Bankstown railway line, Sydney

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Bankstown Line
Image:CityRail_orange.gif
Overview
Mode Commuter rail line
Area Inner west/west
Map colour Orange
Owner CityRail
Design
Stations 27
Connects Town Hall
Central
Sydenham
Campsie
Bankstown
Liverpool/Lidcombe
1895 Opened to Belmore
1909 Extended to Bankstown
1928 Connected to Main South
Operations
Operator(s) CityRail
Fleet C, R, S, T, M sets
Public transport |  v • d • e 

The Bankstown Line is part of the metropolitan rail network of Sydney known as CityRail. It services various Inner West and Western Sydney suburbs including centres at Bankstown and Liverpool.

Contents

[edit] History

The line opened between Sydenham on the Illawarra railway line and Belmore in 1895[1]. This was the first solely suburban line to open in Sydney- all other rail lines were mainlines carrying traffic into and out of Sydney. In 1909, the line was extended to Bankstown, with intermediate stations at Lakemba and Punchbowl. Wiley Park station opened later in 1938. In 1928, the line was extended westwards from Bankstown to join the main suburban railway at Lidcombe. In 1916, the Metropolitan Goods Line was constructed paralleling the Bankstown Line between Marrickville and Campsie. In 1926 the Bankstown became the second line in Sydney to be electrified and a maintenance depot was constructed at Punchbowl. Electrification was extended from Bankstown to Regents Park in 1939[2]. Electric passenger services originally operated along the Bankstown Line to St James station, until the 1956 opening of Circular Quay station and the completion of the City Circle. The Punchbowl maintenance depot closed in 1994.

January 2006 saw the completion of a four-year project to upgrade the line. The work included the resleepering of the entire line, replacing the former wooden sleepers with the more durable concrete ones, replacement and upgrade of the signalling, and also replacement of the ageing catenary, mostly with the more modern double contact wire variety. Other minor work such as graffiti removal and lineside litter clean-up was also carried out as part of the upgrade. The lengthy upgrade process was noted for its "January Closedowns", in which the entire line was closed in January for the bulk of the upgrade work to take place. Passengers were required to use specially provided substitute buses which stopped only at the railway stations, and honoured CityRail tickets. In addition to the track and catenary upgrade, many of the stations on the Bankstown Line have had their facilities upgraded in the early 2000s, including new station buildings, the installation of platform lifts for wheelchair access, and the installation of security cameras. The upgrade of all stations is ongoing, and many are still in their original condition, and do not provide wheelchair accessibility, making it prudent for those requiring this capability to check before travelling.

[edit] Description of line

The Bankstown line physically begins at Sydenham railway station on the Illawarra line. The line branches at Sydenham Junction and passes in a westwards direction to Bankstown, where it heads north to Birrong. Between Marrickville and Campsie, the Metropolitan Goods line runs in parallel. At Birrong, the line meets the Main South Line which runs from Lidcombe to Cabramatta via Regents Park.

[edit] Services

Passenger services begin at Town Hall station on the City Circle as a continuation of services from the Inner West Line. Most services operate around the City Circle in a clockwise direction to Central, then through Redfern. Trains usually operate on the 'Illawarra local' (western pair) tracks between Redfern and Sydenham, serving St Peters and Erskineville stations. At Birrong, about half of the Bankstown line trains (the Lidcombe branch) return to the CBD via the Inner West line. These trains are given a "fake" destination of Birrong via Sydenham, where the train changes its destination to the City Circle, and vice versa. When the Clearways project is complete, most of these "loop" trains will terminate at Lidcombe, breaking the loop.

[edit] Line Information


Off-Peak Services Per Hour:
Monday to Friday Daytime 4
Monday to Friday Evening 4 (2 later)
Saturday & Sunday Daytime 2
Saturday & Sunday Evening 2


  • More services serve the line in the Monday to Friday morning and evening peak hour services, where some services omit stops.

[edit] Bankstown Line stations

Name of Station Code Distance from
Central

[3] [4] [5] [6]

 Opened

[3][4][5][6]

 TravelPass
Zone		 Serving Suburbs Pattern stops
at this station		 Connections
Bankstown Line
Town Hall THL 1.2 km 1932 Red Sydney, Darling Harbour ■Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line
■Inner West Line
■Airport & East Hills Line
■South Line   ■North Shore Line
■Northern Line
■South Coast Line
(peak hours only)
Wynyard WYD 2.1 km 1932 Red Sydney, The Rocks, Millers Point ■Inner West Line
■Airport & East Hills Line
■South Line   ■North Shore Line
■Northern Line
Circular Quay CQY 3.0 km 1956 Red Circular Quay, Sydney
The Rocks, Millers Point		 ■Inner West Line
■Airport & East Hills Line
■South Line
St James SAJ km 1926 Red Sydney ■Inner West Line
■Airport & East Hills Line
■South Line
Museum MSM km 1926 Red Sydney ■Inner West Line
■Airport & East Hills Line
■South Line
Central SBO 0 km 1855 Red Central, Strawberry Hills
Ultimo, Surrey Hills		 ■Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line
■Inner West Line
■Airport & East Hills Line
■South Line   ■North Shore Line
■Western Line   ■Northern Line
■South Coast Line
■Blue Mountains Line
■Newcastle & Central Coast Line
■Southern Highlands Line
(peak hours only)
Redfern RDF 1.3 km 1878 Red Redfern, Waterloo, Darlington
The University of Sydney		 ■Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line
■Inner West Line   ■South Line
■Airport & East Hills Line*
■Western Line   ■Northern Line
■South Coast Line*
■Blue Mountains Line*
■Newcastle & Central Coast Line*

*peak hours only
Erskineville EKV 2.9 km 1884 Red Erskineville, Macdonaldtown, Newtown
St Peters SAP 3.8 km 1884 Red St Peters, Alexandria, Enmore
Sydenham SDN 5.3 km 1884 Red Sydenham, Marrickville ■Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line
■Airport & East Hills Line
(peak hours only)
Marrickville MRV 6.6 km 1895 Red Marrickville, Marrickville South
Dulwich Hill DHM 7.9 km 1895 Red Dulwich Hill, Hurlstone Park
Hurlstone Park HPK 8.8 km 1895 Red Hurlstone Park, Canterbury
Canterbury CTB 10.2 km 1895 Red Canterbury
Campsie CMP 11.7 km 1895 Green Campsie
Belmore BMR 13.3 km 1895 Green Belmore
Lakemba LKM 14.5 km 1909 Green Lakemba
Wiley Park WLP 15.4 km 1938 Green Wiley Park, Lakemba, Punchbowl
Punchbowl PCB 16.5 km 1909 Green Punchbowl
Bankstown BWU 18.7 km 1909 Green Bankstown
Yagoona YOA 20.6 km 1928 Green Yagoona
Birrong BRG 22.1 km 1928 Green Birrong
At Birrong the line branches. The northern branch is towards Lidcombe, and the western branch is towards Liverpool.
To Lidcombe
Regents Park RGP 19.9 km 1912 Green Regents Park
Berala BAA 18.4 km 1912 Green Berala
Lidcombe LDC 16.6 km 1858 Green Lidcome ■Inner West Line   ■South Line
■Western Line   ■Olympic Park Line
■Blue Mountains Line*

*limited services only
To Liverpool
Sefton SFT 21.2 km 1924 Yellow Sefton
Chester Hill CHH 22.3 km 1924 Yellow Chester Hill
Leightonfield LHF 23.7 km 1942 Pink Leightonfield
Vilawood VWD 24.5 km 1924 Pink Villawood
Carramar CMR 25.9 km 1924 Pink Carramar
Cabramatta CTT 28.4 km 1870 Pink Cabramatta ■Inner West Line   ■South Line
■Cumberland Line
Warwick Farm WKF 34.2 km 1889 Pink Warwick Farm
Liverpool LPO 35.7 km 1856 Pink Liverpool ■Inner West Line   ■South Line
■Cumberland Line

[edit] Stopping Patterns

  • Pattern 1: all stations to Lidcome (& vice-versa) (off-peak & peak) Continues on Inner West line to City.
  • Pattern 2: all stations to Liverpool, via Bankstown (& vice-versa) (off-peak & peak).
  • Pattern 3: all city circle stations, then Redfern, Sydenham, Campsie and all stations to Liverpool, via Bankstown (& vice-versa) (peak hours only).

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ NSW Railway Passenger Services 1880-1905.. Australian Railway History, April 2005. ARHS NSW Division.
  2. ^ Brady, I. Sydney Electric Trains From 1926 to 1960. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, Vol 52, no 762. April 2001.
  3. ^ a b NSW Rail.net Bankstown line. Retrieved on 2007-07-01.
  4. ^ a b NSW Rail.net South Coast line. Retrieved on 2007-07-01.
  5. ^ a b NSW Rail.net City Circle. Retrieved on 2007-07-01.
  6. ^ a b NSW Rail.net Lidcombe-Cabramatta line. Retrieved on 2007-07-01.
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