CountryLink was a passenger rail and road service brand that operated in regional areas New South Wales,

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

, Brisbane and Melbourne. Originally created as a business unit (or sub-brand) of the State Rail Authority of New South Wales, it later became a subsidiary of RailCorp, a

Government of New South Wales The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governmen ...

entity. CountryLink operated rail services using XPT and Xplorer rolling stock, with connecting coach services operated under contract by private operators.

History

CountryLink was established in January 1989 under the Transport Administration Act 1988 as a business unit of what was then the State Rail Authority to operate all non-metropolitan long distance passenger services. It inherited a fleet of XPT and locomotive-hauled passenger trains. Following the election of the Greiner State Government in March 1988, consultants Booz Allen Hamilton were commissioned to prepare a report into NSW rail services. On purely economic grounds, the report recommended closing all country passenger services as they were judged unviable, however this was not politically acceptable. If services were to be maintained, the report recommended an 'all XPT' option with an expanded network of coach services replacing many other services. In November 1989, the '' Silver City Comet'' was withdrawn, while in February 1990 the '' Brisbane Limited'' and '' Pacific Coast Motorail'' were withdrawn and replaced by XPT services, the '' Canberra XPT'' was withdrawn and replaced by locomotive-hauled stock and the '' Northern Tablelands Express'' was truncated to Tamworth with road coaches introduced from Sydney to Armidale. The '' Intercapital Daylight'' ceased in August 1991 and the '' Sydney/Melbourne Express'' in November 1993 was replaced by an XPT in November 1993 following the delivery of additional stock. In policy reversal, in June 1990 the government announced that it would purchase 17 Xplorer carriages to reintroduce services to Armidale and Moree and replace locomotive-hauled stock and coaches on services to

. This would release an XPT to operate a daily service to operate the ''

Grafton Express The Grafton Express is an Australian passenger train operated by NSW TrainLink between Sydney and Grafton via the North Coast line. In February 1990, the long-standing '' Holiday Coast XPT'' was axed as part of a restructure of CountryLink ser ...

'' replacing a weekly locomotive-hauled service that was reintroduced at the same time. The Xplorers entered service on the North Western service in October 1993 and on the Canberra service in December 1993. In November 1994 the government ordered a further four Xplorer carriages. In October 1990, the government announced that eight sleeper carriages would be ordered for use on overnight services to Brisbane, Murwillumbah and Melbourne. These were included in an order placed with ABB Transportation, Dandenong in 1991 for four power cars and 13 trailers that was jointly funded by the New South Wales and Victorian Governments. In December 1994, a daylight service to Melbourne resumed by extending the '' Riverina XPT'' from Albury. In 1995 CountryLink trialled three

Swedish Railways Rail transport in Sweden uses a network of 15006.25 km of track, the 22nd largest in the world. Construction of the first railway line in Sweden began in 1855. The major operator of passenger trains has traditionally been the state-owned ...

X2000 ''X2000'' is a 1998 short film directed by François Ozon. Plot A naked man ( Bruno Slagmulder) wakes up in a luxury loft, which is a residential building in an unidentified European city, after a particularly wild New Year's Eve party of the ...

tilting train carriages. After conducting a statewide tour in March, they were used on Canberra services from April until June with two modified XPT power cars. In March 1996, services were reintroduced to

Broken Hill Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It is ...

and

Griffith Griffith may refer to: People * Griffith (name) * Griffith (surname) * Griffith (given name) Places Antarctica * Mount Griffith, Ross Dependency * Griffith Peak (Antarctica), Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Glacier, Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Rid ...

using refurbished locomotive-hauled rolling stock honouring an election commitment by the Carr State Government. Following the electrification of the

Illawarra 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 a ...

from Dapto to Kiama, CityRail was able to release one of its mechanically identical Endeavours and this was converted to an Xplorer to replace the locomotive-hauled stock. With the formation of RailCorp, responsibility for CountryLink transferred to the new corporation in January 2004. With the closure of the Muwillumbah branch, services were cut back to Casino from May 2004. Countrylink was merged with the regional services of CityRail to form

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 ...

on 1 July 2013.

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.

Network

CountryLink operated its own rolling stock over track managed by RailCorp in Sydney and the Australian Rail Track Corporation and Rail Infrastructure Corporation outside of Sydney. The hub of its operation was Sydney Central railway station.

North Coast

The North Coast region covers the

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 ...

, Northern Rivers and South East Queensland regions. Accordingly, the Government of Queensland made a contribution to the provision of these services. North Coast region services appeared on the network map in red. Services ran along the Main North and

lines from Sydney Central station to Roma Street station in Brisbane. Principal stations served by XPT trains were: * Taree * Kempsey *

Coffs Harbour Coffs Harbour is a city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. It is one of the largest urban centres on the North Coast, with a population of 78,759 as per 2021 census. The Gumbaynggirr ...

Grafton Grafton may refer to: Places Australia * Grafton, New South Wales Canada * Grafton, New Brunswick * Grafton, Nova Scotia * Grafton, Ontario England * Grafton, Cheshire * Grafton, Herefordshire *Grafton, North Yorkshire * Grafton, Oxfordshi ...

* Casino * Brisbane Cities and towns served by CountryLink coaches connecting off North Coast services included:

Tea Gardens Tea Gardens is a locality in the Mid-Coast Council local government area, located near the southern extremity of the Mid North Coast and the northern extremity of the Hunter Region in New South Wales, Australia. At the Tea Gardens had a popu ...

, Forster, Port Macquarie, Yamba, Moree, Lismore, Alstonville, Ballina, Byron Bay, Murwillumbah, Tweed Heads and

Surfers Paradise Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...

North Western

The North Western region covers the state's

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, ...

, Northern Tablelands and North West regions. North Western region services appeared on the network map in orange. Services ran along the Main North line from Sydney Central station to Werris Creek where the service divided for Armidale and Moree. Principal stations served by Xplorer trains were: * Singleton * Scone * Tamworth * Armidale * Gunnedah * Narrabri * Moree Cities and towns served by CountryLink coaches connecting off North Western services included:

Wee Waa Wee Waa () is a town located on the north-western slopes of the New England region in New South Wales, Australia. The town is within the Narrabri Shire local government area and is on the Namoi River. Wee Waa is north-west of Narrabri and nort ...

, Inverell,

, Glen Innes and Tenterfield.

Western

The Western region covers the Central Tablelands and Western regions. Western region services appeared on the network map in yellow. Services ran along the Main Western line from Sydney Central station to

Dubbo Dubbo () is a city in the Orana Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre in the Orana region, with a population of 43,516 at June 2021. The city is located at the intersection of the Newell, Mitchell, and Gol ...

and the Broken Hill line to

. Principal stations served by XPT trains were: * Bathurst * Orange *

Principal stations served by Xplorer trains were: * Bathurst * Orange * Parkes *

Cities and towns served by CountryLink coaches connecting off Southern services included: Oberon, Mudgee,

Baradine Baradine is a small town in north western New South Wales, Australia. At the , Baradine had a population of 593. Baradine is located on the Coonabarabran-Pilliga road, about midway between Coonabarabran and Pilliga, New South Wales, Pilliga. ...

, Cowra, Grenfell, Forbes, Parkes,

Condobolin Condobolin is a town in the west of the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia, on the Lachlan River. At the , Condobolin had a population of 3,486. History Prior to European settlement, the area was inhabited by the Wiradjuri pe ...

Lightning Ridge Lightning Ridge is a small outback town in north-western New South Wales, Australia. Part of Walgett Shire, Lightning Ridge is situated near the southern border of Queensland, about east of the Castlereagh Highway. The Lightning Ridge area is ...

Brewarrina Brewarrina (pronounced 'bree-warren-ah'; locally known as "Bre") is a town in north-west New South Wales, Australia on the banks of the Barwon River in Brewarrina Shire. The name Brewarrina is derived from 'burru waranha', a Weilwan name for a s ...

, Bourke,

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval Angl ...

and

Southern

The Southern region covers the state's Illawarra,

South Coast South Coast is a name often given to coastal areas to the south of a geographical region or major metropolitan area. Geographical Australia *South Coast (New South Wales), the coast of New South Wales, Australia, south of Sydney * South Coast (Q ...

Snowy Mountains The Snowy Mountains, known informally as "The Snowies", is an IBRA subregion in southern New South Wales, Australia, and is the tallest mountain range in mainland Australia, being part of the continent's Great Dividing Range cordillera system ...

, South West Slopes, Southern Tablelands, Riverina and Sunraysia regions plus the Australian Capital Territory and parts of Victoria. Accordingly, the

Government of Victoria The Victoria State Government, also referred to as just the Victorian Government, is the state-level authority for Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Like all state governments, it is formed by three independent branches: the executive ...

(though not the ACT Government) made a contribution to the provision of these services. Southern region services appeared on the network map in green. Services ran along the Main South line from Sydney Central station to Albury before continuing on the

North East line The North East MRT line (NEL) is a high-capacity Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line in Singapore. Operated by SBS Transit, it is the shortest MRT line at . The line runs from HarbourFront station in southern Singapore to Punggol station in the no ...

Southern Cross station Southern Cross railway station (until 2005 known as Spencer Street station) is a major railway station in Docklands, Melbourne. It is on Spencer Street, between Collins and La Trobe Streets, at the western edge of the Melbourne central busi ...

in Melbourne, with the line to

branching off south of Goulburn and the line to

at Junee. Principal stations served by XPT trains were: * Goulburn *

Cootamundra Cootamundra, nicknamed Coota, is a town in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia and within the Riverina. It is within the Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council. At the 2016 Census, Cootamundra had a population of 6,782. ...

* Wagga Wagga * Albury * Wangaratta * Melbourne Principal stations served by Xplorer trains were: * Goulburn *

Queanbeyan Queanbeyan ( ) is a city in the south-eastern region of New South Wales, Australia, located adjacent to the Australian Capital Territory in the Southern Tablelands region. Located on the Queanbeyan River, the city is the council seat of the ...

Cities and towns served by CountryLink coaches connecting off Southern services included: Wollongong, Bombala,

Eden Eden may refer to: * Garden of Eden, the "garden of God" described in the Book of Genesis Places and jurisdictions Canada * Eden, Ontario * Eden High School Middle East * Eden, Lebanon, a city and former bishopric * Camp Eden, Iraq O ...

, Tumbarumba, Bathurst,

, Mildura and

Echuca Echuca ( ) is a town on the banks of the Murray River and Campaspe River in Victoria, Australia. The border town of Moama is adjacent on the northern side of the Murray River in New South Wales. Echuca is the administrative centre and largest s ...

Rolling stock

The final CountryLink fleet consisted of two train types, XPT (19 power cars and 60 carriages) and Xplorers (23 carriages). The XPT fleet was maintained at the purpose built

XPT Service Centre The XPT Service Centre is a railway depot operated by NSW TrainLink in , Sydney. History The XPT Service Centre was built within the confines of Meeks Road triangle between the Bankstown, Illawarra and Metropolitan lines immediately south of Sy ...

. The Xplorer fleet was maintained at the Xplorer-Endeavour Service Centre.

Road coaches

The Public Transport Commission had first introduced coaches in September 1975 when six Dennings were introduced to replace all train services out of

. Coaches replaced many branch line rail services over the next few years and by 1987 the State Rail Authority had 36 Denning,

Hino Hino may refer to: Places Estonia * Hino, Põlva County * Hino, Võru County ** Lake Hino Japan * Hino, Shiga * Hino, Tokyo * Hino, Tottori ** Hino District, Tottori ** Hino River Transportation * Hino Motors, a Japanese truck manufacturer o ...

and Scania coaches operating throughout the state. CountryLink adopted the model used by V/Line in Victoria and contracted out the provision of these services to private operators, with services transferring to the successful bidders between November 1989 and June 1990. Coaches were originally painted in CountryLink's grey, white and blue livery. Following the transfer of the administration of coach services to the Department of Transport in July 1992, operators were not required to repaint coaches dedicated to CountryLink duties, thus most operated in the livery of their owners. This policy was later reversed and coaches once again were painted in CountryLink livery. The full list of coach operators providing services at the time CountryLink ceased in June 2013 were:

Parry Report 2005

Ministerial Inquiry

On 9 December 2003, the Minister for Transport Services released Professor Tom Parry's Final Report of the Ministerial Inquiry into Sustainable Transport. Known as the "Parry Report" it recommended refocusing CountryLink, and to adjust fare structures.NSW Ministry of Transport – Ministerial Inquiry into Sustainable Transport (Parry Report)
Ministry of Transport 27 January 2004 "CountryLink currently operates a number of train services that move relatively small numbers of passengers," the inquiry has concluded, noting that the high cost of maintenance and the need to replace rolling stock "makes these services very expensive ... they are expected to become even more expensive in the future." At the time of the report operating expenditure is around five times as much as revenue gained through ticket sales.CountryLink: Reform program offers significant improvements
CountryLink 27 September 2005 The Inquiry also noted that in the year ended June 2003, CountryLink incurred $29.9 million in costs associated with advertising, booking and selling tickets, against $43.5 million in fare revenue. "This is more than two-thirds of the revenue received from passengers and is excessive," the Inquiry report stated. The Inquiry made eight specific recommendations for "refocusing CountryLink": *review the allocation of costs to CountryLink to improve the transparency of government railway accounts *seek efficiencies in the marketing of tickets *align subsidies to CountryLink with the benefits to the community *seek to have the ACT Government contribute to the cost of the Sydney-Canberra service *explore alternatives to rail on a case-by-case basis for all rural and regional routes *include CountryLink in integrated regional transport planning *establish "Solutions Teams" to assess various areas of CountryLink's operations *review fare structures and discounting

Government response

In 2005 the State Government announced a rationalisation of ticket offices across the CountryLink network, but ruled out the closure of further rail services in the immediate future. Ticket prices increased on 1 November. Transport minister John Watkins told the ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...

'' that "To protect commuters who want a continued rail option, the Government has made a number of changes to booking options in an effort to secure CountryLink's future and boost patronage." Mr Watkins also said in front of news crew that the refurbishment of the XPTs would also encourage more people to use the trains. However the Opposition questioned how price increases would increase patronage.

Restructure

In May 2012, the newly elected O'Farrell State Government announced RailCorp would be restructured, with CountryLink and the regional services of CityRail incorporated into

in July 2013.

Publication

CountryLink published an in-house journal, ''Freight Rail & Countrylink Xpress'', in conjunction with

Freight Rail Rail freight transport is the use of railroads and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers. A freight train, cargo train, or goods train is a group of freight cars (US) or goods wagons (International Union of Railways) hauled ...

.Welcome to Your Xpress ''Freight Rail & Countrylink Xpress'' issue 1 December 1989 page 1

References

{{Reflist

External links

CountryLink network mapRailPage Australia XPT Page
Information on design, construction, rolling stock and operations Defunct railway companies of Australia Interstate rail in Australia Railway companies established in 1989 Railway companies disestablished in 2013 Australian companies established in 1989 Australian companies disestablished in 2013