Leppington & Inner West Line

Last updated

Leppington & Inner West Line
TfNSW T2.svg
A Set at Glenfield railway station, September 2017.jpg
Overview
Service type Commuter rail service
StatusOperational
Locale Sydney, New South Wales
Predecessor
  • South (1999–2013)
  • Airport, Inner West & South (2013–2017)
First service26 November 2017;7 years ago (2017-11-26)
Current operator(s) Sydney Trains
Route
Termini City Circle
Leppington
Parramatta
Stops37
Average journey time1h 29m (Leppington to Museum)

59m (Parramatta to Museum)

(Weekday offpeak times, journey times vary based on stopping pattern and time)
Line(s) used
On-board services
Disabled accessYes
Technical
Rolling stock K, T, M, A and B sets
Track gauge Standard gauge
Electrification 1,500 V DC from overhead catenary [1]
Track owner(s) Transport Asset Holding Entity
Timetable number(s)T2

The Leppington & Inner West Line (numbered T2, coloured light blue) is a commuter rail service operated by Sydney Trains, serving the inner west and south-western suburbs of Sydney, Australia. The service commences from the City Circle, heading west to Granville where the line branches; services either head northwest to Parramatta or south to Leppington. A third terminus at Homebush is also used when the part-time Parramatta branch is not operating.

Contents

In March 2025, the federal minister for infrastructure, transport, regional development and local government Catherine King announced that a business case for upgrading the T2 Leppington & Inner West Line would be developed. [2]

History

Creation in 2013

Following the 2011 state election, the newly elected O'Farrell government embarked on reform of transport in New South Wales, creating a new organisation, Transport for NSW, in November of that year. This was followed up with another government reform, which saw Sydney Trains take over operation of the Sydney suburban rail network from CityRail in July 2013. [3]

Transport for NSW developed a new rail timetable and branding, which was put into effect on 20 October 2013. [4] This saw three former CityRail services, the Airport & East Hills Line (Macarthur - City Circle via Sydney Airport or Sydenham), the Inner West Line (Liverpool or Bankstown - City Circle via Regents Park) and the South Line (Campbelltown - City Circle via Granville), merged to form the Airport, Inner West & South Line. A new numbering system was also introduced and the new line was given the number T2.

The 2013 timetable was designed to integrate the projects of the Rail Clearways Program, a 2004 plan to divide the network's fourteen metropolitan rail lines into five independent "clearways" by installing extra tracks, passing loops, turnouts and turnbacks at pinch points around the network, such as at Homebush and Lidcombe. [5] By 2013, the Rail Clearways Program was substantially complete. At the same time, the delivery of 78 new Waratah trains was almost complete as well. [6]

Leppington extension in 2015

A branch of the service along the South West railway line to Leppington commenced operating on 13 December 2015, following the new rail link's completion earlier that year. T2 services replaced an earlier temporary shuttle service between Leppington and Liverpool. [7]

Split with T8 in 2017

A new Sydney Trains timetable was introduced on 26 November 2017, in which the original T2 services were split in two. Existing services from Leppington to the City Circle via Granville, alongside newly extended all stops services from Parramatta that had previously terminated at Homebush, were rebranded as the T2 Inner West & Leppington Line. [8] This reduced T2 was recoloured light blue, harkening back to CityRail's historical colour scheme for services along this route. [9]

Meanwhile, former T2 services from Macarthur to the City Circle via East Hills were rebranded as the T8 Airport & South Line, moving to a new number but keeping the original T2's green colour, again aligning with the former CityRail colour scheme for services via East Hills. [8] [10] Despite the separation in branding, the T2 and T8 remain operationally linked, with services from one generally through-running onto the other upon reaching the City Circle. [11]

Renaming in 2024

Timetabling changes in 2024 saw the name reordered to be T2 Leppington & Inner West Line. This coincided with the redesignation of T3 services as the Liverpool & Inner West Line, following their realignment to run alongside T2 services via Strathfield rather than via Bankstown as they had previously. [12]

Route

A route diagram of the T2 T2 Sydney Trains diagram.png
A route diagram of the T2

Services on the Inner West & Leppington Line commence by taking the City Circle (generally in an anti-clockwise direction) and then the Main Suburban railway line, on the local pair of tracks. At Homebush, trains on the "inner west" stopping pattern terminate. Services that proceed further west towards Parramatta to Leppington merge onto the suburban pair of tracks. At Granville, trains can take the Main Western line a short distance to Parramatta or the Old Main South railway line to a junction north of Cabramatta, then continuing onto the Main South railway line as far as Glenfield. At a junction south of Glenfield, services switch to the South West Rail Link to reach the terminus at Leppington. The following stations are served by T2 Inner West & Leppington Line trains:

Services

The line usually runs on two stopping patterns. The first stopping pattern runs to Leppington, making limited stops between Redfern and Homebush, with the specific stopping pattern depending on the time of day. West of Homebush all trains make all stops, except for Clyde, where trains do not stop on weekends. The second stopping pattern makes all stops between Redfern and Homebush, with many weekdays trains continuing to Parramatta, making all stops. These two patterns both run at 4tph (trains per hour) during the off-peak, with additional services during the peaks. Additionally, there are express trains between Ashfield and the city during the morning peak.

Leppington & Inner West Line
T2 interactive map
T2 stations
NameCodeDistance from
Central
[13] [14] [15] [16] [17]
Opened
[13] [14] [15] [16] [17]
Railway lineServing suburbsOther lines
City Circle Granville
Museum MUS4.99 km1926 City Circle Sydney CBD
T8
St James STJ4.4 km1926
Circular Quay CQY2.97 km1956Sydney CBD, The Rocks
Wynyard WYN2.05 km1932Sydney CBD, Barangaroo
T1
T3
T8
T9
Town Hall TWH1.18 km1932Sydney CBD
T1
T3
T4
T8
T9
Central CENn/a1906Sydney CBD, Chippendale,
Strawberry Hills, Ultimo, Surry Hills
T1
T3
T4
T8
T9
M1
Redfern REF1.30 km1906 Main Suburban Redfern, Waterloo
T1
T3
T4
T8
T9
Macdonaldtown MAC2.48 km1892Macdonaldtown
T3
Newtown NTN3.1 km1855Newtown
Stanmore SMN4.67 km1878Stanmore
Petersham PSM5.50 km1857Petersham
Lewisham LWI6.25 km1886Lewisham
Summer Hill SMH7.03 km1879Summer Hill
Ashfield AFD8.38 km1855Ashfield
Croydon CYD9.42 km1875Croydon
Burwood BWD10.62 km1855Burwood
T3
T9
Strathfield STR11.81 km1876Strathfield
T1
T3
T9
Homebush HSH12.74 km1855Homebush
T3
Flemington FMG14.32 km1924Homebush West
Lidcombe LDC16.61 km1858Lidcombe
T1
T3
T6
T7
Auburn AUB18.63 km1877Auburn
T1
Clyde

(weekdays only)

CYE20.66 km1882Clyde
Granville GAV21.22 km1860Granville
Granville Parramatta
Harris Park

(weekdays only)

HPK22.53 kmc. 1800s Main Western Harris Park
T1
T5
Parramatta

(weekdays only)

PAR23.21 km1860Parramatta
T1
T5
Granville Leppington
Merrylands MLN23.47 km1889Old Main SouthMerrylands
T5
Guildford GUD25.72 km1876Guildford
Yennora YNN27.44 km1927Yennora
Fairfield FFL29 km1856Fairfield
Canley Vale CVE30.98 km1878Canley Vale
Cabramatta CAB28.43 km1870 Main South Cabramatta
T3
T5
Warwick Farm WKF34.16 km1889Warwick Farm
Liverpool LPO38.68 km1856Liverpool
Casula CSL38.8 km1894Casula
T5
Glenfield GFD41.93 km1869Glenfield
T5
T8
Edmondson Park EDP45.4 km2015 South West Edmondson Park
T5
Leppington LEP51.1 kmLeppington

Patronage

The following table shows the patronage of Sydney Trains network for the year ending 30 June 2024.

2023–24 Sydney Trains patronage by line [n.b. 1] [18]
T1
86,736,689
T2
47,048,199
T3
20,178,194 [n.b. 2]
T4
54,802,802
T5
8,028,853
T6
[n.b. 3]
T7
1,345,017
T8
37,691,564
T9
22,303,028
  1. Figures based on Opal tap on and tap off data
  2. T3 patronage from former route via Bankstown.
  3. T6 services commenced on 19 October 2024.

See also

References

  1. Asset Standards Authority (19 March 2014). RailCorp electrical system general description, version 1.0 (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 June 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  2. King, Catherine (23 March 2025). "Sydney's future rail and road connections to be mapped out for funding from Albanese Government" (Press release). Archived from the original on 24 March 2025. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  3. Saulwick, Jacob (1 July 2013). "All change as RailCorp is disbanded". Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  4. Transport for NSW. "October 2013 timetable changes". NSW Government . Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  5. Transport for NSW (15 August 2014). "Rail Clearways Program – completed projects". NSW Government. Archived from the original on 11 July 2015.
  6. Saulwick, Jacob (15 March 2013). "Commuters stuck with old trains on new rail link". Sydney Morning Herald . Archived from the original on 18 March 2013.
  7. Transport for NSW (15 October 2015). "South West Rail Link: Soon to head North and East, with more services". NSW Government. Archived from the original on 19 November 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  8. 1 2 Transport for NSW. "Changes to Sydney's train network" (PDF). NSW Government. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  9. Rail Corporation New South Wales. "CityRail network" (PDF). NSW Government. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 May 2013.
  10. Transport for NSW (27 February 2017). "More Trains, More Services for South Western Sydney" (PDF). NSW Government. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 February 2017.
  11. "T2: Inner West & Leppington line timetable". Transport for NSW.
  12. Transport for NSW (14 October 2024). "2024 timetable changes". transportnsw.info. NSW Government . Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  13. 1 2 "City Circle". NSW Rail.net. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  14. 1 2 "Airport line". NSW Rail.net. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  15. 1 2 "East Hills line". NSW Rail.net. Archived from the original on 10 August 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  16. 1 2 "Main South line". NSW Rail.net. Archived from the original on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  17. 1 2 "South West Rail Link". NSW Rail.net. Archived from the original on 3 March 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  18. "Train Patronage – Monthly Figures". Transport for NSW. Retrieved 30 October 2024.