IT'S an April Fool's Day event Barry Seghers does not find funny.
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NSW TrainLink announced last month that from April 1 the sale of third party tour and accommodation products will cease.
Barry says the announcement went unnoticed by many people but the impact of the cut to services is being felt by Manning Valley residents and the staff at Taree Railway Station.
"What NSW TrainLink has done is that they've cut out the travel centre and a lot of people don't know about it," Mr Seghers said.
"People used to be able to go to Taree Railway Station and book trips to Broken Hill and on The Ghan or Indian Pacific, and now they can't do that anymore at Taree.
"They (NSW TrainLink) brought the changes in on April Fool's Day. The staff at Taree Railway Station tell me that people are still coming there to book because NSW TrainLink didn't advertise it - they just told staff that as of April 1 you can't book any more travel.
"The staff are still getting people coming to the station to book and they are having to say to them, 'sorry we are not allowed to do that anymore, you've got to work it out yourself or go to a travel agent'.
"It has happened at a lot of locations, not just Taree.
"If you want to book now you have to go online or to a travel agent and they charge a fee.
"All around regional NSW the government is doing its best to make it so damn inconvenient to use rail."
NSW TrainLink defends its decision and promotes the change as part of a program to "modernise its regional services and provide better value for money for NSW taxpayers".
"Our focus is to evolve the transport system to meet the needs of regional NSW, now and into the future," NSW TrainLink Director of People and Corporate Services, Mr John Hussey said. "We've listened to our customers and understand the need for comfortable, safe, reliable and clean services, and convenient ways to book their travel.
"Customers are increasingly choosing to purchase their regional train and coach tickets from the comfort of their home with 24/7 online access or over the phone with our extended contact hours, reducing the number of face to face transactions at NSW TrainLink travel centres".