But it means trains stopping at fewer stations.

The Premier visited the South Coast to officially open the Berry bypass and visit other projects that received state government funds.

Ms Berejiklian said the government was always looking at time targets when it came to the South Coast line.

“The challenging thing is we had been able to reduce travel times but it means you can’t stop as frequently at all the stations,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“And then communities want to stop more frequently. So we can reduce the travel time but what that means is some communities feel they are missing out.”

The Premier said the introduction of the intercity fleet in 2019 would have an impact on travel times.

In recent months there has been concerns that the government was favouring the F6 extension over a rail upgrade – even though it could cost billions more.

Ms Berejiklian said it wasn’t a case of “either-or” when it came to road and rail.

“I see them as mutually inclusive options,” she said.

“I think you need to make sure you’ve got a very well-run public transport network in addition to the road network.”

Among her stops on Tuesday was a visit to Warrigal’s Shell Cove Village, which received $17 million in funding from Restart NSW Illawarra in the wake of the lease of Port Kembla.

Waiting for the Premier outside was a small group of protesters opposed to the plan to part-privatise Shellharbour Hospital.

Similar plans for four other hospitals have been scrapped, raising the hope that the same thing will happen at Shellharbour.

“We’ll provide an update through the health minister in the near future,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“We’re a government that listens to the community and our priority is always to provide world-class services as quickly and efficiently as possible but we also appreciate that the community has strong views on these matters and we will continue to listen to the community.”