The Orange Rail Action Group launched the petition in the Blayney and Millthorpe communities and has two new services and the potential of making Blayney a transport hub in its sights.

The first objective for ORAG is to see changes to the Bathurst Bullet service which will allow Blayney and Millthorpe residents local access to a direct rail trip to Sydney.

Chairman of ORAG Dr Peter Bilenkij said that the group was now reaching out to the greater community to garner support for the proposal.

"The petition is calling on the NSW Government to introduce an early morning express passenger train direct from Orange to Sydney Central and its return in the evening,” he said.

“This could be achieved by having the Bathurst Bullet commence its early morning journey in Orange, and pick up passengers at Millthorpe and Blayney. On it’s return it would ‘stable’ in Orange, not Lithgow."

The group also wants to see an extra XPT service operating in reverse to the one that is currently running.

“We don’t want to cancel the current one, but when the government comes good with its plans to open a new rail maintenance yard in Dubbo, a new early morning XPT-style service departing from Dubbo, should be seriously considered,” Mr Bilenkij said.

Committee member Neil Jones said that Blayney had great potential as a transport hub for outlying centres.

“People from Cowra, Canowindra, Grenfell and all those outlying places could catch an early train from Blayney rather than Bathurst or Lithgow,” he said.

The petition can be signed at the Blayney Visitors’ Centre, Millthorpe Corner Shop, Millthorpe Post Office and Member for Orange Phil Donato’s office in Orange.