Railways in Sydney

All suburban passenger trains in Sydney are double-deck electric multiple units. Upon electrification in the 1920s Sydney operated single-deck multiple units but these were progressively withdrawn from the 1960s until their final demise in 1993. Single-deck automatic trains were reintroduced to Sydney in May 2019, with the completion of the Sydney Metro Northwest.

Electric cars are maintained at depots at Hornsby in the northern suburbs, Mortdale in the southern suburbs, and Flemington in the western suburbs. A depot at Punchbowl in the southwest closed in 1994 and has since been demolished. These four depots were all built and opened with the opening of electrified services in the 1920s.

Heavy maintenance of passenger cars was carried out at the Electric Carriage Workshops, Chullora and Suburban Car Workshops, Redfern. Heavy maintenance is now contracted out to Maintrain, a UGL Rail subsidiary, with workshops at Clyde.

The original railway network for Sydney CBD planned by John Bradfield.

New South Wales uses an overhead electrification system at 1,500 volts direct current.[11] Whilst inferior to and more expensive than modern single phase alternating current equipment, it was in vogue during the 1920s, having been used in Melbourne since 1919 and is generally sufficient for the operation of electric multiple unit trains. However, the introduction of powerful electric locomotives in the 1950s, followed by the Millennium train in 2002, revealed drawbacks in this antiquated system of electrification. As the voltage is relatively low, high currents are required to supply a given amount of power, which necessitates the use of very heavy duty cabling and substation equipment. Until the retirement of electric locomotives from freight service in the 1990s, it was often necessary to observe a "power margin" to ensure that substations were not overloaded. This situation was similar to that which applied to The Milwaukee Road's 3,000 VDC electrification. Plans to electrify the Hunter Valley at 25 kV alternating current were abandoned in the 1990s.

Electrification came to Sydney's suburbs on 9 December 1926 with the first suburban electric service running between Central station and Oatley on the Illawarra line.[12] In the same year, the first underground railway was constructed north from Central station to St James in Sydney's central business district. Electric trains that had previously terminated at Central station continued north, diving underground at the Goulburn Street tunnel portal, stopping at Museum station and then terminating at St James.[13] Other lines were soon electrified. Also, in conjunction with the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge which opened in 1932, an additional four-track underground line was constructed from Central station to Town Hall and Wynyard. Two of the tracks continued over the Harbour Bridge connecting to the North Shore line.

It was only in 1956 that the two tracks terminating at Wynyard were linked to the line terminating at St James via the Circular Quay viaduct. This new arrangement, dubbed the City Circle, allowed services to make a continuous run through the city and return to the suburbs without having to terminate.

• 1926 – Illawarra line to Royal National Park
• 1926 – Bankstown line
• 1927 – North Shore line
• 1929 – Western line to Parramatta
• 1929 – Northern line (Strathfield to Hornsby)
• 1929 – South line to Liverpool
• 1936 – Carlingford line from Clyde to Rosehill
• 1955 – Parramatta to Penrith
• 1957 – Penrith to Lithgow
• 1959 – Rosehill to Carlingford
• 1959 – Hornsby to Cowan
• 1960 – Cowan to Gosford
• 1968 – Liverpool to Campbelltown
• 1975 – Blacktown to Riverstone
• 1980 – Loftus to Waterfall
• 1982 – Gosford to Wyong
• 1984 – Wyong to Newcastle
• 1985 – Waterfall to Port Kembla.
• 1985 – Macarthur station opened
• 1991 – Riverstone to Richmond
• 1996 – Coniston to Dapto
• 2002 – Dapto to Kiama[14]

New electrified lines were built:

• 1926 – line from Central to St James station and Museum opened
• 1931 – line opened to East Hills
• 1932 – line from Central to Town Hall, Wynyard, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Milsons Point station and North Sydney station opened
• 1939 – Line to Cronulla built and connected with the Illawarra line at Sutherland
• 1956 – Circular Quay station opened completing the City Circle
• 1979 – Eastern Suburbs railway completed to Bondi Junction
• 1987 – East Hills – Glenfield line opened
• 1996 – Y-link built between Harris Park and Merrylands allowing the introduction of Cumberland line services from Campbelltown to Blacktown
• 1998 – line from Flemington and Lidcombe to Olympic Park.
• 2000 – line to Sydney Airport and Wolli Creek built as a public-private partnership by the Airport Link Company
• 2009 – Epping to Chatswood railway line opened
• 2015 – South West Rail Link opened
• 2019 – Sydney Metro Northwest opened

Four main 'trunk' lines radiate from Sydney to the north, south, west, and southwest:

• The Main Western railway line from Central through Strathfield and west to Penrith and western NSW.
• The Main North railway line from Strathfield north to Hornsby and on to northern NSW
• The Main Southern railway line from Lidcombe through Regents Park and Cabramatta and southern NSW
• The South Coast railway line (also known as Illawarra railway line) from Redfern south to Sutherland and on to Wollongong and the South Coast.

Other passenger lines branch from or interconnect with the four main lines:

• The Airport Link, an underground line linking the airport to the city.
• The Bankstown railway line, from Sydenham to Lidcombe via Bankstown
• The City Circle, a mostly underground loop in central Sydney
• The Cronulla railway line, from Sutherland to Cronulla
• The East Hills railway line, from Tempe to Glenfield via East Hills.
• The Eastern Suburbs railway line, a mostly underground line from Central to Bondi Junction
• The North Shore railway line, from Central to Hornsby via the Harbour Bridge
• The Old Main South railway line, from Granville to Cabramatta via Fairfield
• The Olympic Park railway line, a balloon loop line between Lidcombe and Olympic Park
• The Richmond railway line, from Blacktown to Richmond
• The South West Rail Link, from Glenfield to Leppington.

• The Sydney Metro Northwest, from Tallawong to Chatswood
  • Includes the converted Epping to Chatswood rail link, an underground line connecting the North Shore and Main Northern lines, and serving the Macquarie Park employment area.

A former Brisbane tram departing Royal National Park station for the Sydney Tramway Museum in Loftus

Lines with light rail specifications:

• The Dulwich Hill Line (otherwise known as the Inner West Light Rail), from Central to Dulwich Hill. Mostly runs along a former section of the Metropolitan Goods Railway.
• CBD and South East Light Rail (abbreviated to CSELR) from Circular Quay to Randwick and Kingsford. The Randwick branch opened in December 2019, whilst the Kingsford branch opened in April 2020.
• The Royal National Park line, operated by the Sydney Tramway Museum, terminating at Royal National Park railway station. Previously operated as part of the Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra railway line.

An 82 class locomotive leads a goods train

Several railway lines carry goods only:

• The Metropolitan Goods Railway from Flemington/Sefton to Port Botany, with former branches from Dulwich Hill to Rozelle Yard and from Lilyfield to Sydney Yard via Darling Harbour.
• The Southern Sydney Freight Line between Macarthur and Sefton, where it connects with the Metropolitan Goods Line.
• Northern Freight Pass between Thornleigh and Epping turning onto Strathfield line.

There are several closed lines in Sydney:

• The Camden Line, from Campbelltown to Camden
• The Carlingford Line, from Clyde to Carlingford
• The Potts Hill Line in Potts Hill
• The Richmond-Kurrajong Line from Richmond to Kurrajong
• The Rogans Hill Line from Westmead to Rogans Hill
• The Rookwood Cemetery Line serving Rookwood Cemetery
• The Ropes Creek Line from St Marys to Ropes Creek
• The Sandown Line from Rosehill to Sandown.
• The Warwick Farm Racecourse Line from Warwick Farm to Warwick Farm Racecourse

Parts of the Carlingford and Sandown lines will be converted to become a dedicated corridor for the Parramatta Light Rail, most of the Carlingford Line as part of the light rail service, and Sandown Line being used in part to connect it to a light rail depot.[19][20]

Interior of an Alstom Metropolis set designed for the Sydney Metro

The following lines are under construction:

• Parramatta Light Rail between Westmead station and Sydney Olympic Park scheduled to open in stages from 2023
• Sydney Metro City & Southwest, the second stage of Sydney Metro network, between Chatswood and Bansktown scheduled to open in 2024.

The following lines have been proposed:

• Sydney Metro West, between the Sydney CBD and Westmead via Inner West Suburbs
• Western Sydney Airport line, between St Marys and Western Sydney Airport

Ticket hall of Macquarie Park station

An OSCAR at Epping station. Epping's underground platforms now serve Sydney Metro Northwest

Sydney has four underground lines. These sections of railway are extensions of suburban main line commuter services and are not a completely segregated true metro system. The underground sections, especially the City Circle, typically have frequent services. Sydney Metro forms the largest part of Sydney's underground railways and the first subway system in an Australian city.[21]

• The oldest is the main city loop, the City Circle, which runs between Central, Town Hall, Wynyard, Circular Quay, St James station and Museum stations. Central and Circular Quay are above-ground stations (Circular Quay is elevated, directly underneath the Cahill Expressway), while the remainder are below ground. The line to St. James station and Museum was opened in 1926, but Circular Quay was a "missing link" until 1956. The "western limb" of the City Circle through Town Hall and Wynyard to Sydney Harbour Bridge opened in 1932, in conjunction with the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
• The second, the Eastern Suburbs line, opened in 1979. It runs between Redfern, Central, Town Hall, Martin Place, Kings Cross, Edgecliff, Woollahra (Unused Platforms) and Bondi Junction stations. All these are underground, but there are three above-ground sections, two on viaduct and one in cutting. Most of the platforms at Redfern and Central stations are above ground, including the platforms for the City Circle, but the Eastern Suburbs line is underground. At the time of its construction, the line had been intended to finish at Kingsford but it was curtailed at Bondi Junction for political reasons. In the late 1990s, there were plans to extend the line to Bondi Beach, but these have since fallen through.
• The third underground line is the Airport Line, which opened in 2000, prior to the Sydney Olympics. This serves Central, Green Square, Mascot, Domestic Airport (underneath the Domestic terminals), International Airport (underneath International terminal at Sydney Airport), and Wolli Creek. After Wolli Creek it joins the above-ground East Hills line at Turrella.
• The fourth underground line is the Epping to Chatswood rail link, opened in 2009. It links Chatswood to Epping, with new underground platforms at Epping and new underground stations at Macquarie University, Macquarie Park and North Ryde. The line was intended to continue from Epping to Parramatta, incorporating the existing Carlingford line, but this section has been postponed indefinitely, though a stub tunnel has been constructed at the northern end of Epping station. It is now part of the new Northwest Metro with the Epping to Chatswood section converted from rail configuration to a rapid transit line.

Sydney has several disused tunnels. The best known of these are those leading out of St James station. There are also several disused tunnels and platforms on the Eastern Suburbs line, which like St James station provided for the possibility of four tunnels even though only two are in use. There is a stub tunnel at North Sydney railway station, north of platform 2, for a never constructed Manly to Mona Vale line.[22][23]

From the top of the northern stairs to platform 10 at Redfern station it is possible to view the unfinished structure for the low-level "up" (toward Central) Southern Suburbs platforms. The associated never-used tunnels are quite complex. Immediately to the left is the (surface level) stub tunnel for the "down" Southern Suburbs track. This short tunnel exits on the northern side of Lawson Street road bridge. There are at least nine railway tunnels under the suburb of Redfern: some in use, some never used.

Platforms 26 and 27 at Central lie above the Eastern Suburbs Railway platforms and have never been used for trains.[24] Like St. James station, these stations have stub tunnels, although they are much shorter.

There are three tunnels for the old Pyrmont goods line, not part of the passenger railway system. One runs underneath Railway Square, near the Central station railway yards. For a time, the line was used to service the Powerhouse Museum. The corridor adjacent to the tunnel is now a pedestrian pathway, the tunnel itself is disused. The second tunnel runs underneath Glebe and is now part of the Dulwich Hill light rail line from Central station (see Metropolitan Goods railway line). The third tunnel was created in 2000 when an extension to the City West Link Road through Leichhardt was built on top of a cutting. This is also now used by the light rail.