Central Coast & Newcastle Line

Last updated

Central Coast & Newcastle Line
TfNSW CCN.svg
NSW D Set in service to Newcastle.jpg
A New South Wales D set "Mariyung" travelling to Newcastle, running alongside the Mullet Creek, Brisbane Water National Park
Overview
Service type Intercity rail
Locale
Current operator Sydney Trains
Route
Termini Sydney Central
Newcastle Interchange
Stops36
Distance travelled165.60 km (102.90 mi)
Lines used Main North railway line
Newcastle railway line
North Shore railway line
Technical
Rolling stock D set Mariyung
H set Oscar
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge
Electrification 1,500 V DC from overhead catenary
Track owner Transport Asset Manager of New South Wales
Timetable numberCCN
Route map
Central Coast & Newcastle Line
CCN Central Coast & Newcastle Line

Routemap design based on official
Transport for NSW branding

km from
Central

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33.9
Hornsby
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35.7
Asquith
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37.7
Mount Colah
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40.7
Mount Kuring-gai
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44.7
Berowra
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48.8
Cowan
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57.4
Hawkesbury River
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65.2
Wondabyne
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72.6
Woy Woy
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74.8
Koolewong
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76.9
Tascott
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78.1
Point Clare
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80.9
Gosford
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84.6
Narara
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86.2
Niagara Park
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87.7
Lisarow
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90.6
Ourimbah
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98.5
Tuggerah
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101.1
Wyong
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105.9
Warnervale
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114.9
Wyee
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123.3
Morisset
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127.2
Dora Creek
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137.3
Awaba
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142.3
Fassifern
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146.4
Booragul
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147.6
Teralba
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150.6
Cockle Creek
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155.1
Cardiff
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158.9
Kotara
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161.1
Adamstown
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162.9
Broadmeadow
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164.6
Hamilton
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165.6
Newcastle Interchange
Legend
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Station
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  Hunter Line
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Not all rail services shown

For closed stations, wheelchair access
and other features see:


Template:Main North railway line, New South Wales
 

Template:Newcastle railway line, New South Wales RDT
 

Template:North Shore railway line
 

The Central Coast & Newcastle Line (CCN) is an intercity rail service that services the Central Coast region and Newcastle in the Hunter region. It connects the two largest cities in New South Wales, running from Central in Sydney along the Main North railway line to Broadmeadow, and to Newcastle Interchange in Newcastle on the Newcastle railway line.

Contents

Description of route

The Hawkesbury River separates Sydney and the Central Coast. The bridge over the river is one of the major engineering structures on the line. Hawkesbury River rail bridge.jpg
The Hawkesbury River separates Sydney and the Central Coast. The bridge over the river is one of the major engineering structures on the line.

The route traverses the Main West route until Strathfield, where it diverts north and follows the route of the Main North line until Broadmeadow, before diverting east along the route of the Newcastle branch line. The line is electrified at 1500 volts DC throughout, and is primarily double track, although there are refuge loops at Hawkesbury River, Gosford, Wyong, Awaba, and Sulphide Junction (between Cockle Creek and Cardiff). Some services terminate at Gosford and Wyong.[ original research? ]

Services primarily operate to and from Central (Sydney Terminal) via Strathfield. During morning and afternoon peak periods on weekdays, some services will operate in the peak direction from either Wyong or Gosford to Sydney Central via the North Shore Line, then continuing on as a T1 service from the Central suburban platforms to Blacktown. [1]

Sometimes, when there is trackwork between Strathfield and Hornsby, trains will operate via the North Shore line between Central and Hornsby, then follow the Main North railway line as normal.[ original research? ]

History

Prior to electrification of the route, steam hauled passenger trains were varied. [2] From November 1929 until April 1988, the Newcastle Flyer operated on the route. From the time the line was electrified, services to Gosford were hauled by 46 class locomotives, their sphere of operation increasing as the wires were extended. After electrification to Newcastle, services were taken over by U and V sets. Later, the U sets were replaced by K and G sets which, in turn, were replaced by H sets.[ citation needed ]

The last electric locomotives were withdrawn in March 1998 [3] with all services operated by electric multiple unit stock.

The section of the Newcastle railway line between Hamilton and Newcastle was closed on 25 December 2014. Until the opening of Newcastle Interchange in 2017, Hamilton served as the temporary northern terminus. [4] The closed section between Wickham and Newcastle was replaced with the Newcastle Light Rail that opened on 17 February 2019. [5] [6]

On 27 June 2025, V sets completed operations on the Central Coast & Newcastle Line, following the rollout of the D sets. [7]

Services

The rolling stock of the Central Coast & Newcastle Line

Services via Strathfield depart from Central (Sydney Terminal) and since June 2025, services consist primarily of D sets, which can run in 4, 6, 8 or 10 car formation. [8] [9] Weekday peak hour services via Gordon on the North Shore Line with 8 car H sets between Gosford or Wyong and Sydney Central via the North Shore line and then continues as a T1 suburban service to Blacktown on the Western Line.

Once the H sets are fully replaced by the D sets to be converted to Sydney suburban services, it’s expected that CCN line trains will no longer operate services from Gosford or Wyong to Sydney Central via the North Shore line, due to the platforms being too short for the 10 car D sets and high rail congestion. The North Shore line is not a standard intercity rail line, which causes most CCN line trains to often run behind schedule due to being behind a slower T1 or T9 suburban train, since there is no rail bypass for quicker trains to overtake the slower services, unlike services that go via Strathfield to Sydney Terminal, which is a standard intercity rail line.

Stations

Central Coast & Newcastle Line stations
NameCode
[10]
Distance from
Central
Travel Time
[ab 1]
RailwaySuburbs and towns servicedConnecting Services
Central – Redfern/Town Hall (Suburban section)
Central CEN0.0 kmDeparture Main North/North Shore Sydney, Strawberry Hills,
Ultimo, Surry Hills
Services
Redfern – Epping (Suburban section)
Redfern
(Weekday peak hour services only)
RDF1.3 km2 min Main North Redfern, Waterloo, Darlington
Services
Strathfield STR11.8 km11 minStrathfield
Services
Epping EPG23.3 km13 minEpping, North Epping, Carlingford
T9

M1
Town Hall – Gordon (Suburban section)
Town Hall
(Weekday peak hour services only)
THL1.1 km2 min North Shore Sydney
Services
Wynyard
(Weekday peak hour services only)
WYD2.1 km3 minSydney
T1
T2
T3
T8
T9

L2
L3
Milsons Point
(Weekday peak hour services only)
MPT4.4 km4 minMilsons Point
T1
T9
North Sydney
(Weekday peak hour services only)
NSY4.8 km3 minNorth Sydney, Lavender Bay, Neutral Bay, Cammeray
T1
T9
Waverton
(Weekday peak hour services only)
WVT6.1 km2 minWaverton
T1
T9
Wollstonecraft
(Weekday peak hour services only)
WSC7.2 km2 minWollstonecraft
T1
T9
St Leonards
(Weekday peak hour services only)
SNL8.4 km3 minSt Leonards, Crows Nest
T1
T9
Artarmon
(Weekday peak hour services only)
ATO10.3 km3 minArtarmon, Lane Cove, Willoughby
T1
T9
Chatswood
(Weekday peak hour services only)
CWD11.7 km4 minChatswood
T1
T9

M1
Gordon
(Weekday peak hour services only)
GDO17.1 km10 minGordon
T1
T9
Epping/Gordon – Berowra (Suburban section)
Hornsby HBY33.9 km11 min (Epping) 15 min (Gordon) Main North/North Shore Hornsby
T1
T9

TfNSW C.svg
North Coast
North Western
Asquith
(Limited services only)
ASQ35.7 km3 minAsquith
T1
Mount Colah
(Limited services only)
MOC37.7 km3 minMount Colah
T1
Mount Kuring-gai
(Limited services only)
MKI40.7 km3 minMount Kuring-gai
T1
Berowra BEW44.7 km4 minBerowra, Berowra Heights, Berowra Waters
T1
Berowra – Broadmeadow
Cowan CWN48.8 km5 min Main North Cowan
Hawkesbury River HKR57.4 km9 minBrooklyn
Wondabyne
(Request stop only)
WDP65.2 km8 minWondabyne
Woy Woy WOY72.6 km6 minWoy Woy, Woy Woy Bay, Umina Beach, Ettalong Beach
Koolewong KWG74.3 km3 minKoolewong
Tascott TSC76.9 km2 minTascott
Point Clare PCL78.1 km2 minPoint Clare
Gosford GOS80.9 km5 minGosford TfNSW C.svg
North Coast
North Western
Narara NRR84.6 km6 minNarara
Niagara Park PBN86.2 km2 minNiagara Park
Lisarow LRW87.7 km2 minLisarow
Ourimbah OUR90.6 km3 minOurimbah
Tuggerah KGG98.5 km6 minTuggerah, Mardi, Chittaway Point, Kangy Angy
Wyong WYG101.1 km3 minWyong, Watanobbi TfNSW C.svg
North Coast
North Western
Warnervale WNV105.9 km4 minWarnervale, Woongarrah, Hamlyn Terrace
Wyee WYE114.9 km7 minWyee
Morisset MOI123.3 km7 minMorisset
Dora Creek DRK127.2 km4 minDora Creek, Myuna Bay, Eraring
Awaba AWB137.3 km9 minAwaba
Fassifern FSN142.3 km5 minFassifern, Blackalls Park, Fennell Bay TfNSW C.svg
North Coast
North Western
Booragul BGL146.4 km3 minBooragul, Marmong Point
Teralba TBR147.6 km2 minTeralba
Cockle Creek CCK150.6 km3 minBoolaroo, Argenton
Cardiff CDF155.1 km5 minCardiff, Cardiff Heights, Glendale
Kotara KRZ158.9 km4 minKotara, Kotara South
Adamstown ADT161.1 km3 minAdamstown, New Lambton
Broadmeadow BMD162.9 km3 minBroadmeadow TfNSW C.svg
North Coast
North Western
Broadmeadow – Newcastle Interchange (Newcastle Branch)
Hamilton HAM164.6 km4 min Newcastle Hamilton, Islington
HUN
Newcastle Interchange NWI165.6 km5 minNewcastle, Wickham
HUN

NLR
  1. The time taken for a train to reach the station from the previous stop. Based on the current Central Coast & Newcastle Line timetable, effective 20 October 2013. [11]

Upgrades

Completed

The line was electrified to Gosford in January 1960, Wyong in April 1982 [12] and Newcastle in June 1984. [13]

As part of the Northern Sydney Freight Corridor project the following projects were completed: [14] The projects were: [15] [16]

ProjectDescriptionStart dateCompletion date
North Strathfield underpassGrade separation for southbound freight trains heading to Flemington2013June 2015
Epping to Pennant Hills third trackThird track for northbound trains climbing 1 in 40 grades2013Mid-2016
Gosford passing loopsOne passing loop in each direction to allow fast trains to overtake slower trains2013April 2015

Proposed

Glendale station

A railway station is proposed to be constructed in Glendale as part of the Lake Macquarie Transport Interchange project. The station will be located between Cockle Creek and Cardiff railway station and will have connections to buses. An extension of Glendale Drive leading to the proposed station has been built and completed in June 2017. However, construction of the station has not commenced.[ citation needed ]

New Warnervale station

A new station is proposed for Warnervale. [17] [18] The draft Central Coast Transportation Strategy stated that construction of the new railway station was to be completed by 2016. [19] In October 2014 there were some differences between Wyong Council and the State Government over how a strategic piece of land should be developed at Warnervale. [20]

Patronage

The following table shows the patronage of each line of the NSW TrainLink Intercity network for the year ending 30 June 2024, based on Opal tap on and tap off data. [21]

2023–24 NSW TrainLink Intercity patronage by line
7,152,563
13,189,811
803,606
7,132,670
755,919

See also

References

  1. "Central Coast & Newcastle line timetable". Transport for NSW.
  2. Some Steam Trains of New South Wales in Retrospect: Trains to Newcastle and the Short North, Covell, Charles Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, October 2000 pp369-386
  3. "Electric Locos" Railway Digest June 1998 page 35
  4. Owen, Brodie (15 October 2017). "All stops to Wickham: transport interchange opens". Newcastle Herald. Archived from the original on 16 October 2017. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  5. "Light rail construction". Archived from the original on 3 October 2017. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  6. Light rail in Newcastle opening from Monday 18 February Archived 4 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine Transport for NSW 3 February 2019
  7. Hohne, Josh (27 June 2025). "End of the line for Sydney's iconic V-set trains". www.9news.com.au. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  8. Minister for the Central Coast; Minister for the Hunter; Minister for Regional Transport and Roads; Minister for Transport (3 December 2024). "New Mariyung fleet welcomes first passengers onboard" (Ministerial media release). NSW Government. Archived from the original on 2 June 2025. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  9. Segaert, Anthony (3 December 2024). "Five years and $4 billion later, the verdict on our new intercity trains". The Sydney Morning Herald . Archived from the original on 3 December 2024. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  10. Bozier, Rolfe. "New South Wales Railways: NSW Station Codes". Archived from the original on 13 June 2002. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  11. Railway Sign Official Opening Gosford - Wyong Electrification 3 April 1982 Archived 27 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine Powerhouse Museum Collection
  12. "The Official Opening of Newcastle Rail Electrification" Railway Digest July 1984 page 218
  13. Northern Sydney Freight Corridor Locked In Archived 10 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine Minister for Infrastructure & Transport 7 December 2011
  14. "Sydney's mega rail upgrade gets green light". The Construction Index. 7 December 2011. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  15. Industry Briefing Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine Transport for NSW 24 January 2012
  16. A new Central Coast Regional Growth and Infrastructure Plan Archived 27 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine New South Wales Planning & Environment Retrieved 27 December 2014
  17. Warnervale Town Centre Development Control Plan 2012 Archived 30 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine New South Wales Planning & Environment
  18. Warnervale Town Centre Archived 27 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine Wyong Shire Council 19 February 2014
  19. NSW Government and Wyong Council in row over plans for key Warnervale land Archived 30 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine Daily Telegraph
  20. "Train Patronage – Monthly Figures". Transport for NSW. Retrieved 30 October 2024.

Further reading