Broken Hill railway station

Broken Hill
Street frontage in October 2013
General information
Location	Silver City Highway, Broken Hill Australia
Coordinates	31°57′37″S141°28′00″E / 31.9603°S 141.4667°E / -31.9603; 141.4667
Owned by	Transport Asset Manager of New South Wales
Operated by	NSW TrainLink
Lines	Western Indian Pacific
Distance	1,124.80 kilometres from Central
Platforms	1
Tracks	2
Construction
Structure type	Ground
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Station code	BHQ
Website	www.transportnsw.info
History
Opened	4 June 1957
Passengers
2023	6,578
Services
Preceding station NSW TrainLink Following station Terminus NSW TrainLink Western Line Outback Xplorer Menindee towards Sydney Preceding station Journey Beyond Following station Adelaide towards Perth Indian Pacific Mount Victoria towards Sydney
Location

Broken Hill railway station is located on the Broken Hill line in Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia.

History

Broken Hill Crystal Street

Broken Hill Crystal Street railway station opened on 15 July 1919 when the line opened to Menindee. Until extended further east in 1927, the section was not connected to the rest of the New South Wales Government Railways network. ^{[1] [2]}

Broken Hill's first railway connection arrived in 1888, with the Silverton Tramway connecting the city to the South Australian Railways' narrow-gauge system at Cockburn and on to Adelaide via Sulphide Street station. Broken Hill developed into a lucrative location with the mines providing a regular source of traffic. ^[3]

Current station

A new brick station opened on 4 June 1957, 560 metres west of the original station. ^{[2] [4] [5]}

As part of the construction of the project to convert to standard gauge the Sydney to Perth railway line, in 1969 the station platform was extended to 370 metres accommodate the Indian Pacific with a new signal box constructed at the western end of the station building. ^{[2] [6]} With modern centralised train control, the signal box is no longer staffed.

Although some 50 kilometres from the border, Broken Hill was the border station between New South Wales and South Australia, with interstate trains changing locomotives up until the 1990s in the era of state-owned railway networks. ^[7]

Services

From September 1937 until November 1989, Broken Hill was the terminus for the Silver City Comet from Orange. ^[8] It was also the terminus for Australian National's Silver City Limited from Adelaide from December 1986 until December 1990. ^{[9] [10] [11]} It was served by The Alice from Sydney to Alice Springs from November 1983 until October 1987. ^{[12] [13]}

Since March 1996, Broken Hill has been served by NSW TrainLink's weekly Outback Express to and from Sydney. ^[14] NSW TrainLink also operates road coach services to Adelaide, Dubbo and Mildura which leave from the city's Tourist Information Centre bus terminal. ^[15]

Since it introduction in February 1970, Journey Beyond's weekly Indian Pacific has called at Broken Hill. ^[16] Initially operating twice weekly, in July 1973 it was increased to three times weekly, and in July 1975 to four times per week. ^{[17] [18]} Today it operates weekly. ^[19]

Platform	Line	Stopping pattern	Notes
1	Indian Pacific	to East Perth or Sydney Central
	Western Region	services to Sydney Central

References

1. Broken Hill Station NSWrail.net
2. Broken Hill Railway Precinct Office of Environment & Heritage
3. McNicol, Steve; Woodland, Tony (2014). Rails Around Broken Hill. Elizabeth, South Australia: Railmac Publications.
4. New NSWR Gateway to Silver City Railway Transportation July 1957 pages 32-24
5. Here & There Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin issue 239 September 1957 page 1
6. Here & There Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin issue 385 November 1969 page 6
7. Broken Hill Today Railway Digest July 1985 pages 190-191
8. The Official Last Comet Railway Digest February 1990 page 55
9. Western Report Railway Digest February 1987 page 52
10. Silver City Limited Continental Railway Journal issue 70 June 1987 page 313
11. Bye Bye to Country Passenger Services Catch Point issue 90 January 1991 page 16
12. Inland Bound State Wide January 1984 page 1
13. The Last Years of the South Australian Interstate Passenger Business: 1985 - 1990 Australian Railway History issue 1046 April 2025 pages 16/17
14. Countrylink's Loco Hauled Passenger Trains Railway Digest May 1996 pages 20-23
15. Western NSW timetable NSW TrainLink
16. New South Wales Railways Electric Traction April 1970 page 8
17. Three services weekly each way for the Indian Pacific The Recorder March 1973 page 2
18. Fourth Indian Pacific Australian Transport June 1975 page 47
19. Indian Pacific timetable Journey Beyond

External links

Media related to Broken Hill station at Wikimedia Commons

• Broken Hill station Transport for NSW