Sydney Trains

The first expansion of the Sydney suburban network during the Sydney Trains era occurred in 2015 when the South West Rail Link opened between Glenfield and Leppington.

Beginning in 2018, some sections of the network are being transferred to the city's metro and light rail networks. The T1 Line between Chatswood and Epping was closed for conversion in September 2018 to form part of Sydney Metro Northwest.[10] The section of the T6 Carlingford Line between Camellia and Carlingford closed in January 2020 and will form part of the Parramatta Light Rail network.[11] The adjacent section of track between Clyde and Camellia, including Rosehill railway station, also became disused.[12] The light rail is expected to open in 2023.[11] The section of line between Sydenham and Bankstown will form part of Sydney Metro City & Southwest. This is due to open in 2024.[13]

Sydney Trains operates electric suburban lines across metropolitan Sydney.

In conjunction with a new timetable released on 20 October 2013, the Sydney Trains network was reorganised with a new numbering system. The number of lines was reduced from eleven to seven by merging several lines.

An eighth line was created on 26 November 2017 by splitting the T2 line into two separate lines. T5 services were also modified to no longer travel to and from Campbelltown, instead starting and terminating at Leppington.[14]

From 28 April 2019, the T1 line from Gordon to Hornsby via Strathfield was renumbered T9, whilst the portion from Berowra to Richmond & Emu Plains via Chatswood and Parramatta remained T1. T9 is red in colour.[15]

The T6 Carlingford line, which operated between Clyde and Carlingford, ceased operations on 5 January 2020.

The Grand Concourse of Central station

The main hub of the Sydney Trains system is Central station, which most lines pass through. Central is also the terminus of most NSW TrainLink lines. After leaving Central, trains coming from the T2 Inner West & Leppington Line, T3 Bankstown Line and T8 Airport & South Line then travel through the City Circle - a ring line beneath the Sydney central business district. After completing the City Circle, these trains pass through Central for a second time and return to the suburbs. The T1 North Shore & Western, T4 Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra and T9 Northern lines pass through the central business district and continue on to other areas of Sydney. The T5 Cumberland Line serves Western Sydney and provides access to the major centre of Parramatta from the south west of the city without requiring a change of trains at Granville. The T7 Olympic Park Line is a suburban shuttle service.

NightRide bus services established in 1989, replace trains between midnight and 4:30am, leaving the tracks clear of trains for maintenance work. Such bus services mainly stop near stations operating typically at hourly intervals (some routes depart more frequently on weekends). Many services depart the city from bus stops near Town Hall station.[16] NightRide services are contracted to external bus operators and are identified by route numbers beginning with "N".

Sydney Trains operates a fleet of double deck electric multiple units. The trainsets are divided into the following classes:

Sydney Trains fleet

Class	Carriages	Entered Service	Formation	Routes	Image
K sets	160	1981-85	4 cars	T2 T3 T8
C sets	56	1986-87	4 cars	T2 T3 T8
T sets	447	1988-95	4 cars	T1 T4 T7 T9
M sets	140	2002-05	4 cars	T2 T3 T5 T7 T8
H sets	220	2006-12	4 cars	T1 T4 T9
A sets	626	2011-14	8 cars	T1 T2 T3 T5 T7 T8 T9
B sets	192	2018-19	8 cars	T2 T3 T7 T8

Though primarily operated by NSW TrainLink, some H sets are also used on suburban services, and with the delivery of the D sets for operations on regional NSW TrainLink lines from 2020, most of the sets will be transferred to suburban services. The oldest sets in the fleet, the S sets, were all pulled out of service and scrapped with the delivery of 24 B sets, which was completed in June 2019.

All Sydney Trains A, B and M sets are maintained by Downer Rail. Their contract for the Millenium trains (M sets) was extended by 10 years from June 2017.[17] All other types of trains including NSW TrainLink intercity V and H sets are maintained by UGL Unipart. The contract with UGL Unipart was extended for two years from 1 July 2019.[18]

The Sydney Trains network is divided into three sectors, based around three maintenance depots.[19] Trainsets are identified by target plates, which are exhibited on the front lower nearside of driving carriages.[20] Each target plate includes the letter of the class the set belongs to and the number of the individual set. Waratahs do not have a target plate, but instead, have the information written directly on the front of the train. The composition and formations of train sets and the target designations are subject to alteration. NSW TrainLink H sets carry green target plates.

A service at Domestic Airport station

The following table lists patronage figures for the network during the corresponding financial year. Australia's financial years start on 1 July and end on 30 June. Major events that affected the number of journeys made or how patronage is measured are included as notes.

2019–20 Transport for NSW patronage in Sydney by mode[27]

Metro	18 892 000
Train	282 022 000
Bus	229 532 000
Ferry	11 083 000
Light Rail	12 374 000

Ticket barriers at Wynyard station

Sydney Trains currently uses the Opal card ticketing system which was introduced to the network in April 2014.[28] The fare system is fully integrated with the Sydney Metro network and the NSW TrainLink Intercity network - trips involving suburban, metro and intercity services are calculated as a single fare and there is no interchange penalty. Students who use the Sydney Trains network to get to and from schools can apply for a free school Opal card. Opal is also valid on bus, ferry, and light rail services but separate fares apply for these modes. The following table lists Opal fares for reusable smartcards and single trip tickets:[29]

^ = $2.50 for Senior/Pensioner cardholders

A surcharge is levied when using the two privately operated stations serving Sydney Airport:

As there are no return or periodical options available, reusable Opal cards include a number of caps to reduce the cost for frequent travellers:

The previous ticketing system was introduced in 1992 and was based on magnetic stripe technology. It was shut down on 1 August 2016.[34]