Cumberland railway line

Cumberland Line
Mode Commuter rail
Owner CityRail
Operator(s) CityRail
Connects Campbelltown
Glenfield
Liverpool
Parramatta
Blacktown
Length 47 km
Stations 23
Fleet R, S, M, C sets
Depot(s) Flemington
Line colour Magenta
Key dates
1996 Opened

The Cumberland railway line connects Blacktown and Campbelltown stations in the western suburbs of Sydney, Australia and appears in magenta on the CityRail network map. The Cumberland line consists of pre-existing track on the main western and southern lines, plus a new "Y-link" track between Harris Park and Merrylands stations.

Contents

History

The line was opened in 1996 as part of former Prime Minister Paul Keating's 'Building Better Cities' programme in recognition of Parramatta's place as the capital of Sydney's west.[1] It cost $80 million to construct, and required the construction of a little over one kilometre of new track and no new stations. This track consists of the creation of a triangular junction at the junction of the 'Old Main South' and the 'Main Western Line by laying track between Merrylands and Harris Park stations, known as the 'Y Link' including a new flyover of the 'Up Old Main South' over these new tracks. The intention of this link was to allow direct services to operate from Liverpool and Campbelltown to Parramatta and Blacktown without requiring a change of trains at Granville. The line takes its name from the Cumberland Plain on which much of Western Sydney was built.

Description of route

Physically, the line consists of the Western Line from Blacktown station to Harris Park, the 'Y Link' as described above, the "Old Main South" (known as the South Line) between Merrylands and Cabramatta, and the Main South Line between Cabramatta and Campbelltown.

Service cuts

Upon its opening in 1996, the line had a regular half-hourly service in both directions consisting of 38 journeys per day. Subsequent timetables saw its services significantly reduced to the point of running only during weekday peak hours, and since 2005 the line only runs in one direction at a time: two services run in the morning peak from Campbelltown to Blacktown (one of which extends to Quakers Hill, via the Richmond branch of the Western line), and three services return from Blacktown to Campbelltown in the evening (as of 31 October 2011, one commences on the Richmond branch, from Schofields).

This service also occasionally operates on weekends if trackwork affects the Western and South lines, particularly between Granville and Strathfield. Services from Glenfield and Liverpool are diverted to the Western Line and proceed beyond Blacktown, to either Penrith or Richmond, and vice versa. In the extremely rare event of service disruptions, South line trains may divert to Parramatta, terminate there then reverse back to Granville and continue its trip as per the timetable.

Prior to the Y-Link's opening, passengers travelling between the Western and South lines are required to change trains at Granville. With the reduction in services to peak hours only (aside from trackwork services), this travelling strategy has been resumed by most commuters.

In 2006, the then-Iemma Labor Government's NSW State Plan committed to re-introduce a regular half-hourly service to the Cumberland line during 2007 "subject to detailed timetable and train planning... and fleet delivery, availability and rostering"[2]. A CityRail news release on 15 December confirmed this intention, based on the gradual introduction of the then-new OSCAR (H set) trains, which would displace outer suburban Tangara (G set) sets; the latter trains then reassigned to suburban service[3]. This promise was not delivered, and the Cumberland Line to this day remains a peak-hour-only service.

Cumberland Line stations

Name of Station Code MyMulti
Zone		 Serving Suburbs Pattern stops at this station Connections
Cumberland Line
Blacktown BAK Three Blacktown ■Western Line
■Blue Mountains Line
Seven Hills SEV Two Seven Hills ■Western Line
■Blue Mountains Line
Toongabbie TBB Two Toongabbie ■Western Line
■Blue Mountains Line
Pendle Hill PDH Two Pendle Hill ■Western Line
■Blue Mountains Line
Wentworthville WWH Two Wentworthville ■Western Line
■Blue Mountains Line
Westmead WMD Two Westmead ■Western Line
■Blue Mountains Line
Parramatta PTA Two Parramatta ■Western Line
■Blue Mountains Line
Harris Park HRK Two Harris Park ■Western Line
■Blue Mountains Line
Merrylands MLN Two Merrylands ■South Line
Guildford GUD Two Guildford ■South Line
Yennora YNR Two Yennora ■South Line
Fairfield FFL Two Fairfield ■South Line
Canley Vale CVE Two Canley Vale ■South Line
Cabramatta CTT Two Cabramatta ■Inner West Line   ■Bankstown Line
■South Line
Warwick Farm WKF Two Warwick Farm ■Inner West Line   ■Bankstown Line
■South Line
Liverpool LPO Two Liverpool ■Inner West Line   ■Bankstown Line
■South Line
Casula CSL Three Casula ■South Line
Glenfield GFD Three Glenfield ■Airport & East Hills Line
■South Line
Macquarie Fields MQF Three Macquarie Fields ■Airport & East Hills Line
■South Line
Ingleburn IGB Three Ingleburn ■Airport & East Hills Line
■South Line
Minto MIO Three Minto ■Airport & East Hills Line
■South Line
Leumeah LUM Three Leumeah ■Airport & East Hills Line
■South Line
Campbelltown CAM Three Campbelltown ■Airport & East Hills Line
■South Line
■Southern Highlands Line

Stopping Patterns

References

  1. ^ "CityRail: Have times changed?". Railway Digest, November 2005. ARHS NSW Division. http://www.arhsnsw.com.au/rdigest.htm. 
  2. ^ New South Wales Government (2006). NSW State Plan: Appendices. Archived from the original on 23 October 2007. Accessed on 3 November 2011.
  3. ^ Rail Corporation New South Wales (2006). The first Oscars are out and about. Press release. Accessed on 3 November 2011.
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