 | |
| Statutory Authority overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1 July 1980 |
| Preceding Statutory Authority | |
| Dissolved | 31 December 2003 |
| Superseding agency | |
| Jurisdiction | New South Wales |
| Headquarters | Sydney |
| Statutory Authority executive |
|
| Key document | |
The State Rail Authority, a former statutory authority of the Government of New South Wales, operated and maintained railways in the Australian state of New South Wales from July 1980 until December 2003.
The Transport Authorities Act 1980 separated the functions of the Public Transport Commission (formerly responsible for all public transport) and established the State Rail Authority. The State Rail Authority assumed responsibility for trains, while the Urban Transit Authority responsibility for buses and ferries. [1] [2]
In July 1982 a new colour scheme developed by Phil Belbin of red, yellow, orange and white was unveiled, which was commonly referred to as the "candy colours". [3] The L7 logo used by the Public Transport Commission was retained, albeit with the dark and light blue replaced with red and orange. Around this time, they also gave playing cards and soap to passengers.[ citation needed ]
During its tenure the State Rail Authority completed a number of electrification projects:
The State Rail Authority introduced new 80 Class, 81 Class and 86 Class locomotives used on both freight and country passenger services, K set, C set, Tangara, Millennium and V set double deck electric passenger trains and the XPT. It also placed an order for the 82 Class and 90 Class locomotives that were delivered to FreightRail in 1994. A fleet of Denning and Scania coaches was purchased to replace withdrawn country rail services. [9]
| Name | Image | Build Year | Withdrawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 42 Class |  | 1955/1956 | 1983 |
| 421 Class |  | 1965/1966 | 1986 |
| 422 Class | 1969/1970 | n/a | |
| 44 Class |  | 1957/1967 | 1997 |
| 442 Class |  | 1970/1973 | 1994 |
| 45 Class | 1962/1964 | 1994 | |
| 47 Class |  | 1972/1973 | 1989 |
| 48 Class |  | 1959/1970 | n/a |
| 49 Class |  | 1960/1964 | 1995, later 1997 |
| 70 Class | 1960/1961 | 1986 | |
| 73 Class |  | 1970/1973 | 1987/1990 |
| 80 Class | 1979/1983 | 2003 | |
| X100 Class |  | 1962 | 1992 |
| 46 Class | 1956/1968 | 1996 | |
| 85 Class | 1979/1980 | 1998 | |
| CPH | 1923 | 1985 | |
| BPH | 1934 | 1983 | |
| Silver City Comet |  | 1937 | 1989 |
| FP |  | 1967 | 1986 |
| 400/500 Class | 1938 | 1983 | |
| 600/700 Class | 1949/1950 | 1994 | |
| 620/720 Class | 1961 | 2007 | |
| 660/760 Class | 1973 | 1994 | |
| DEB Set |  | 1951/1960 | 1994 |
| 1110 Class | 1961 | 1993 | |
| 1200 Class | 1970 | 1993 | |
| Standard Suburban Stock |  | 1925/1926 | 1992 |
| Tulloch Single Deck Stock | 1950 | 1992 | |
| Sputnik Stock | 1957 | 1993 | |
| U Set "U Boat" |  | 1958 | 1996 |
| Tulloch Double Deck Stock |  | 1964 | 1980/2004 |
| V Sets |  | 1970 | n/a, proposed 2023 |
| S Sets | 1972 | 2019 |
| Name | Image | Build Year | Withdrawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| S Type | 1935 | 1989 | |
| N Type | 1939 | late 1980s | |
| HUB Type |  | 1948 | 1994, later 2000 |
| RUB Type | 1949 | 1994, later 2000 | |
| Stainless Type | 1961 | 1993 |
| Name | Image | Build Year | Withdrawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 81 Class | 1982/1986 | n/a | |
| XPT | 1982 | n/a, proposed 2023 | |
| K Set |  | 1981 | n/a, proposed 2024 |
| C Set | 1986 | 2021 | |
| T Set "Tangara" |  | 1988 | n/a |
| 86 Class | 1983/1985 | 2002 |
| Name | Image | Build Year | Withdrawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 82 Class |  | 1994/1995 | n/a |
| 90 Class | 1994 | n/a | |
| PL Class | 1999/2001 | n/a | |
| Xplorer |  | 1993 | n/a, proposed 2023 |
| Endeavour |  | 1992 | n/a, proposed 2023 |
| G Set |  | 1994 | converted to T sets in 2010 |
| M Set |  | 2002/2005 | n/a |
Following the election of the Greiner State Government in March 1988, consultants Booz Allen Hamilton were commissioned to prepare a report into NSW rail services. In November 1988, before the report was complete, the North Coast Overnight Express to Grafton, the Northern Mail to Moree and Tenterfield, the Bathurst day train, the Western Mail to Dubbo and the Canberra Monaro Express to Cooma all ceased. [10]
After receiving the Booz Allen Hamilton report, the government released its response in July 1989 under the title CountryLink 2000. It was announced the number of staff employed on country rail operations would fall from 18,000 to 10,000, including the withdrawal of staff from 94 country railway stations and the Nyngan – Bourke, Queanbeyan – Cooma and Glen Innes – Wallangarra lines would close.
Several country passenger services ceased over the next few years including the Silver City Comet , Northern Tablelands Express , Canberra XPT , Brisbane Limited , Pacific Coast Motorail , South Coast Daylight Express , Intercapital Daylight and Sydney/Melbourne Express. These were replaced either by XPT sets, EMU/DMU sets or coaches. Coach services which had been operated by the State Rail Authority's own fleet were contracted out to private operators. The report had recommended closing all country passenger services as they were judged unviable, however this was not politically acceptable. [11] [12]
The State Rail Authority was divided into business units:
CityRail adopted a blue and yellow colour scheme including L7 logo, CountryLink a blue, white and grey scheme and FreightRail a blue and yellow scheme.
On 1 July 1996, the State Rail Authority was restructured into four distinct entities by the Transport Administration Amendment (Rail Corporatisation and Restructuring) Act 1996 [13] [14] to separate infrastructure from operations as required by the Competition Policy Reform Act 1995. [15] [16] [17] This was part of the process of moving to an open access regime.
The entities were: [14]
Another restructure in February 1998 saw the State Rail Authority split into four operating divisions: [14] [18]
In January 2001, the Rail Access Corporation and Railway Services Authority were merged into the Rail Infrastructure Corporation that took responsibility for ownership and maintenance of the infrastructure. [19] [20]
In January 2004, after much criticism and public perceptions of blame shifting between units for operational failings, RailCorp was formed taking over the passenger train operations from the residual State Rail Authority (CityRail and CountryLink) and responsibility for maintaining the greater metropolitan network from the Rail Infrastructure Corporation. [21] [22]
By June 2006 much of the operational function had been transferred, with the State Rail Authority in the process of being wound down. [23]
From September 1981 until June 1989, State Wide was the SRA's inhouse journal. [24]
CityRail was a passenger railway brand operated by the State Rail Authority from 1989 to 2003 and by RailCorp from 2003 to 2013 with services in and around Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong, the three largest cities in New South Wales, Australia. It was established in January 1989 and abolished in June 2013 when it was superseded by Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink.
CountryLink was a passenger rail and road service brand that operated in regional areas of New South Wales, and to and from Canberra, Brisbane and Melbourne. Originally created as a business unit of the State Rail Authority of New South Wales, it later became a subsidiary of RailCorp. CountryLink operated rail services using XPT and Xplorer rolling stock, with connecting coach services operated under contract by private operators.
Rail transport in Australia is a component of the Australian transport system. It is to a large extent state-based, as each state largely has its own operations, with the interstate network being developed ever since Australia's federation in 1901. As of 2022, the Australian rail network consists of a total of 32,929 kilometres (20,461 mi) of track built to three major track gauges: 18,007 kilometres (11,189 mi) of standard gauge, 2,685 kilometres (1,668 mi) of broad gauge, and 11,914 kilometres (7,403 mi) of narrow gauge lines. Additionally, about 1,400 kilometres (870 mi) of 610 mm / 2 ft gauge lines support the sugar-cane industry. 3,488 kilometres (2,167 mi), around 11 per cent of the Australian heavy railways network route-kilometres are electrified.
Rail Corporation New South Wales (RailCorp) was an agency of the State of New South Wales, Australia established under the Transport Administration Act 1988 in 2004. It was a division under the control of Transport for NSW since the latter's establishment in 2011. RailCorp was converted into a state-owned corporation and renamed Transport Asset Holding Entity (TAHE) on 1 July 2020.
The Main North Line is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs through Strathfield to Wallangarra. The line was the original main line between Sydney and Brisbane, however this required a change of gauge at Wallangarra. As of 1988, the line closed progressively north of Armidale with services gradually withdrawn till 2004, with the main route between Sydney and Brisbane now the North Coast line.
The Southern Sydney Freight Line (SSFL) is a freight only railway line in the south-western suburbs of Sydney, Australia. The line was built to segregate freight trains from the Sydney Trains network. It forms part of a dedicated freight only corridor between Port Botany and Macarthur. The line is managed by the Australian Rail Track Corporation.
The Central Coast & Newcastle Line (CCN) is a NSW TrainLink passenger train service that runs along the Main North railway line in New South Wales, connecting the state's two largest cities, Sydney and Newcastle. The service runs from Central through to Broadmeadow on the Main North railway line to Newcastle Interchange on the Newcastle railway line, and services the Hawkesbury River region, the Central Coast and the city of Newcastle.
Broadmeadow railway station is a major regional interchange located on the Main Northern Line. The station itself serves the Newcastle suburb of Broadmeadow. The station was first opened on 15 August 1887.
The North Coast Line is the primary rail route in the Mid North Coast and Northern Rivers regions of New South Wales, Australia, and forms a major part of the Sydney–Brisbane rail corridor.
The Sydney Freight Network is a network of dedicated railway lines for freight in Sydney, Australia, linking the state's rural and interstate rail network with the city's main yard at Enfield and Port Botany. Its primary components are the Southern Sydney Freight Line (SSFL) and a line from Sefton to Enfield and Port Botany. The Network has been managed by the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) since 2012. Prior to the completion of the SSFL, it was managed by RailCorp as the Metropolitan Freight Network.
Sydney, the largest city in Australia, has an extensive network of passenger and freight railways. The passenger system includes an extensive suburban railway network, operated by Sydney Trains, a metro network and a light rail network. A dedicated freight network also exists. Future expansion of the light rail network includes the Parramatta Light Rail. Existing light rail services are the Inner West Light Rail and the CBD & South East Light Rail.
The North East railway line is a railway line in Victoria, Australia. The line runs from Southern Cross railway station on the western edge of the Melbourne central business district to Albury railway station in the border settlement of Albury-Wodonga, serving the cities of Wangaratta and Seymour, and smaller towns in northeastern Victoria.
The railways of New South Wales, Australia, use a large variety of passenger and freight rolling stock. The first railway in Sydney was opened in 1855 between Sydney and Granville, now a suburb of Sydney but then a major agricultural centre. The railway formed the basis of the New South Wales Government Railways. Passenger and freight services were operated from the beginning. By 1880, there was a half hourly service to Homebush.
The Newcastle railway line is a branch railway line in the city of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. The line branches off the Main North line at Broadmeadow and travels in an easterly direction through the inner suburbs to Newcastle Interchange, with one intermediate station at Hamilton. Until its curtailment in December 2014, it extended to Newcastle station. NSW TrainLink operates electric passenger train services over this line as part of its Central Coast & Newcastle Line service, and diesel railcars to Maitland and beyond as part of the Hunter Line.
The New South Wales XPT is a class of diesel-powered passenger trains built by Comeng and ABB. Based on the British Rail-designed High Speed Train, each XPT set comprises two XP power cars in a push-pull configuration and, between them, between four and seven passenger carriages.
The Xplorer is a class of diesel multiple unit trains built by ABB. Initially entering service in October 1993 with CountryLink, the Xplorers are mechanically identical to the Endeavour railcars, though feature a higher level of passenger amenity. All 23 carriages were built in the Dandenong rolling stock factory. The Xplorers currently operate under NSW TrainLink, running on the regional Main North, Main Western and Main Southern lines throughout New South Wales.
High-speed rail in Australia has been under investigation since the early 1980s. Every Federal Government since this time has investigated the feasibility of constructing high-speed rail with speeds above 200 km/h, but to date nothing has ever gone beyond the detailed planning stage. The most commonly suggested route is between Australia's two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, which, as of 2023, is the world's sixth busiest air corridor. Various corridors have been proposed for a potential high-speed line. The distance between them is around 800 km (500 miles), which requires very high speeds to make trains competitive with air travel.
The 86 class is a class of electric locomotives built by Comeng, Granville for the State Rail Authority of New South Wales.
The Northern Sydney Freight Corridor (NSFC) was a project to improve access between Sydney and Newcastle for freight trains. Frequent passenger services operate on the Main Northern line between Strathfield and Broadmeadow. These passenger services take priority, meaning freight trains can be delayed and are subject to a curfew during peak hours. The Northern Sydney Freight Corridor aimed to reduce delays and increase capacity by providing additional train paths. The delivery of the NSFC projects was managed by Transport for NSW, with the exception of the Hexham freight loop which was delivered in June 2012 by the Australian Rail Track Corporation. The final stage was completed in June 2016.
Transport for NSW (TfNSW) is a New South Wales government transport and road agency established on 1 November 2011. The agency is a different entity to the New South Wales Department of Transport, a department of the New South Wales Government and the ultimate parent entity of Transport for NSW.
Media related to State Rail Authority of New South Wales at Wikimedia Commons
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
