, however, might be disappointing to those who were looking to cut minutes from their commute to work. 

MP Paul Toole said the train is expected to leave Central at 8.50am and arrive at 11.17am in Lithgow.

The return service will leave Lithgow at 1.18pm and arrive in Central at 3.48pm. 

“This complements the Bathurst Bullet by giving Lithgow residents more of a choice when it comes to connectivity to metropolitan areas. It means if people stayed over night in Sydney for a show or a late appointment they will be able to use the daily express Lithgow service to get home early in the morning,” Mr Toole said. 

When asked whether the express train was angled at tourists rather than residents of Lithgow, Mr Toole said Lithgow residents are set to benefit.  

“I think Lithgow residents are going to be the big winner. Not only does the train give residents more choice it’s a great opportunities to further promote itself as a destination city, it provides great opportunities to promote tourism in the area.”

“These improvements are further proof the NSW Government is listening to the community and delivering better transport services that customers need.”

The new service is part of the state government's ‘More Trains, More Services’ program – a capital investment of over $1.5 billion to provide an urgent uplift in customer service on greater Sydney’s rail network.

The program includes 24 new express services between Sydney and the Blue Mountains on weekends.