Maitland railway station is located on the Main Northern line in

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. It serves the city of

Maitland Maitland is an English and Scottish surname. It arrived in Britain after the Norman conquest of 1066. There are two theories about its source. It is either a nickname reference to "bad temper/disposition" (Old French, ''Maltalent''; Anglo Norm ...

opening on in 1880 as West Maitland being renamed on 1 April 1949. It is the junction station for the Main Northern and

North Coast North Coast or Northcoast may refer to : Antigua and Barbuda * Major Division of North Coast, a census division in Saint John Parish Australia *New South Wales North Coast, a region Canada *The British Columbia Coast, primarily the communiti ...

lines. It was added to the

New South Wales State Heritage Register The New South Wales State Heritage Register, also known as NSW State Heritage Register, is a heritage list of places in the state of New South Wales, Australia, that are protected by New South Wales legislation, generally covered by the Heritag ...

on 2 April 1999.

History

The Great Northern Railway was built through

in the 1850s and extended to

Lochinvar Lochinvar (or Lan Var) is a loch in the civil parish of Dalry in the historic county of Kirkcudbrightshire, Dumfries and Galloway Scotland. It is located in the Galloway Hills, around north-east of St. John's Town of Dalry. The loch formerly h ...

in July 1860. Maitland was serviced by Victoria Street,

East Maitland East Maitland is a suburb in the City of Maitland, New South Wales, Australia. It is on the New England Highway and it has two railway stations, Victoria Street (opened in 1857 with the Newcastle- Maitland line) and East Maitland (opened initi ...

and

High Street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...

when it opened however it was not until 1880 that what is now Maitland's principal station opened as West Maitland. Initially the station comprised only one platform, the present Platform 1. The station expanded with an island platform and footbridge constructed in 1914 followed in 1933 by another island platform. In April 1949 in recognition of its position as Maitland's primary station it received its present name. A bay platform was located at the eastern end of Platform 1 for terminating services from

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

, it was removed in the 1990s. The station is susceptible to floods. In the 1955 floods the signalbox was washed away with its replacement constructed on stilts. This closed on 27 October 1990 and has been leased to a model railway club. The high water marks have been marked on the building on Platform 1. Flood gates have been installed at the northern end of the platforms. A new signal box opened opposite the station on 17 December 1990. A yard is located east of the station. It is mainly used to stable railway maintenance equipment, although each April is used as a depot for locomotives attending the

Hunter Valley Steamfest The Hunter Valley Steamfest is one of the major events in the New South Wales steam locomotive season and also one of the major events held in Maitland, in the Hunter Region. Held over two days in April, it is usually attended by steam locomoti ...

. Immediately east of the station the Main Northern and

lines split, while about 500 metres west of the station the

South Maitland Railway The South Maitland Railway was once an extensive network of privately owned colliery and passenger railway lines which served the South Maitland coalfields in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia and were the second last system in Aust ...

line to Pelton branches south. On 27 July 2015 Maitland was the first station to receive a Regional Customer Support Centre covering the Central Coast,

Hunter Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

and North West areas of NSW.

Platforms & services

Maitland has five platforms, although only four are used by passenger trains. It is serviced by

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 ...

Hunter Line The Hunter Line is a commuter train line operated by NSW TrainLink, running from Newcastle to Dungog and Scone in the New South Wales Hunter Region. It operates on the Newcastle, Main North and North Coast lines. Description of Route Hunte ...

services travelling from

Muswellbrook Muswellbrook ( ) is a town in the Upper Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney and north-west of Newcastle. Geologically, Muswellbrook is situated in the northern parts of the Sydney basin, bordering the New Englan ...

Scone A scone is a baked good, usually made of either wheat or oatmeal with baking powder as a leavening agent, and baked on sheet pans. A scone is often slightly sweetened and occasionally glazed with egg wash. The scone is a basic component of th ...

Telarah Telarah is a suburb in the City of Maitland, New South Wales, Australia. The suburb was formerly known as Homeville, however use of this name was abandoned in the 1950s. It is located on the New England Highway and is also the site of a major ra ...

and

Dungog Dungog is a country town on the Williams River in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. Located in the middle of dairy and timber country, it is the centre of the Dungog Shire local government area and at the 2016 census it had a po ...

. It is also serviced by NSW Trainlink Xplorer and XPT long-distance services from

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 ...

Armidale Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 24,504 as of June 2018. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands region. It ...

, Moree, Grafton,

Casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

and

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Events

Each April, Maitland station is the focal point for the

, an event that has been held annually since 1986, with exception to 2020.

Transport links

Hunter Valley Buses Hunter Valley Buses is an Australian bus operator who operates bus, coach and charter services in the Central Coast and Hunter regions of New South Wales. Previously known as Blue Ribbon, it was one of the first companies to be bought by Comfo ...

operates seven routes via Maitland station: *179:

Stockland Green Hills Stockland Green Hills (previously known as Green Hills Shopping Centre) is a large indoor/outdoor shopping centre located in East Maitland, an eastern suburb of Maitland, New South Wales, Australia. It is located on Molly Morgan Drive, East Mait ...

North Rothbury North Rothbury is a small town located in the Hunter Region of New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Coun ...

via Rutherford with limited services to Hanbury Estates *180: Stockland Green Hills to Singleton Heights via Rutherford *180x: to express via , and Stations *181: Aberglasslyn to Woodberry via

Metford Metford is a suburb of the city of Maitland, New South Wales, Australia. It is on the New England Highway and has a Metford railway station, railway station on NSW TrainLink's Hunter railway line, Hunter line. The line was opened in 1857, and th ...

*182: Thornton to Rutherford via

Ashtonfield Ashtonfield is a suburb in the City of Maitland, New South Wales, Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian co ...

*183: Rutherford to Tenambit via

*185: to

Largs Largs ( gd, An Leargaidh Ghallda) is a town on the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland, about from Glasgow. The original name means "the slopes" (''An Leargaidh'') in Scottish Gaelic. A popular seaside resort with a pier, the town mark ...

via Bolwarra, with limited services to Paterson and Gresford *192: to South Maitland and Louth Park

Rover Coaches Rover Coaches is an Australian bus company operating services in the Hunter Valley. History In 1925, George Ryder purchased two small bus operators, the South Maitland Motor Company and the Marble Bar Motor Service, and named the company Rover ...

operates two routes via Maitland station: *164: to Cessnock via

Kurri Kurri Kurri Kurri is a small town in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, in the Cessnock LGA. At the , its population was 6,044. Kurri Kurri is the largest town in a group of towns and hamlets, including Stanford Merthyr, Pelaw Main, ...

, limited services operate to

*166:

to Kurri Kurri via

Gillieston Heights Gillieston Heights is a suburb of the City of Maitland local government area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, approximately from the Maitland CBD. Prior to 1967, the village was named East Greta however this was changed to ...

, Heddon Greta & Pelaw Main

Sid Fogg's Sid Fogg's is an Australian bus and coach charter company based in Fullerton Cove in the Hunter Region of New South Wales. History The origins of Sid Fogg's can be traced to the 1920s when Amos Fogg founded Fogg's Motor Service. In the 1950s ow ...

operates one route via Maitland station: * Newcastle station to Dubbo station via the

Golden Highway Golden Highway is a highway, located in the Hunter Region, Hunter and Orana (New South Wales), Orana regions of New South Wales, Australia. It runs eastwards from Dubbo towards Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle on the coast, allowing roa ...

Express Coach Services timetables
Sid Fogg's 18 February 2013

Description

The station complex includes two brick station buildings, the platform 1 building completed in 1880 of type 5 first-class design, and the platform 2/3 building completed in 1914 of type 11 initial island/side building design. The signal box is of elevated timber on a steel frame and was completed in 1956, and the booking office, on the street facing Railway Prade, was completed in 1948. There is also a pedestrian overbridge connecting the road to the platforms.

Heritage listing

The Maitland station group is of high significance both as a complete unit, and for its individual elements. The various buildings date from the earliest surviving on the north line through to the 1950s forming a harmonious group with an important civic contribution particularly from the booking office and first class station building. The site is of additional interest with the relationship of the first class building to the alignment of platform 1 and the extended awning down to the realigned and lowered line which is unique in the railway system. The main station building is of high significance and is a very important building in Maitland and in the State particularly with its adaptive awning structure. The other buildings at the station including the signal box are significant and indicate the importance of the location as a commercial centre and junction station, particularly with the adjacent Maitland colliery system which linked with the main line nearby to the west. The number of platforms also indicate the importance of the site for changing trains and as a centre of commerce and the furthest link of the

commuter rail system.

References

External links

*
Maitland station details
Transport for New South Wales {{Transport for New South Wales railway stations, Hunter=y, North Coast Region=y, North Western Region=y, state=collapsed Easy Access railway stations in New South Wales Maitland, New South Wales Railway stations in the Hunter Region Railway stations in Australia opened in 1880 Regional railway stations in New South Wales New South Wales State Heritage Register Main North railway line, New South Wales North Coast railway line, New South Wales