Rail transport in New South Wales
The Australian
Organisation
During the 20th century, the railways have always been run by a state-owned entity, which has undergone a number of different minor name changes, including the New South Wales Railways, New South Wales Government Railways, Department of Railways. From 1972, it was part of the Public Transport Commission and from 1980, the State Rail Authority. In 1989, the SRA was split into CityRail, CountryLink and FreightCorp, the latter business being sold in 2001 to Pacific National.
Three government entities currently have responsibility for the New South Wales railways. They are:
- Transport Asset Holding Entity – asset owner
- Sydney Trains – infrastructure operator, maintainer, and operator of suburban train services, and
- NSW TrainLink – operator of regional and intercity train service
Since 2003, the NSW interstate, Sydney metropolitan freight, Hunter Valley coal, and country branch line networks have been run by private operators. Until January 2012, these networks were all operated by the Australian Rail Track Corporation, however control of the Country Regional (branch line) Network moved to John Holland in January 2012. In January 2022, UGL commenced a 10 year contract to operate the Country Regional Network.[1]
History
New South Wales' railways date from 10 December 1831 when the
Many proposals for routing the proposed lines were put forth, researched, surveyed and reported on. Three main routes for the
The first public line was built from Sydney to Parramatta Junction (actually in
After two decisions to change the
The standard gauge connection from Albury to Melbourne was opened in 1962, completing the
Much of the construction of the Main Western, Main Southern, and Main North lines were completed under the supervision of John Whitton, considered the Father of New South Wales railways,[13] Engineer-in-Charge for the New South Wales Railways, serving between 1856 and 1899.
Construction of the shorter and single-gauge
Sydney suburban network
The first company to start rail transport in New South Wales was the
The original engineer appointed was
The Sydney Railway Company encountered many troubles: engineers came and went; real estate required became expensive and difficult to acquire; money, supplies and manpower ran short, partly because of a gold rush. Eventually the property of the Sydney Railway Company was transferred to the government of New South Wales on 3 September 1855.
The line opened on 26 September 1855,[18][19] from Sydney to Parramatta Junction (near Granville station), with stations at Newtown, Ashfield, Burwood and Homebush.[20] The Sydney terminal station was on the south side of Devonshire Street, just south of the current Central station. Although the vicinity was sometimes referred to as Redfern, it was not near the current Redfern station. This line is still the core line of the Sydney suburban rail system.
Sydney's suburban rail network further developed from main line railways constructed in the 19th century, together with branches built in the late 19th and early 20th century. The existing network was electrified from 1926 at
A branch line was built from Clyde to Camellia in 1888 and extended to Carlingford in 1896 by private companies. The line went bankrupt in 1896 and the Government purchased and reopened it in 1900. This line was Sydney Trains' Carlingford line which is closed and being converted to light rail.
Another branch was built from Lidcombe to Regents Park in 1912 and extended to join the Main Southern Line at Cabramatta in 1924, creating an alternative route to Liverpool.
Main Southern line
An extension of the line from Parramatta Junction to Liverpool was opened on the first anniversary of the Sydney–Parramatta line – 26 September 1856. It was extended to Campbelltown in 1858, Picton in 1863, Mittagong in 1867, Marulan in 1868, Goulburn in 1869, Yass Junction in 1876, Binalong in November 1876, Galong, Harden- Murrumburrah and Cootamundra in 1877, Junee in 1878, Wagga Wagga in 1879, Uranquinty, The Rock and Henty in 1880 and Albury in 1881.
Victorian Railways broad gauge line from Wodonga was extended to Albury station in 1883. The standard gauge connection from Albury to Melbourne was completed in 1962. A branch line was opened from Goulburn to Queanbeyan (1885) and Cooma (1887) and an 8 km (5 mi) line from Queanbeyan completed the connection to Canberra in 1914.
Main Western line
The Main Western line was extended from Granville to the current Parramatta station and Blacktown in 1860 and Penrith in 1863. It was built over the difficult topography of the Blue Mountains by using zig zag railways at Lapstone (opened in 1867) and Lithgow (opened in 1869). Both of these sections were replaced by deviations, using tunnels by 1913. The line was extended to Bathurst (1876), Orange (1877), Dubbo (1881), and Bourke (1885).
Broken Hill line
A section of the current main line from Sydney to
At
. The final missing link between Trida and Broken Hill was completed in 1927. In 1969 the Broken Hill – Port Pirie was standardised, completing the Sydney – Perth standard gauge link.Illawarra line
The Illawarra line was opened in stages progressively southward from Sydney starting in 1884 and reaching Wollongong in 1887 and Bomaderry, near Nowra in 1893. A branch line was built from Sydenham to Belmore in 1895, Bankstown in 1909 and Regents Park in 1928, which became part of the Bankstown Line of the Sydney Trains transport network.
Main North line
The first section of the Main North line was built in the Hunter Region by the New South Wales Government Railways in 1857. It was extended north to Wallangarra in various stages, reaching the Queensland border and connecting with Queensland Railway's Southern line to Brisbane at a break-of-gauge in 1888. The final section between Strathfield and Newcastle was completed by the opening of the Hawkesbury River railway bridge in 1889.
North Coast line
The North Coast railway line was built between 1905 and 1932, and when completed, bypassed the Main North line and provided a quicker route up the eastern seaboard. The first part of the North Coast line was built between
Private railways
A number of private lines were built to connect the South Maitland coalfields (discovered in 1886) with the Great Northern Railway at East Greta Junction near Maitland. By 1918 most of these had been merged into the South Maitland Railway.
A narrow gauge railway was built by South Australian Railways from Port Pirie to Broken Hill, in 1888 to serve its silver and lead mine, which was becoming the largest and richest of its kind in the world. Since the New South Wales Government would not allow the South Australia Railways to cross the border, the last 30 km (19 mi) was built by a private company as a tramway, the Silverton Tramway from Cockburn to Broken Hill. In 1970 the line was replaced by a standard gauge South Australia government line, completing the standard transcontinental gauge line from Sydney to Perth.
The Byron Bay Train is a passenger service in Byron Bay using a 620 class railcar converted for solar operation.
A number of other private railways have been built in New South Wales to serve coal mines, steel works, notably the Port Kembla steel works, formerly operated by BHP (now BlueScope) and quarries, especially in the first half of the 20th century.
Though both networks are publicly owned, services on Sydney's light rail network are operated by Transdev and Sydney Metro services are operated by Metro Trains Sydney.
Foreign railways
Because parts of New South Wales are closer to adjacent states than the state owned railway, foreign lines of different gauges have extended short distances into New South Wales.
These include:
- Silverton Tramway from South Australia to Broken Hill via Silverton – 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge
- Tweed Heads – 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge. This line operated from 1903 to 1961 when the Qld Government closed the line[22]
- Several hundred metres of 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge from the break-of-gauge station at Wallangarra, Queensland into yards in Jennings, NSW which remains in place
The
The final stage was in 1917 when the Border Railway Commission (made up be representatives of both states) recommended favourably on the construction of four additional Victorian lines into New South Wales, culminating in the
See also
- History of rail transport in Australia
- John Whitton (1820–1898), the engineer-in-charge for the New South Wales Government Railways, serving between 1856 and 1899, considered the father of New South Wales Railways[25]
- Rail transport in Australia
- Railway accidents in New South Wales
References
- ^ "New deal underpins strong future for Country Regional Network". Transport for NSW. 12 February 2021. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
- ^ Webber, J & Wylie, R.F. (March 1968). "Colliery Railways of the Australian Agricultural Company in the Newcastle District". Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin: 53–63.
- ^ Campbell, D; Brougham, J & Caldwell, R. "Uncovering and understanding Australia's First Railway" (PDF). Australian Journal of Multi-disciplinary Engineering. 7 (2): 2–3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 June 2018.
- ^ "Mr. Woore's Report on the Proposed Railways in New South Wales". The Australian. 11 August 1846. p. 3. Retrieved 19 September 2021 – via Trove.
- Sydney Morning Herald. 26 January 1848. p. 2. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
- ^ The Department of Railways Research and Information Section (1966) Railway Quiz (Department of Railways) p6
- ^ "History of Rail in Australia". Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Communications. Archived from the original on 12 February 2020.
- ^ Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. Archived from the originalon 26 September 2008. Retrieved 29 March 2008.
- ^ "William Webster – the first railway engineer". The Iron Road www.warrenfahey.com. Archived from the original on 10 March 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2008.
- ^ "Main South Line". NSWrail.net. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2008.
- ^ "Main Western Line". NSWrail.net. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2008.
- ^ "North Coast Line". NSWrail.net. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2008.
- ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
- ^ "North Coast Line". NSWrail.net. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2008.
- ^ "Additional Crossing of the Clarence River – Feasibility Study Report" (PDF). Roads & Traffic Authority. February 2003. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 April 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2008.
- ^ "South Coast Line". NSWrail.net. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2008.
- Sydney Morning Herald. 4 July 1850. p. 2. Retrieved 19 September 2021 – via Trove.
- ^ Singleton, C C (September 1955). "The Centenary of the Sydney–Parramatta Railway". Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin: 109–131.
- Sydney Morning Herald. 27 September 1855. p. 4. Retrieved 19 September 2021 – via Trove.
- ^ "William Webster". The Iron Road. Archived from the original on 21 August 2006. Retrieved 26 April 2006.
- ^ "A History of Rail in South Australia". National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide. Archived from the original on 21 February 2008. Retrieved 5 March 2008.
- ^ Coolangatta and Tweed Heads Revisited Newland, John R. Australian Railway History, August, 2005 pp304-307
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics. "Private Railways". Year Book Australia, 1921. abs.gov.au. Archived from the original on 8 August 2008. Retrieved 20 July 2008.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-522-85134-2.
- ^ "Whitton Line". Improve Sydney Public Transport. Improve Sydney and Regional Railways. Archived from the original on 11 March 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
External links
- www.nswrail.net Dates of openings and closures of NSW railways