List of urban rail systems in Australia

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Urban rail transport forms a vital part of transportation in major Australian cities.

Contents

Definitions

The Commonwealth government Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics and industry peak body Australasian Railway Association, who jointly publish the Trainline statistical report categorise Australian passenger systems as "urban" or "non-urban". [1]

Urban networks are further classified as "light rail" or "heavy rail". [1] Light rail in Australia includes established tram networks in Melbourne and Adelaide continuously operating in various forms since the 19th century, as well as networks in other cities newly constructed after the cessation of tram operation. Heavy rail networks primarily describe passenger operations over parts of mixed-traffic rail systems centred on capital cities and also includes the Sydney Metro system, which operates on its own dedicated corridor.

Non-urban passenger networks are classified according to their passenger task. "Inter-city" or "regional" networks are defined to be those whose primary market "...include[s] daily commuting or day return business or leisure travel" to major cities and are therefore included in this article. Other markets, such as long-distance operations between cities and regional centres, tourist-focused and heritage services, are excluded from this list. [1]

Urban rail systems

Average daily patronage, where possible, is taken from the last calendar or financial year. System lengths are given in route kilometres. The largest, most extensive urban (as distinct from interurban) system is found in Melbourne, while the system with the highest patronage is found in Sydney. Patronage figures are for 2018–19 unless otherwise stated.

Primary CitySystemOther cities servedTypeAverage daily boardingsLinesStations/ stopsLengthAverage daily boardings/km
Sydney Sydney Trains Heavy rail1,033,150 [2] 9 [3] 161355.5 km [4] 2,799/km
Sydney Metro Rapid transit74,000 (2023) [5] 12152 km2,055/km
Sydney Light Rail Light rail86,444 (2023) [6] 34224.7 km3,500/km
NSW TrainLink (commuter services) Newcastle, Wollongong, Scone, Dungog, Goulburn, Bathurst, Nowra (Bomaderry) Heavy rail112,300 [7] 5156977 km114/km
Newcastle Newcastle Light Rail Light rail3,400 (2019) [8] 162.7 km1,259/km
Melbourne Metro Trains Melbourne Heavy rail660,300 [9] 17219405 km1,645/km
Yarra Trams Tram493,292 (2023) [10] 241,763250 km1,973/km
V/Line (commuter services) Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Seymour, Latrobe Valley Heavy rail57,500 [11] 566610 km94/km
Perth Transperth Mandurah Heavy rail168,600 [12] 675187 km936/km
Brisbane Queensland Rail Citytrain Gold Coast, Ipswich, Sunshine Coast Heavy rail150,000 [13] 13152689 km206/km
Gold Coast G:link Light rail11920 km
Adelaide Adelaide Metro Heavy rail42,880 [14] 681126 km340/km
Glenelg trams Tram33315 km
Canberra Canberra Light Rail Light rail11412 km

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Light rail in Sydney</span> Light rail system in New South Wales, Australia

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References

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  2. "Sydney Trains Annual Report 2018-19" (PDF). Transport NSW. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  3. Sydney Trains Network Map Archived 14 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine Transport NSW
  4. Train Statistics 2014 Archived 28 February 2020 at the Wayback Machine Transport for NSW page 6
  5. NSW, Transport for (4 December 2023). "Metro Patronage Monthly Comparison". Archived from the original on 2 September 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
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