Sydney Trains is the operator of the suburban passenger
rail network serving the city 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 Mounta ...
,
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
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
. The
network
Network, networking and networked may refer to:
Science and technology
* Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects
* Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks
Mathematic ...
is a hybrid
urban-
suburban rail
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are co ...
system with a central underground core that covers over of track and
170 stations over eight lines. It has
metro-equivalent train frequencies of every three minutes or better in the underground core, 5–10 minutes off-peak at most inner-city and major stations and 15 minutes off-peak at most minor stations. During the weekday peak, train services are more frequent.
The network is managed 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 ...
, and is part of its
Opal ticketing system
Opal is a contactless fare collection system for public transport services in the greater Sydney area and most other urban areas of New South Wales, Australia. Operation of the Opal system is managed by the New South Wales Government's transpor ...
. In 2018–19, 377.1 million passenger journeys were made on the network.
History
In May 2012, the
Minister for Transport
A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government ag ...
announced a restructure of
RailCorp, the organisation that owned and managed the metropolitan rail network and operated passenger services throughout New South Wales. Two new organisations were created to take over operation of the services from 1 July 2013. Sydney Trains acquired all suburban services in the Sydney metropolitan area bounded by
Berowra,
Emu Plains
Emu Plains is a suburb of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 58 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Penrith and is part of the Greater Western Sydney r ...
,
Macarthur and
Waterfall
A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf.
Waterfalls can be formed in several ...
from RailCorp's
CityRail division. Intercity and
Hunter Line services previously operated by CityRail were taken over by NSW Trains (branded as
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 (Australia), Victoria, Queensland and South Austral ...
). RailCorp remained as the owner of the network infrastructure. When first created as subsidiaries of RailCorp, Sydney Trains and NSW Trains were not controlled entities of RailCorp, but were instead controlled 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 ...
. In July, they ceased to be subsidiaries of RailCorp and became independent standalone agencies in July 2017.
Network changes
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.
In 2018, some sections of the network began to be transferred to the city's
metro and
light rail networks. The
Epping-Chatswood Rail Link between
Chatswood and
Epping was closed for conversion in September 2018 to form part of the
Sydney Metro Northwest, which opened in May 2019. The section of the
Carlingford Line
The Carlingford railway line was a railway line in Sydney, Australia. It was opened from Clyde to Subiaco (later renamed Camellia) in January 1885, then by means of the construction of a bridge across the Parramatta River, to Carlingford in ...
between
Camellia
''Camellia'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are more than 220 described species, with some controve ...
and
Carlingford closed in January 2020 and will form part of the
Parramatta Light Rail network.
The adjacent section of track between Clyde and Camellia, including
Rosehill railway station
Rosehill railway station is a disused railway station in Sydney, Australia that is located next to Rosehill Gardens Racecourse. It was open between 1888 and 2020. It served passengers on the Sandown railway line until 1991, the Carlingford li ...
, also became disused. The light rail is expected to open in 2023.
The section of the
Bankstown Line between
Sydenham and
Bankstown will form part of
Sydney Metro City & Southwest
Sydney Metro City & Southwest is a rapid transit project currently under-construction in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The project will extend the Metro North West Line from on the North Shore, to in the city's south-west via the Sydn ...
, which is due to open in 2024.
Operations
In July 2013, Howard Collins, the former Chief Operating Officer of
London Underground
The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England.
The ...
, was appointed as Chief Executive of Sydney Trains.
Stewart Mills was appointed Acting Chief Executive in February 2020, succeeded by Suzanne Holden as Acting Chief Executive in June 2020.
In addition to operating suburban train services, Sydney Trains maintains the
New South Wales Metropolitan Rail Area, and maintains all but a handful of operational railway stations in the state.
Network
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.
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.
The
T6 Carlingford line, which operated between Clyde and Carlingford, ceased operations on 5 January 2020.
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
The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or city centre is often referr ...
. 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
Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...
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
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. NightRide services are contracted to external bus operators and are identified by route numbers beginning with "N".
Rolling stock
Sydney Trains operates a fleet of double deck
electric multiple units. The trainsets are divided into the following classes:
Though primarily operated 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 (Australia), Victoria, Queensland and South Austral ...
, 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.
All A, B and M sets are maintained by
Downer Rail. Their contract for the M sets was extended by 10 years from June 2017. All other types of trains including the V and H sets are maintained by
UGL Unipart. The contract with UGL Unipart was extended for two years from 1 July 2019.
The Sydney Trains network is divided into three sectors, based around three maintenance depots. Trainsets are identified by target plates, which are exhibited on the front lower nearside of driving carriages. 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.
M sets and
H sets carry green target plates.
Patronage
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.
Ticketing and costs
Sydney Trains currently uses the
Opal card ticketing system which was introduced to the network in April 2014. The fare system is fully integrated with the
Sydney Metro
The Sydney Metro is a fully automated rapid transit system serving the city of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Currently consisting of one line that opened on 26 May 2019, it runs from Tallawong to Chatswood and consists of 13 stat ...
network and 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 (Australia), Victoria, Queensland and South Austral ...
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:
^ = $2.50 for Senior/Pensioner cardholders
A surcharge is levied when using the two privately operated stations serving
Sydney Airport
Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (colloquially Mascot Airport, Kingsford Smith Airport, or Sydney Airport; ; ) is an international airport in Sydney, Australia, located 8 km (5 mi) south of the Sydney central business district, in the ...
:
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
The term digital card can refer to a physical item, such as a memory card on a camera, or, increasingly since 2017, to the digital content hosted
as a virtual card or cloud card, as a digital virtual representation of a physical card. They share ...
technology. It was shut down on 1 August 2016.
See also
*
Commuter rail in Australia
Commuter rail forms a vital part of public transportation in major Australian cities.
Definitions
The Commonwealth government Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics and industry peak body Australasian Railway Association, w ...
*
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 (Australia), Victoria, Queensland and South Austral ...
*
Railways in Sydney
**
List of Sydney Trains railway stations
Sydney Trains is a train operator of a commuter-based rail network centred on the metropolitan area of Sydney which comprises seven metropolitan lines. The entire length of railway in New South Wales is maintained by Transport for New South Wa ...
**
Proposed railways in Sydney
Various railway lines have been proposed for Sydney, Australia, including both heavy rail extensions to the existing network, and more recently proposals for metro style lines– one of which was completed in 2019.
Pre-Bradfield Proposals
Betwee ...
**
Sydney Metro
The Sydney Metro is a fully automated rapid transit system serving the city of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Currently consisting of one line that opened on 26 May 2019, it runs from Tallawong to Chatswood and consists of 13 stat ...
References
External links
Sydney Trains websiteSydney Trains on transportnsw.info website
{{International Metro Organizations
Government railway authorities of Australia
Transport
Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipelin ...
Railway companies of New South Wales
Passenger railway companies of Australia
Railway companies established in 2013
Railway infrastructure companies of Australia
Rail transport in Sydney
Australian companies established in 2013
1500 V DC railway electrification