Bankstown railway line | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Overview | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Owner | Transport Asset Holding Entity | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Termini | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stations | 12 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Service | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Services | T3 Bankstown Line | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operator(s) | Sydney Trains | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Opened | 1 February 1895 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
opened to Belmore | 1 February 1895 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
extended to Bankstown | 14 April 1909 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
extended to Regents Park | 16 July 1928 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Technical | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Track length | 17 km (11 mi) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Bankstown railway line is a railway line serving the Inner West and Canterbury-Bankstown areas of Sydney. Currently, it extends from the Illawarra railway line at Sydenham via Bankstown to the Main Southern railway line at Sefton Park Junction, over which Sydney Trains operates passenger services as part of the T3 Bankstown Line. From late 2024, the line between Sydenham and Bankstown is expected to undergo an extended closure to facilitate conversion for use as part of the Sydney Metro network.
The eastern endpoint of the line is at Meeks Road Junction, approximately 6 kilometres southwest of Central, where it branches from the Illawarra railway line just south of Sydenham. From here the line runs westward along the valley of the Cooks River, parallel to the Port Botany branch of the Metropolitan Goods railway line. At Dulwich Hill the line passes by the former Wardell Road Junction, where the Dulwich Hill light rail line now terminates with an overbridge interchange to the railway station. [1]
Just past Canterbury the line crosses to the southern side of the Cooks River. From here the line passes through Campsie, after which the Metropolitan Goods railway line turns away from the alignment towards Enfield Yard. Between Punchbowl and Bankstown is the former location of the Punchbowl Maintenance Depot, which has since been redeveloped for housing. [2]
Bankstown is the foremost station on the line, and has a turnback loop to facilitate terminating trains immediately west of the station. Just beyond this the line turns sharply northward, passing through Yagoona and Birrong to reach the western endpoint of the line at Sefton Park Junction. Here, the line connects to the Main Southern railway line between Regents Park and Sefton.
The line has been used primarily for suburban passenger services since its opening. Though some freight services used the line earlier in its history, [3] cargo traffic is now confined to the parallel dedicated freight tracks.
Following the completion of the connection to Sefton Park Junction in 1928, suburban passenger services historically operated as a loop, with services originating from the City Circle travelling along the length of the line before returning to the City Circle via Lidcombe and the Main Suburban railway line, and vice versa. This ceased in 2013 following completion of new turnbacks at Lidcombe and Homebush as part of the Rail Clearways Program.
Following this change, services from the City Circle via the Bankstown railway line instead continue onward to either Lidcombe or Liverpool instead. Sydney Trains continues to use this format, branded as the T3 Bankstown Line.
From late 2024, T3 services will be rerouted away from the Bankstown railway line to the Main Suburban railway line, while the line west of Bankstown will instead be serviced by the T6 Lidcombe & Bankstown Line. [4] Meanwhile, east of Bankstown the line will be closed for works to convert it to Sydney Metro standards, after which it will be utilised by the Sydney Metro City & Southwest. [5]
The line opened on 1 February 1895, initially as a branch from the Illawarra railway line at Sydenham to Belmore. [6] Railway authorities initially conceived of the line as a opportunity to alleviate pressure on the Old Main South railway line by providing an alternate route to Liverpool, and also to advance development of the intervening land. However, the 1890s depression constrained the development of the line. [7]
Increased suburban development prompted the line to be extended to Bankstown on 14 April 1909, with intermediate stations at Lakemba and Punchbowl. In 1916, the Metropolitan Goods railway line was constructed, running parallel to the line between Marrickville to Campsie. On 16 July 1928, the line was extended from Bankstown to Sefton Park Junction, where it joined the Main Southern railway line between Regents Park and Sefton. [3] This allowed trains to operate to Liverpool, or in a loop back toward the City Circle via Lidcombe and the Main Suburban railway line. [8]
In 1926, the line between Sydenham and Bankstown became the second in Sydney to be electrified. To service the new electric rolling stock, Punchbowl Maintenance Depot was built on the line just east of Bankstown. Electrification was extended from Bankstown to Regents Park in 1939. [9] A new station between Lakemba and Punchbowl at Wiley Park opened on 19 June 1938. Punchbowl Maintenance Depot closed in 1994. [2]
In January 2006, a four-year project to upgrade the line was completed. The work included the re-sleepering of the entire line, replacing the former wooden sleepers with the more durable concrete ones, replacement and upgrade of the signalling, and also replacement of the ageing catenary, mostly with the more modern double contact wire variety. The lengthy upgrade process was noted for its "January Closedowns", in which the entire line was closed in January for the bulk of the upgrade work to take place. [10]
As part of the Sydney Metro City & Southwest project, the line from Sydenham to Bankstown is being converted from its current double deck commuter rail configuration to a rapid transit line. [11] This will allow much a higher frequency service and will alleviate bottlenecks in the Sydney Trains system, but ensuring the line meets modern metro standards is a technically challenging undertaking, particularly with some of the stations which have curved platforms over a century old. [12]
Planning approval of the upgrade of the line between Sydenham and Bankstown was received in December 2018. [13] Intermittent temporary closures began in December 2019 for works to prepare for the conversion to metro standards, with the expectation of a longer, extended closure to occur immediately prior to the commencement of metro services. [14] [15]
In 2023, with conversion of the line having fallen a year behind schedule, [16] the NSW Government announced that the opening of Sydney Metro City & Southwest would be staged, with services metro services not reaching Bankstown until late 2025, after a 12-month closure of the line for conversion works. [5] During this time, buses will replace rail services between Sydenham and Bankstown. [4]
The Rail Clearways Programme was conceived in 2004 with the aim of easing congestion of Sydney's suburban railway network, by reducing the amount of infrastructure shared by multiple services. The disparate projects at pinch points throughout the network were designed to increase passenger capacity and improve reliability. All projects were delivered by the Transport Construction Authority until it was subsumed in November 2011 by Transport for New South Wales. A new timetable was introduced in October 2013 that realised the benefit of many of the projects, and by January 2014—the programme was complete.
Sefton railway station is located on the Main Southern line, serving the Sydney suburb of Sefton. The station is heritage-listed in the state heritage register for New South Wales. It is served by Sydney Trains T3 Bankstown line services.
The Bankstown Line is a commuter rail line operated by Sydney Trains in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It serves Canterbury-Bankstown and parts of the Inner West and Western Sydney. The Bankstown railway line is the physical railway line which carries the section of the Bankstown Line between Sydenham and Birrong.
Bankstown railway station is located on the Bankstown line, serving the Sydney suburb of Bankstown. It is served by Sydney Trains T3 Bankstown line services.
Lidcombe railway station is located on the Main Suburban line, serving the Sydney suburb of Lidcombe. It is served by Sydney Trains T1 Western, T2 Inner West & Leppington, T3 Bankstown and T7 Olympic line services.
Hurlstone Park railway station is located on the Bankstown line, serving the Sydney suburb of Hurlstone Park. It is served by Sydney Trains T3 Bankstown line services.
Punchbowl railway station is located on the Bankstown line, serving the Sydney suburb of Punchbowl. It is served by Sydney Trains T3 Bankstown line services.
Birrong railway station is located on the Bankstown line, serving the Sydney suburb of Birrong. It is served by Sydney Trains T3 Bankstown line services.
Berala railway station is located on the Main Southern line, serving the Sydney suburb of Berala. It is served by Sydney Trains T3 Bankstown line services.
Yagoona railway station is located on the Bankstown line, serving the Sydney suburb of Yagoona. It is served by Sydney Trains T3 Bankstown line services.
Belmore railway station is a heritage-listed railway station located on the Bankstown line at Burwood Road, Belmore in the City of Canterbury-Bankstown local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It is served by Sydney Trains T3 Bankstown line services. It was designed and built by NSW Government Railways from 1895 to 1937. It is also known as Belmore Railway Station Group and Burwood Road. The property was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
Dulwich Hill railway station is located on the Bankstown line, serving the Sydney suburb of Dulwich Hill. It is served by Sydney Trains T3 Bankstown line services.
Regents Park railway station is located on the Main Southern line, serving the Sydney suburb of Regents Park. The station is heritage-listed in the state heritage register for New South Wales. It is served by Sydney Trains T3 Bankstown line services.
Sydney, the largest city in Australia, has an extensive network of passenger and freight railways. The passenger system includes an extensive suburban railway network, operated by Sydney Trains, a metro network and a light rail network. A dedicated freight network also exists. Future expansion of the light rail network includes the Parramatta Light Rail. Existing light rail services are the Inner West Light Rail and the CBD & South East Light Rail.
Sydney Trains is the operator and brand name of the train network serving the Greater Sydney metropolitan area in New South Wales, Australia. The network is a hybrid urban-suburban rail system with a central underground core that covers 369 km (229 mi) of route length over 813 km (505 mi) of track, with 170 stations on eight lines.
The Inner West & Leppington Line is a commuter rail service currently operated by Sydney Trains, serving the inner west and south-western regions of Sydney, Australia. Consisting of 37 stops, the service commences from the City Circle, then heads west to Granville. The line branches at this point; services either head northwest to Parramatta or south to Leppington. A third terminus at Homebush is used when the part-time Parramatta branch isn't operating. The line commenced operations on 26 November 2017, replacing the T2 Airport, Inner West & South Line.
Sydney Metro City & Southwest is a 30-kilometre (19 mi) rapid transit project currently under-construction in Sydney, Australia. The project will extend the Metro North West Line from Chatswood on the North Shore, to Bankstown in the city's south-west via the Sydney central business district.
The Metro North West Line is a rapid transit rail line in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The first and currently the only line on the Sydney Metro network, it commenced operation on 26 May 2019, running between Tallawong and Chatswood.
The Lidcombe & Bankstown Line is a yet-to-commence suburban railway line run on the Sydney Trains network in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was announced on 30 April 2024, a few months prior to the closure of the line previously known as the T3 Bankstown Line to be converted into rapid transit. As of April 2024, services have yet to commence on this line; it is expected that this will happen once the Bankstown Line is closed from mid-2024.