The Olympic Park railway line is a railway line linking the
Sydney Olympic Park precinct to 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 ...
at
Flemington and
Lidcombe
Lidcombe is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lidcombe is located west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Cumberland Council, with a small industrial part in the north ...
. Originally opened as the Abattoirs branch in 1911, it was rebuilt and reopened as the Olympic Park railway line in 1998. Passenger services have since been running on it as the Olympic Park Line (numbered T7, grey).
History
Abattoirs branch
The line opened on 31 July 1911 as the Abattoirs branch off 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 ...
to the abattoirs and
State Brickworks at Homebush Bay (now
Sydney Olympic Park).
It branched off via a
triangular junction
In railroad structures, and rail terminology, a wye (like the'' 'Y' ''glyph) or triangular junction (often shortened to just "triangle") is a triangular joining arrangement of three rail lines with a railroad switch (set of points) at each cor ...
behind
Flemington Maintenance Depot
The Flemington Maintenance Depot is the largest Sydney Trains depot, located in the western Sydney suburb of Lidcombe, but named after Flemington further east.
The depot opened in 1927 and was one of four electric train depots built under the ...
making it accessible from the
Metropolitan Goods line.
["Forgotten Railways to the Olympic Site" '']Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin
''Australian Railway History'' is a monthly magazine covering railway history in Australia, published by the New South Wales Division of the Australian Railway Historical Society on behalf of its state and territory Divisions.Great Western Highway
Great Western Highway (also known as Broadway from to , Parramatta Road from Chippendale to , and Church Street through Parramatta) is a state highway in New South Wales, Australia. From east to west, the highway links Sydney with Bathurs ...
. On 11 January 1915, the Metropolitan Meat Platforms opened. Further platforms opened at Abattoirs in December 1926, Brickworks in December 1939 and Pippita in October 1940 to serve a Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation
The Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) was an Australian aircraft manufacturer. The CAC was established in 1936, to provide Australia with the capability to produce military aircraft and engines.
History
In 1935 the Chief General Manager ...
factory. Sidings on the line served Dairy Farmers
Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a history th ...
and Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
.[
On 27 February 1968, the three kilometre Homebush Saleyards Yard opened to service new cattle and sheep pens built to replace facilities at Flemington just beyond the Great Western Highway crossing. The loop was electrified to allow 46 class locomotives to operate services from the Main Western and Main Northern lines to the saleyards.][
Passenger services were operated by ]CPH railmotor
The CPH (or 42 foot) rail motors were introduced by the New South Wales Government Railways in 1923 to provide feeder service on country branch lines.
Introduction
Often referred to as "Tin Hares", having evolved at the same time as the mechanica ...
s operating from Sandown
Sandown is a seaside resort and civil parish on the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom with the resort of Shanklin to the south and the settlement of Lake in between. Together with Shanklin, Sandown forms a built-up area of ...
via Lidcombe
Lidcombe is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lidcombe is located west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Cumberland Council, with a small industrial part in the north ...
until November 1984. On 9 November 1984, the line beyond the Homebush Saleyards closed. After this the line (now only going to Pippita) would be served by Single Deck Suburban " Red Rattlers".
The Saleyards Loop closed on 22 June 1991.[ Pippita continued to be served by a sole daily service to Central until 20 October 1995, operated in its later days by a V set.][ Only traces of the line remain beyond Pippita. The Dairy Farmers siding is still connected to the present-day Up Homebush Bay West Fork track, complete with catch points and a shunt signal. Remnants of the track can also be seen between the siding and the western bridge across the Great Western Highway. There is no trace of the line past here.
]
Reopening
As part of Sydney's successful bid to hold the 2000 Olympic Games, a new Sydney Olympic Park precinct was built. Included was a railway that traversed a similar route to the former Abattoirs branch. The line was built with a balloon loop
A balloon loop, turning loop, or reversing loop ( North American Terminology) allows a rail vehicle or train to reverse direction without having to shunt or stop. Balloon loops can be useful for passenger trains and unit freight trains.
Bal ...
and the two track, four platform Olympic Park station. The line utilised the existing eastern bridge over the Great Western Highway which had previously only carried one track, but was wide enough to accommodate the two laid. The new line opened on 8 March 1998.[
Today, the line continues to transport people to and from major events occurring within the Sydney Olympic Park precinct, but also carries workers and residents of Olympic Park to and from the rest of the Sydney Trains network.
]
Service
Outside of special events, trains on the Olympic Park Line (T7) depart from a special platform at Lidcombe
Lidcombe is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lidcombe is located west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Cumberland Council, with a small industrial part in the north ...
(platform 0
Platform 0 is a platform number at various railway stations around the world. It is usually a result of constructing a new platform next to the existing platform 1. To avoid having to renumber and replace signage for all other platforms, as well a ...
, previously referred to as the Olympic Park Sprint Platform). Services operate with a frequency of one train every 10 minutes in each direction, dropping to 20 minutes at night. The trip between Lidcombe and Olympic Park takes about five minutes each way. As of Friday 23 October 2020, 4-car M sets are scheduled for these trips on weekdays, while 8-car A sets are scheduled on weekends and public holidays. K sets were rostered until then, and until the S sets were retired, they were also rostered.
During major events at Sydney Olympic Park, train services run direct from the intercity platforms of Central, also sometimes stopping at Redfern and Strathfield
Strathfield is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the Municipality of Strathfield. A smal ...
. The Lidcombe shuttle trains are also built up to 8 cars. After larger events, west-bound trains from Olympic Park are sometimes extended beyond Lidcombe to Blacktown
Blacktown is a suburb in the City of Blacktown, in Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Blacktown is located west of the Sydney central business district. It is one of the most multicultural places within Great ...
via the Western line, and to Glenfield and Campbelltown via the Main South line
The Main South Line, sometimes referred to as part of the South Island Main Trunk Railway, is a railway line that runs north and south from Lyttelton in New Zealand through Christchurch and along the east coast of the South Island to Inverca ...
, using platforms 2 and 4 at Lidcombe instead. These services are normally run by 8-car A, B or T sets.
Patronage
The following table shows the patronage of Sydney Trains network for the year ending 30 June 2022. Because these figures are based on Opal tap on and tap off data, passengers are not counted when travelling to major events where the event ticket also allows travel on public transport services.
References
External links
{{Sydney public transport
Sydney Trains