Central Coast & Newcastle Line

Central Coast & Newcastle Line
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	Central Coast Hunter (Newcastle)
Current operator(s)	Sydney Trains
Route
Termini	Sydney Central Newcastle Interchange
Stops	36
Distance travelled	165.60 km (102.90 mi)
Line(s) 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+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	1,500 V DC from overhead catenary
Track owner(s)	Transport Asset Manager of New South Wales
Timetable number(s)	CCN
Route map Sydney Trains intercity services Blue Mountains Central Coast & Newcastle Hunter South Coast Southern Highlands v t e

CCN Central Coast & Newcastle Line
Routemap design based on official Transport for NSW branding
km from Central 33.9 Hornsby 35.7 Asquith 37.7 Mount Colah 40.7 Mount Kuring-gai 44.7 Berowra 48.8 Cowan 57.4 Hawkesbury River 65.2 Wondabyne 72.6 Woy Woy 74.8 Koolewong 76.9 Tascott 78.1 Point Clare 80.9 Gosford 84.6 Narara 86.2 Niagara Park 87.7 Lisarow 90.6 Ourimbah 98.5 Tuggerah 101.1 Wyong 105.9 Warnervale 114.9 Wyee 123.3 Morisset 127.2 Dora Creek 137.3 Awaba 142.3 Fassifern 146.4 Booragul 147.6 Teralba 150.6 Cockle Creek 155.1 Cardiff 158.9 Kotara 161.1 Adamstown 162.9 Broadmeadow to Brisbane and Armidale 164.6 Hamilton 165.6 Newcastle Interchange
Legend
Station Interchange station   North Shore & Western Line   Northern Line   Metro North West & Bankstown Line HUN   Hunter Line   NSW TrainLink 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
This diagram: view talk edit

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.

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.

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

Oscar H sets

Mariyung D sets

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]} Peak hour services via Gordon on the North Shore Line also run on weekdays, 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.

Upgrades

Completed

The line was electrified to Gosford in January 1960, Wyong in April 1982 ^[10] and Newcastle in June 1984. ^[11]

As part of the Northern Sydney Freight Corridor project the following projects were completed: ^[12] The projects were: ^{[13] [14]}

Project	Description	Start date	Completion date
North Strathfield underpass	Grade separation for southbound freight trains heading to Flemington	2013	June 2015
Epping to Pennant Hills third track	Third track for northbound trains climbing 1 in 40 grades	2013	Mid-2016
Gosford passing loops	One passing loop in each direction to allow fast trains to overtake slower trains	2013	April 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. ^{[15] [16]} The draft Central Coast Transportation Strategy stated that construction of the new railway station was to be completed by 2016. ^[17] 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. ^[18]

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. ^[19]

2023–24 NSW TrainLink Intercity patronage by line

Blue Mountains Line	7,152,563
Central Coast & Newcastle Line	13,189,811
Hunter Line	803,606
South Coast Line	7,132,670
Southern Highlands Line	755,919

See also

• Main Northern Line – for details of history and construction.
• Newcastle railway line – for the branch line between Broadmeadow and Newcastle.
• Woy Woy Tunnel
• Hawkesbury River railway bridge

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. Railway Sign Official Opening Gosford - Wyong Electrification 3 April 1982 Archived 27 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine Powerhouse Museum Collection
11. "The Official Opening of Newcastle Rail Electrification" Railway Digest July 1984 page 218
12. Northern Sydney Freight Corridor Locked In Archived 10 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine Minister for Infrastructure & Transport 7 December 2011
13. "Sydney's mega rail upgrade gets green light". The Construction Index. 7 December 2011. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
14. Industry Briefing Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine Transport for NSW 24 January 2012
15. 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
16. Warnervale Town Centre Development Control Plan 2012 Archived 30 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine New South Wales Planning & Environment
17. Warnervale Town Centre Archived 27 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine Wyong Shire Council 19 February 2014
18. NSW Government and Wyong Council in row over plans for key Warnervale land Archived 30 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine Daily Telegraph
19. "Train Patronage – Monthly Figures". Transport for NSW. Retrieved 30 October 2024.

External links

• Map and timetable Transport for NSW

Further reading

• The Short North, Singleton C.C. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, May et seq, 1965