The Illawarra Junction is a major

railway junction A junction, in the context of rail transport, is a place at which two or more rail routes converge or diverge. This implies a physical connection between the tracks of the two routes (assuming they are of the same gauge), provided by ''points'' ( ...

located near the

Eveleigh Railway Workshops The Eveleigh Railway Workshops is a heritage-listed former New South Wales Government Railways yards and railway workshops and now venue hire, public housing and technology park located at Great Southern and Western railway, Redfern, City of Sy ...

, in the inner western suburbs of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. This complex junction joins a number of different lines and yards. There are two pairs of tracks (named Illawarra Main and Illawarra Local) from the

Illawarra railway line The South Coast Railway (also known as the Illawarra Railway) is a commuter and goods railway line from Sydney to Wollongong and Bomaderry in New South Wales, Australia. Beginning at the Illawarra Junction, the line services the Illawarra an ...

from the south and three pairs of tracks (named Local, Suburban and Main) from the

Main Suburban railway line The Main Suburban railway line is the technical name for the trunk railway line between Redfern railway station and Parramatta railway station in Sydney, Australia, but now generally refers to the section between Redfern and where the Old Main S ...

from the west.

Arrangement

Illawarra Line

The first set of junctions is in the south-west corner, just north of Erskineville station, where trains coming from the Illawarra line can dive into the Eastern Suburbs line. Further north is the Illawara Dive, where trains from the Illawarra Main can crossover to the Main without obstructing any of the other tracks. This dive is mostly used by weekday off-peak

South Coast Line The South Coast Line is an intercity rail service operated by NSW TrainLink that services the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The service runs from , and runs the entire length of the eponymous South Coast railway line to . Th ...

trains terminating at Sydney Terminal (Central platforms 1–12), services on the

Southern Highlands Line The Southern Highlands Line is an Intercity rail service operated by NSW TrainLink that services the Macarthur, Southern Highlands and Southern Tablelands regions of New South Wales. First operating in 1869, the service runs from across the ...

NSW TrainLink NSW TrainLink is a train and coach operator in Australia, providing services throughout New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, along with limited interstate services into Victoria, Queensland and South Australia. Its primary interc ...

Southern regional services. East of Redfern station there are no further crossovers with the lines continuing toward the

flying junction A flying junction or flyover is a railway junction at which one or more diverging or converging tracks in a multiple-track route cross other tracks on the route by bridge to avoid conflict with other train movements. A more technical term is "gr ...

s at Central. On either side of the Illawarra Main, there are connections (with no track) to the disused platforms 13–14 at Redfern.

Main Suburban Line

In the north-west corner, just north of Macdonaldtown station, there are a number of crossovers allowing trains to switch between the Local, Suburban and Main lines. These crossovers are seldom used. Just past the end of the entry/exit track for Macdonaldtown Yard are two crossovers between the Local and Illawarra Local tracks, allowing trains from the Illawarra Local to access Sydney Terminal. There is also a tunnel from the Eveleigh Railway Workshops connecting to the Up Main just beyond Redfern station. East of Redfern station is where the Main Suburban line ends. There are a complex set of flat junctions allowing trains on all three pairs of tracks to enter Sydney Terminal. The local and suburban tracks also continue on the

City Circle The City Circle is a mostly-underground railway line located in the Sydney central business district and Haymarket, New South Wales, Haymarket, in New South Wales, Australia, that forms the core of Sydney's passenger rail network. The lines a ...

and North Shore line respectively.

Eveleigh Maintenance Centre

Eveleigh Maintenance Centre lies to the south of all the surface tracks and on top of the Eastern Suburbs line tunnels. There are several crossovers providing access to the yard. There is a crossover in the south-west corner, allowing trains from the Up & Down Illawarra Main to access the yard. Another crossover allows trains to access the Down Illawarra Dive, which is actually bi-directional, due to the crossover at the other end onto the Up Illawarra Dive. Trains from Sydney Yard can enter/exit through the Engine Dive, which passes from the Down Main, under Redfern station, to the yard. Trains to/from the City Circle can enter through the Arrival/Departure Road, which joins the Up/Down Illawarra Main.

Macdonaldtown Yard (not shown on map)

Macdonaldtown Yard lies between the Main Suburban and Illawarra lines. It has a single entry/exit road. Crossovers allow trains to enter the yard from the Up/Down Local lines and allow trains to exit the yard onto the Up Local or Up Illawarra Local lines.

Signalling

Previously controlled by the Sydney Signal Box (near Central Station), this area is now controlled by the Rail Operations Centre in .

References

External links

* {{Sydney public transport Rail transport in Sydney Main Suburban railway line Illawarra railway line Rail infrastructure in New South Wales