Bathurst railway station, New South Wales

Bathurst

Station front in April 2006
Location Keppel Street, Bathurst
Coordinates 33°25′32″S 149°35′00″E / 33.425563°S 149.583353°E / -33.425563; 149.583353
Owned by RailCorp
Operated by NSW TrainLink
Line(s) Main Western
Distance 239.90 kilometres from Central
Platforms 2 side (1 disused)
Tracks 2
Connections Bus, coach
Construction
Structure type Ground
Disabled access Yes
Other information
Station code BHS
Website Sydney Trains
History
Opened 4 April 1876
Services
Preceding station   NSW Main lines   Following station
towards Bourke
Main Western Line
towards Sydney
Preceding station   NSW TrainLink   Following station
TerminusBlue Mountains Line
towards Central
towards Dubbo
NSW TrainLink Western
Dubbo XPT
towards Sydney
NSW TrainLink Western
Broken Hill Outback Xplorer
towards Sydney
Preceding station   Great Southern Railway   Following station
towards East Perth
Indian Pacific
towards Sydney

Bathurst railway station is a railway station on the Main Western line in New South Wales. It serves the city of Bathurst.

History

Bathurst station opened on 4 April 1876 when the Great Western Railway (now the Main Western line) was extended from Kelso. It was opened by the Governor of New South Wales, Hercules Robinson.[1][2] It served as the terminus of the line until extended to Blayney on 1 November 1876.

Bathurst was developed into a major railway centre with a locomotive depot established to the north of the station in the 1879 with accommodation for eight locomotives. By 1917, Bathurst depot had a locomotive allocation of 72.[2][3]

As well as working on the Main Western and Blayney-Demondrille lines, it provided bank engines for Tumulla Bank.[3] This started a large railway workers' community and a Rail Institute, which made many jobs available and drew thousands of workers to Bathurst.

With dieselisation and reduced maintenance needs, Bathurst depot closed on 23 January 1981 with all work transferred to Lithgow.[3]

However Bathurst would remain an important railway centre, with Clyde Engineering, opening a facility in the eastern Bathurst suburb of Kelso in the 1970s. It would build 84 81 class and 15 DL class locomotives in the 1980s as well as overhaul locomotives.[4] It closed in April 2014.[5]

Station configuration

The station has two side platforms but only the northern side platform is in operation.

Ben Chifley

In 1903, Ben Chifley, who would become Prime Minister of Australia in July 1945, joined the New South Wales Government Railways at Bathurst as a shop boy and in March 1912 was promoted to become a driver. Chifley remaining based at Bathurst depot until resigning in November 1928 to become the Federal Member for Macquarie.[3][6]

One of the locomotives driven by Chifley, 5112, is preserved on a plinth at the eastern end of the station.[7] It was cosmetically restored at the Lithgow State Mine Heritage Park & Railway.[8]

Services

XPT train at Bathurst Station

Bathurst is served by NSW TrainLink's Bathurst Bullet service to Sydney,[9] the daily Central West XPT service operating between Sydney and Dubbo and the weekly Outback Xplorer between Sydney and Broken Hill.[10]

Great Southern Rail's weekly Indian Pacific also calls at Bathurst.[11]

NSW TrainLink road coach services operating between Lithgow, Orange, Grenfell, Parkes, Dubbo, Nyngan and Cootamundra also serve the station.[10][12]

Platform Line Stopping pattern Notes
1 Services to & from Sydney Central [9]
Services to Sydney Central, Broken Hill and Dubbo[10]
Great Southern Rail Indian Pacific to Sydney Central & Perth[11]
2 Not in use

Bathurst Buslines routes 522, 524 and 526 operate via Bathurst station.[13]

Lithgow Buslines operate route 636 from Bathurst station to Lithgow.[14]

References

  1. Buildings Bathurst Regional Council
  2. 1 2 Bathurst Railway Precinct NSW Environment & Heritage
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Locomotive Depot No 4: Bathurst" Roundhouse" April 1986 pages 5-23
  4. Oberg, Leon (2007). Locomotives of Australia. Sydney: Rosenberg Publishing. p. 370. ISBN 9781877058547.
  5. Mood pretty sombre as Bathurst's Downer EDI plant shuts down Central Western Daily 1 May 2014
  6. Historic Milton Walking Tour Bathurst Regional Council
  7. Bathurst Railway Station Bathurst Attractions
  8. Chifley loco moves to Lithgow for restoration Lithgow State Mine Heritage Park & Railway
  9. 1 2 "Blue Mountains line timetable" (PDF). NSW Trainlink. 20 October 2013 [amended January 2015].
  10. 1 2 3 "Western timetable" (PDF). NSW Trainlink. 20 October 2013 [Updated 15 June 2013].
  11. 1 2 "Indian Pacific timetable". Great Southern Rail. 2 August 2015.
  12. "Southern timetable" (PDF). NSW Trainlink. 20 October 2013 [Updated 30 June 2014].
  13. "Bathurst Route Bus timetable" (PDF). Bathurst Buslines. 5 December 2014.
  14. "Route 636 timetable" (PDF). Lithgow Buslines. 10 December 2014.
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