Written by
12/05/2023
The long-dormant scenic Zig Zag Railway now has permission to carry passengers for the first time in over 10 years.
After recently having success testing the railway’s emergency systems, the Office of National Rail Safety Regulation lifted the restrictions on it carrying passengers, granting full accreditation to run as a tourist railway.
What this means is that the once widely popular railway will be able to ‘zig zag’ passengers through the Blue Mountains once again. A grand opening is expected to be announced imminently.
The railway carried out robust testing of customer recovery systems that would be used in the event of a breakdown, including giving staff experience in using portable ramps and stairs to evacuate passengers.
Track damage from the 2019 bushfire
Zig Zag Railway is an Australian heritage railway, situated near Lithgow in NSW. It first opened in the 1860s linking Sydney with Western NSW, closed in 1910 and was then resurrected in the 1970s when volunteers founded the not-for-profit Zig Zag Railway Co-Op to restore tracks, locomotive and carriages.
The tourist attraction was forced to close in 2012 by then Transport Minister, Gladys Berejiklian, to address numerous safety deficiencies. The railway was on the brink of reopening in October 2013 when fires ravaged the station and caused up to $4m worth of damage. In 2019, the Gospers Mountain bushfire dealt another blow to the co-op, with signalling equipment damages and several structures lost on site.
The railway is a tourism gem listed on the State Heritage Register and under the Lithgow Local Environmental Plan. It offers views of sandstone viaducts and stunning scenery of the Blue Mountains.
The revitalisation will return as a local drawcards that will have people heading further over the mountains for an authentic steam-era experience.
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