SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS commuters are set to benefit from additional seating on services to and from Sydney.

The services that will have additional seating are the 7.28am service from Goulburn to Central and the 3.46pm service from Central to Goulburn.

Both services between Central and Goulburn have now doubled from two to four carriage trains to address increased passenger demand, a CityRail spokeswoman.

Heather Gilmore, public affairs spokeswoman for CityRail, said the extra carriages have been made available because of the recent electrification of the South Coast line between Dapton and Kiama.

“CityRail has acted to address the concerns of Southern Highlands commuters who have told us they wanted additional seating capacity.

“Additional seating will improve the level of comfort we can offer commuters.

“The additional carriages will offer 354 more seats for people travelling to and from the Southern Highlands

“We continue to monitor services and these two services were identified as a priority for that area.

“It really was quite overcrowded and uncomfortable for some passengers and we are committed to improving passenger comfort”.

Former ALP candidate for Hume, Jan Merriman, a regular train user herself, said she was delighted to see the extra carriages on the 8.31am from Bowral on Tuesday morning.

She said although a State matter, rail transport regularly came up as a sore point during her campaigning for the federal election.

“Two years ago, following a request from our branch, we received a letter from the Transport Minister Carl Scully assuring us that when electrification of the Kiama Line was completed, then the extra carriages would be made available on this line.

“Despite a number of rumours to the contrary, this is exactly what has happened.

“The electrification was completed a fortnight ago and here we have our extra carriages.

“As a frequent rail commuter to Sydney, I know how anxious people have been to see this extra capacity.

“Let’s hope more people use the train and leave their cars at home when travelling to the city,” she said.