Berry railway station

Berry
NSW TrainLink intercity train station ← Gerringong · Bomaderry →
Location	Station Road, Berry New South Wales Australia
Coordinates	34°46′50″S 150°41′47″E / 34.7805°S 150.6964°E / -34.7805; 150.6964Coordinates: 34°46′50″S 150°41′47″E / 34.7805°S 150.6964°E / -34.7805; 150.6964
Owned by	RailCorp
Operated by	NSW TrainLink
Line(s)	South Coast
Distance	140.8 km from Central[1]
Platforms	1, 113 metres[1]
Train operators	NSW TrainLink
Construction
Structure type	At-grade
Parking	Yes
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Disabled access	Easy Access
Other information
Website	Sydney Trains
History
Opened	2 June 1893[2]
Traffic
Passengers (2014)	27,483[3]
Rank	254th of 307[4]
Services
Preceding station   NSW TrainLink   Following station Bomaderry (Nowra) Terminus South Coast Line Gerringong towards Central

Berry is a single-platform intercity train station located in Berry, New South Wales, Australia, on the South Coast railway line. The station serves NSW TrainLink diesel multiple unit trains travelling south to Bomaderry and north to Kiama.^[5] Early morning and late night services to the station are provided by train replacement bus services.^[5] In the past, the station precinct also catered to freight trains carrying cattle and dairy products.^[6]

The NSW Government Railways opened its South Coast Line extension, from Bombo to Bomaderry, on 2 June 1893. Berry Station was built to serve what was at the time the largest town on the alignment, and opened as part of this extension. The station, constructed by the firm of G. J. Featherstone & T. J. Barbel, included a passing loop, stationmaster's cottage, platform, waiting shed and goods shed. The main platform building contained a ticket office, general waiting room, 'ladies' room' and toilet. The buildings were constructed from weatherboard with corrugated steel roofs. Though the original plans called for a second platform and waiting shed, these did not eventuate.

The station precinct grew to include the Berry Central Butter Factory, cattle yards, and a number of residences for railway workers. A signal box was added in 1912, and a brick toilet block in 1979. Of the former goods yard, today only a small up siding opposite the station and a small down siding to the west remain.^[1] With most of its 1893 buildings intact as of 2009, Berry Station is considered state-significant heritage by the Office of Environment & Heritage. As the buildings pre-date the standardisation of railway buildings such as cottages, they are relatively rare examples of their type.^[6]

Two other stations in the district, Jaspers Brush to the south and Toolijooa to the north, opened at the same time, but were closed in 1974 as part of a network-wide rationalisation of low-patronage stations.^[7][8]

Operations

The South Coast Line south of Kiama is non-electrified single track. Since 2001, most northbound trains from Berry have terminated at Kiama, requiring passengers to change to electric multiple unit services to Wollongong and Sydney. In 2005, then Minister for Transport John Watkins announced that electrification would be extended to the terminus at Bomaderry at an unspecified future date, but the proposal did not progress.^[9]

Berry and Bomaderry were the last locations in the NSW metropolitan rail network to use the electric staff signalling system. The system, installed in 1908, was replaced with automated signalling in 2014.^[10] The same year, electronic ticketing in the form of the Opal smart card became available at Berry.^[11]

Platforms & Services

References

External links

• Media related to Berry railway station at Wikimedia Commons
• Station details: Berry at Sydney Trains website