Northern railway line, Sydney - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Northern Line is part of the metropolitan rail network in Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

known as CityRail

CityRail

CityRail is an operating brand of RailCorp, a corporation owned by the state government of New South Wales, Australia. It is responsible for providing commuter rail services, and some coach services, in and around Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong, the three largest cities of New South Wales. It is...

. It serves the northern suburbs of Sydney and the Lower North Shore, along with parts of the Inner West and the Hills District

Hills District (Sydney)

Hills District or The Hills is a general term for the north-western suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Hills District is also referred to as The Sydney Hills and The Hills Shire...

. The line utilises the Epping to Chatswood Line and parts of the Main Northern Line

Main North railway line, New South Wales

The Main North Line is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs through the Central Coast, Hunter and the New England regions. The line was the original main line between Sydney and Brisbane, however this required a change of gauge at Wallangarra...

, North Shore Line and Main Suburban Line. It is denoted as red on CityRail network maps and other publicity. Cityrail initially promised the Northern Line would be fully air-conditioned in the October 2009 timetable changes because the older non-air-conditioned trains were too noisy to run on the Epping-Chatswood rail link. However, Railcorp took remedial soundproofing works on the underground rail link in 2010 and this has meant that L, R and S sets are now allowed on the line.

Line description

The line begins at Hornsby - a junction station with the North Shore Line. The line heads south to Epping using the Main Northern Line. At Epping the line heads underground to the Macquarie employment centre and Chatswood via the Epping to Chatswood Line. The line surfaces at Chatswood and joins the North Shore Line for the run south towards the City. Trains pass through North Sydney station before heading across the Harbour Bridge and through the underground stations of Wynyard and Town Hall, and the surface stations of Central and Redfern. Services then run along the Main Suburban Railway, usually using the middle 'Suburban' pair of the six tracks between Redfern and Strathfield. Services generally do not stop at intermediate stations between Redfern and Burwood. At Strathfield, trains usually head onto a flyover over the 'Main lines', before heading north back on the Main Northern Line, crossing the Parramatta River

Parramatta River

The Parramatta River is a waterway in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour, a branch of Port Jackson, along with the smaller Lane Cove and Duck Rivers....

between Rhodes and Meadowbank, and terminating at Epping's surface platforms. At Epping trains reverse and complete the route in the opposite direction.

History

The traditional Northern Line was the suburban portion of the Main Northern Line which opened in as a single track line 1886. In 1892, the line was duplicated to Hornsby, and electrified in 1926 as part of the Bradfield electrification scheme. In 1932 the line was connected to the City underground. In 2009 the line was replaced by its current route. In the years prior to the 2009 revamp, Tangaras (T/G sets), R/S sets (includes 6 cars only) operated on the Strathfield-Hornsby section of the Northern Line.

Line information

The service frequency for the Northern Line between Hornsby and the City via the Epping to Chatswood Line:

Monday to Friday AM Peak and Morning: 4 to 6 services per hour
Monday to Friday Afternoon up to 3pm: 4 services per hour (2 services per hour will terminate at Chatswood)
Monday to Friday PM Peak and Evening: 4 to 6 services per hour
Saturday and Sunday: 4 services per hour (2 services per hour will terminate at Chatswood)

For the section of Northern Line between Epping and City via Strathfield, the following service frequency applies:

Monday to Friday AM Peak and Morning: 4 services per hour
Monday to Friday Afternoon up to 1.30 pm from Hornsby/Epping: 2 services per hour
Monday to Friday PM Peak and Evening: 4 services per hour
Saturday and Sunday: 2 services per hour

During peak hour some trains may follow the old route (i.e. Hornsby to North Sydney) via Strathfield and the City and vice-versa.

Stations

Northern Line
Name of Station	Code	Distance from Central	Opened	MyMulti Zone	Serving Suburbs	Pattern stops at this station	Connections
Hornsby	HBY	35.3 km	1886	Two	Hornsby, Waitara
Normanhurst	NMH	33.1 km	1895	Two	Normanhurst
Thornleigh	THL	30.8 km	1886	Two	Thornleigh, Westleigh
Pennant Hills	PLL	30 km	1886	Two	Pennant Hills, Cherrybrook
Beecroft	BCF	28.3 km	1886	Two	Beecroft
Cheltenham Cheltenham railway station, Sydney -Accessibility:The station has street access to both platforms, connected by a road overbridge, giving it de facto Easy Access for wheelchairs, except for the problem of the gap and step between train and platform, the platforms being on a curve....	CHT	26.8 km	1898	Two	Cheltenham
Epping Epping railway station, Sydney Epping railway station is on the Northern Line of the CityRail network in Sydney, Australia. It serves the suburb of Epping, a significant commercial and residential area. Epping is a significant interchange station and is the western terminus of the Epping to Chatswood Line... (Underground)	EPG	24.8 km	1886	Two	Epping, North Epping, Marsfield		Lower
Macquarie University	MCU	20.9 km	2009	Two	Macquarie University, Marsfield
Macquarie Park	MQP	19.6 km	2009	Two	Macquarie Park
North Ryde	NRQ	18.2 km	2009	Two	North Ryde
Chatswood	CWD	11.7 km	1890	One	Chatswood
Artarmon	ATO	10.3 km	1898	One	Artarmon, Willoughby
St Leonards	STL	8.4 km	1890	One	St Leonards, Gore Hill, Narenburn
Wollstonecraft (peak hours only)	WSC	7.2 km	1893	One	Wollstonecraft, Greenwich
Waverton Waverton railway station, Sydney -Transport links:Sydney Buses runs one route via Waverton railway station:Route 265 - weekdays and Saturday services - north to Lane Cove via Wollstonecraft station, Crows Nest, St Leonards, Greenwich, Osborne Park, south to McMahons Point via North Sydney.NightRide route N90 serves... (peak hours only)*	WVT	6.1 km	1893	One	Waverton
North Sydney	NSY	5.1 km	1932	One	North Sydney
Milsons Point	MPT	4.4 km	1932	One	Milsons Point, Kirribilli
Wynyard Wynyard railway station, Sydney Wynyard is a major underground CityRail station in the central business district of Sydney, Australia, 2.05 km from Central. Wynyard averages 108000 passenger movements per day Monday to Friday.-History:The station opened on 28 February 1932...	WYN	2.1 km	1932	One	Sydney CBD, The Rocks, Millers Point
Town Hall	THL	1.2 km	1932	One	Sydney CBD, Darling Harbour		(peak hours only)
Central Central railway station, Sydney Central Railway Station, the largest railway station in Australia, is at the southern end of the Sydney CBD. It services almost all the lines on the CityRail network, and is the major terminus for interurban and interstate rail services...	CEN	0 km	1855	One	Central, Strawberry Hills, Ultimo, Surrey Hills		(peak hours only)
Redfern	RDF	1.3 km	1878	One	Redfern, Waterloo, Darlington, The University of Sydney		* * * * *peak hours only
Burwood Burwood railway station, Sydney Burwood is a major station on the main suburban line in the suburb of Burwood in Sydney. The station is located on Burwood Road, close to major shops and schools, and consists of platforms on all six of the tracks through the station. The concourse is situated below the platforms with access to...	BUW	10.6 km	1855	Two	Burwood
Strathfield	SFD	11.8 km	1876	Two	Strathfield
North Strathfield	NST	13.4 km	1918	Two	North Strathfield, Concord West, Concord
Concord West	CCW	14.5 km	1887	Two	Concord West, Liberty Grove, Concord, Homebush Bay/Olympic Park
Rhodes	RHS	16.6 km	1886	Two	Rhodes, Rhodes Waterside, Liberty Grove
Meadowbank	MEB	18.2 km	1887	Two	Meadowbank, Shepherd's Bay, Putney, Melrose Park
West Ryde	WSR	19.2 km	1886	Two	West Ryde, Ryde
Denistone	DST	20.2 km	1937	Two	Denistone
Eastwood	EAW	21.4 km	1886	Two	Eastwood, Marsfield
Epping Epping railway station, Sydney Epping railway station is on the Northern Line of the CityRail network in Sydney, Australia. It serves the suburb of Epping, a significant commercial and residential area. Epping is a significant interchange station and is the western terminus of the Epping to Chatswood Line... (Aboveground)	EPG	23.4 km	1886	Two	Epping, North Epping, Marsfield		Upper to Chatswood

Stopping patterns

Pattern 1: Hornsby, all stations to Epping, Macquarie University, Macquarie Park, North Ryde, Chatswood, all stations to Central, Redfern, Burwood, Strathfield, all stations to Epping. (peak hours only)
Pattern 2: Hornsby, all stations to Epping, Macquarie University, Macquarie Park, North Ryde, Chatswood, Artarmon, St Leonards, North Sydney, all stations to Central, Redfern, Burwood, Strathfield, all stations to Epping. (off-peak hours and weekends)
Pattern 3: Hornsby, all stations to Epping, Macquarie University, Macquarie Park, North Ryde, Chatswood. (off-peak hours and weekends)

External links

Neety's Train Page - information on suburban stations.
New South Wales Railways - historical information on suburban stations.
Cityrail - current timetable.
Australian Railmaps - information & maps of train services & stopping patterns.
Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation project website

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.