The

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 ...

Metropolitan Rail Area (MRA) is the government-operated

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

network centred on

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 ...

and bounded by

Newcastle Interchange Newcastle Interchange is a transport interchange serving the city of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. It serves as the termini for NSW TrainLink's Central Coast & Newcastle Line and Hunter Line train services, Newcastle Light Rail service ...

in the north, in the west, and Glenlee and in the south. The MRA contains the entirety of the state's electrified rail network (save for the isolated

Skitube Alpine Railway The Skitube Alpine Railway is an Australian standard gauge electric rack railway in the Kosciuszko National Park in New South Wales. It provides access to the snowfields at Blue Cow Mountain and the Perisher Valley. History In the 1980s, deve ...

). The MRA is owned by

Transport Asset Holding Entity Transport Asset Holding Entity of New South Wales (TAHE) is a state-owned corporation of the New South Wales Government in New South Wales, Australia, established under the ''Transport Administration Act 1988''. It was converted and renamed fro ...

and maintained by

Sydney Trains Sydney Trains is the operator of the suburban passenger rail network serving the city of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The network is a hybrid urban- suburban rail system with a central underground core that covers over of track and 170 ...

Background

Prior to 2004, the entire NSW Government-owned rail network was operated by the then

Rail Infrastructure Corporation Rail Infrastructure Corporation, later known as Country Rail Infrastructure Authority after July 2010, was a Government of New South Wales statutory corporation with responsibility for the management of the railway network in rural New South Wales, ...

(RIC). In preparation for the planned lease of the interstate and Hunter Valley networks to the

Australian Rail Track Corporation The Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) is an Australian Government-owned statutory corporation. It operates one of the largest rail networks in the nation spanning 8,500km across five states, 39 worksites and more than 50 First Nations. ...

(ARTC), the ''Transport Administration Act 1988'' was amended in 2003 to define a "metropolitan rail area", to be managed by a new agency called RailCorp. The residual non-metropolitan, non-ARTC network remained with RIC as the Country Regional Network, and is now managed directly by

Transport for NSW Transport for NSW, sometimes abbreviated to TfNSW, and pronounced as Transport for New South Wales, is an agency of the New South Wales Government established on 1 November 2011, and is the leading transport and roads agency in New South Wales, ...

Boundaries

At its northern extent, the MRA is bounded by the former terminal station at . Between December 2014 and October 2017, however, trains have only operated as far as Hamilton. Train services were extended back to the new

when it opened in October 2017. The northern section of the network extends 165 kilometres from and is electrified for its entire length. The Main North railway continues north from into the ARTC-operated Hunter Valley network. At its western extent, the MRA is bounded by the former station at Bowenfels, a few kilometres west of the town of Lithgow. In practice, the last MRA station is . The western section of the network extends 158 kilometres from Central and is electrified for its entire length. The Main West railway continues west from Bowenfels into the Transport for New South Wales operated Country Regional Network. At its south-western extent, the MRA is bounded by the rural locality of Glenlee. The last metropolitan station is , in Campbelltown. The south-western section of the network extends 58 kilometres from Central and is electrified for its entire length. The Main South railway continues south from Glenlee into the ARTC-operated interstate network. At its south-eastern extent, the MRA is bounded by Bomaderry Station. The south-eastern ("Illawarra") section of the network extends 154 kilometres from Central and is electrified as far south as (119 kilometres from Central). Bomaderry is also the terminus of the South Coast railway. The ARTC-operated interstate network joins the South Coast railway at , south of

Wollongong Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near wate ...

. The

Southern Sydney Freight Line The Southern Sydney Freight Line (SSFL) is a freight only railway line in the south-western suburbs of Sydney, Australia. The line was built to segregate freight trains from the Sydney Trains network. It forms part of a dedicated freight only c ...

and

Sydney Freight Network The Sydney Freight Network is a network of dedicated railway lines for freight in Sydney, Australia, linking the state's rural and interstate rail network with the city's main yard at Enfield and Port Botany. Its primary components are the Sout ...

are physically within, but do not form part of, the MRA. These are reserved for use by freight trains and are operated and maintained by ARTC.

Operations

All Sydney Trains services operate within the MRA. NSW TrainLink intercity and regional services operate beyond the MRA.

External links

RailCorp

References

{{Reflist 2004 establishments in Australia Rail transport in Sydney Rail infrastructure in New South Wales

Background

Boundaries

Operations

See also

External links

References