Western railway line, Sydney - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Western Line is part of the 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...

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...

, and is the suburban section of the Main West line

Main Western railway line, New South Wales

The Main Western Railway is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs through the Blue Mountains, Central West, North West Slopes and the Far West regions.- Description of route :...

which connects Sydney with the west of New South Wales. It connects the Sydney CBD to the employment centre of Parramatta and the outer western suburbs, terminating at Emu Plains at the foot of the Blue Mountains. The line physically continues over the mountains but this is known as the Blue Mountains Line. Passengers are able to travel beyond this into western New South Wales via CountryLink

CountryLink

CountryLink is the operator of passenger rail services in country New South Wales, Australia and into Queensland and Victoria. It is an operating brand of the Rail Corporation New South Wales, a government-owned entity...

as well as interstate to Adelaide, South Australia and Perth, Western Australia with the Indian Pacific. A north-westerly branch also operates to Richmond. Western Line trains are usually fed by the North Shore Line.

History

The Western Line opened to Penrith in 1863 as a double track branch from the junction with the Main South line

Main Southern railway line, New South Wales

The Main Southern Railway is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs through the Southern Highlands, Southern Tablelands, South West Slopes and the Riverina regions.- Description of route :...

at Granville. Electrification reached Parramatta in 1928 and Penrith in 1955. In 1980, quadruplication of the track between Blacktown and St Marys was completed.

The branch line from Blacktown to Windsor

Windsor, New South Wales

Windsor is a town in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Windsor is located in the local government area of the City of Hawkesbury. It sits on the Hawkesbury River, on the north-western outskirts of the Sydney metropolitan area. At the 2006 census, Windsor had a population of...

, Richmond

Richmond, New South Wales

Richmond is a town in New South Wales, north-west of Sydney, in the Local Government Area of the City of Hawkesbury. It is located at a latitude of 33° 35' 54" South and a longitude of 150°45' 04" east, 19 metres above sea level on the alluvial Hawkesbury River flats, at the foot of the Blue...

and the Hawkesbury River opened in 1864 (known locally as the Richmond Line). In 1926, an extension was opened to Kurrajong, closing in 1952. The line was electrified to Riverstone in 1975. Electrifiction from Riverstone to Richmond commenced in 1987 but was suspended in 1988 due to lack of funds, restarting in 1990 and opening in August 1991. Initially electric trains operated as 2-car shuttles between Riverstone to Richmond until the electric power supply was upgraded to allow through running to and from Sydney in 1992. As part of the Clearways Project

CityRail Clearways Project

The CityRail Clearways Project is a $1.8 billion program of public works on Sydney's CityRail suburban railway network to "untangle" the excessively intertwined and complicated rail network...

, there are currently plans to duplicate the track between Quakers Hill and Schofields to expand capacity. On 20 November 2006, Railcorp announced plans to extend duplication further along the line to Vineyard station. There are also long term plans to link the proposed North Western railway line

North West railway line, Sydney

North West Metro was a proposal for a rail link from the north west suburbs of Sydney, Australia to the Sydney CBD. It would have connected Rouse Hill with Epping and the Sydney CBD...

to join the Richmond line at Vineyard.

Proposed Fast Rail Link

First introduced in 2004 by a consortium of Dutch bank ABN AMRO and developer Leighton Holdings, the project dubbed the Penrith High Speed Link, known officially as Western FastRail

Western FastRail

Western FastRail is a proposed $2 billion privately funded underground and above-ground train line that would link central Sydney with Western Sydney independent from the CityRail network. Western FastRail is being backed by a consortium led by businessman and former union leader Michael Easson,...

, was reproposed in December 2006 and received approving comments by the NSW State Government, and was offered funding by Federal Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd

Kevin Rudd

Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...

should the Australian Labor Party win the 2007 Federal Election.

The $2 billion Western FastRail project will involve a tunnel being built between Parramatta and the Sydney CBD. It will shrink times from Penrith to the city to 28 minutes (presently over 55 minutes), Parramatta to City to 11 minutes (presently over 30 minutes) and Blacktown to City to 17 minutes (presently over 40 minutes). The plan would assist the entire Western Suburbs of Sydney (40% of Sydney's population), which as an area, is accursed with longer commute times than any other part of Sydney. It would also reduce the car dependency that is characteristic of this region.

The Western FastRail project was rejected twice after government advisers estimated the project would cost $4.5 billion: $2 billion more than the proponents claimed. It was not clear where $600 million worth of single-deck rolling stock would come from; Penrith commuters would have to pay an extra $40 a week, and those who could not afford such a steep tariff would have to travel 84 minutes to the city for work due to the services cut to free tracks for the fast trains. Central, Parramatta and Wynyard would all need multimillion-dollar upgrades. Commuter car parks and feeder services would be needed. And none of these central concerns had been modelled or costed; a senior member of the Government's appraisal team said: "The construction cost estimates were entirely fanciful at $2 [billion] to $2.5 billion. That is just bollocks". Michael Easson, a former NSW Union Leader who had since become a prominent developer was central to the project and its strongest promoter. Concerns were raised that Easson would use inside knowledge to buy up adjacement property in Parramatta and Penrith, realising considerable profits through his companies EG Property Group and EG Property Consulting. Easson has however consistently denied these allegations.

Western Line stations

suburban through service originates from
Name of Station	Code	Distance from Central Station	Date of Opening	MyMulti Zone	Serving Suburbs	Pattern stops at this station	Connections
Western Line
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	28 February 1932	MyMulti1	Central, Strawberry Hills Ultimo, Surry Hills		* *limited services only
Redfern	RED	1.3 km	15 April 1878	MyMulti1	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	26 September 1855	MyMulti2	Burwood, Strathfield
Strathfield	SFD	11.8 km	9 July 1876	MyMulti2	Strathfield, Homebush
Lidcombe	LDC	16.6 km	1 November 1858	MyMulti2	Lidcombe		* *limited services only
Auburn Auburn railway station, Sydney -Bus services:Sydney Buses runs two routes to and from Auburn railway station:Route 540 - weekdays peak hour services - ErmingtonRoute 544 - weekdays and Saturday services - Macquarie Centre...	AUB	18.7 km	1877	MyMulti2	Auburn
Clyde	CLJ	20.6 km	1882	MyMulti2	Clyde, Granville		■Carlingford Line
Granville	GRN	21.4 km	2 July 1860	MyMulti2	Granville		* *limited services only
Harris Park	HPK	22.6 km	After 1883	MyMulti2	Harris Park
Parramatta	PTA	23.2 km	4 July 1860	MyMulti2	Parramatta
Westmead	WMD	25.1 km	March 1883	MyMulti2	Westmead
Wentworthville	WWV	26.7 km	1883	MyMulti2	Wentworthville
Pendle Hill	PDH	28.3 km	12 April 1924	MyMulti2	Pendle Hill
Toongabbie	TBB	29.9 km	26 April 1880	MyMulti2	Toongabbie
Seven Hills	SEV	32.1 km	1 December 1863	MyMulti2	Seven Hills
Blacktown	BAK	34.8 km	4 July 1860	MyMulti3	Blacktown
At Blacktown the line branches. The north western branch is towards Richmond, and the western branch is towards Emu Plains.
To Emu Plains
Doonside	DOD	38.6 km	27 September 1880	MyMulti3	Doonside
Rooty Hill	RYH	40.9 km	23 December 1861	MyMulti3	Rooty Hill
Mount Druitt	MTT	43.3 km	19 August 1881	MyMulti3	Mount Druitt
St Marys St Marys railway station St. Mary's railway station was a railway station in Ramsey St Mary's, Cambridgeshire which is now closed.-Route:-External links:* * on Subterranea Britannica...	STM	47.4 km	1 May 1862	MyMulti3	St Marys, Dunheved
End of 4 tracks at St Marys.
Werrington	WRT	49.1 km	2 May 1868	MyMulti3	Werrington
Kingswood Kingswood railway station Kingswood railway station is in the county of Surrey. It is a late-Victorian station on the Tattenham Corner Line. Train services and the station are operated by Southern....	KWD	52.7 km	1 September 1887	MyMulti3	Kingswood
Penrith Penrith railway station, Sydney Penrith railway station is a railway station on the CityRail network in New South Wales, Australia. Located in the Sydney suburb of Penrith, the station serves as a major interchange between Western line, Blue Mountains line trains. Western-bound CountryLink XPT and Xplorer services also stop here...	PEN	55.1 km	19 January 1863	MyMulti3	Penrith
Emu Plains	EPS	57.4 km	18 August 1868	MyMulti3	Emu Plains, Emu Heights
Suburban services stop here. Intercity services to Katoomba and onward continue on Blue Mountains line.
To Richmond
Marayong	MYG	37.4 km	2 October 1922	MyMulti3	Marayong
Quakers Hill	QKH	40.1 km	1872	MyMulti3	Quakers Hill
Schofields	SFS	43.8 km	1870	MyMulti3	Schofields
Riverstone	RVS	46.0 km	1 December 1864	MyMulti3	Riverstone
Vineyard	VYR	49.2 km	14 July 1935	MyMulti3	Vineyard
Mulgrave	MUV	52.6 km	1 December 1864	MyMulti3	Mulgrave
Windsor Windsor railway station, Sydney -Transport links:Westbus:608 - to Castle Hill668 - to Glossodia669 - to Sackville673 - to Penrith.674 - to Berkshire Park675 - to Bligh Park*676 - to South WindsorThere are many other bus routes....	WSR	55.0 km	1 December 1864	MyMulti3	Windsor
Clarendon	CRD	57.2 km	1870	MyMulti3	Clarendon
East Richmond East Richmond railway station, Sydney East Richmond is a station on the CityRail Richmond line. It serves the eastern end of the Richmond township. East Richmond station has a side platform with near street level access, connected by a level crossing and therefore has close to Easy Access for wheelchairs.-Platforms and services:The...	ERD	60.0 km	2 July 1939	MyMulti3	East Richmond, Richmond
Richmond Richmond railway station, Sydney -Transport links:Westbus:677 - to Penrith678 - to Penrith679 - to University of Western Sydney680 - between Windsor and Kurrajong*682 - to Glossodia and Freemans Reach...	RCD	60.7 km	1 December 1864	MyMulti3	Richmond, North Richmond

Stopping patterns

Pattern 1: Central, Redfern, Strathfield, Lidcombe, Auburn, Clyde, Granville, Parramatta, Westmead, Seven Hills, Blacktown, all stations to Penrith (& vice-versa) (off-peak hours and weekends)
Pattern 2: Central, Redfern, Burwood, Strathfield, Lidcombe, Granville, Harris Park, Parramatta, Westmead, all stations to Blacktown, all stations to Richmond (& vice-versa) (off-peak hours and weekends)

The current off-peak service pattern is as follows: (includes continuations onto North Shore Line)

- 2tph Penrith
  Penrith railway station
  Penrith railway station is located on the West Coast Main Line in the United Kingdom. It serves the town of Penrith, Cumbria and is less than one mile from its centre...
  
  all stations to Seven Hills, Westmead, Parramatta, Granville, Clyde, Auburn
  Auburn railway station
  Auburn railway station may refer to:*Auburn railway station, Melbourne, in Victoria, Australia*Auburn railway station, Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia...
  
  , Lidcombe, Strathfield, Redfern, and then all stations to Berowra.
- 2tph Richmond all stations to Granville, Lidcombe, Strathfield, Burwood and then all stations to Hornsby

History

Proposed Fast Rail Link

Western Line stations

Stopping patterns

See also

Further reading