Sydney Trains

Sydney Trains

Overview
Locale	Sydney
Transit type	Suburban rail
Number of lines	7
Number of stations	178
Annual ridership	324.7 million (2016-17)
Website	Sydney Trains
Operation
Began operation	1 July 2013
Technical
System length	815 km (506 mi)[1]
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	1500 V (DC) overhead line
System map Sydney Trains network

Sydney Trains is the suburban passenger rail network serving the city of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The network is a hybrid suburban-commuter railway with a central underground core that covers over 815 km (506 mi) of track and 178 stations over seven lines. The network has 21 hours a day operation with train frequencies of every three minutes or better in the underground core, 5–10 minutes at most major stations all day, 15 minutes at most minor stations all day and four trains an hour on the Cumberland Line. During weekend services trains are less frequent with headways of upwards of a half-hour on outer stations with frequencies of less than 10 minutes in the underground core.^[2]

The network is controlled by the New South Wales Government's transport authority, Transport for NSW, and is part of the authority's Opal card ticketing system. In 2016-17, 324.7 million passenger journeys were made on the network.

History

In May 2012 the Minister for Transport announced a restructure of RailCorp.^[3][4][5][6] This resulted in all suburban services in the Sydney Metropolitan area bounded by Berowra, Emu Plains, Macarthur and Waterfall transferring from RailCorp's CityRail division to Sydney Trains on 1 July 2013. Intercity and Hunter Line services previously operated by CityRail were taken over by NSW TrainLink which was formed as part of the restructure.^[7] RailCorp remained as the owner of the network infrastructure.

In April 2013 the Sydney Trains logo was unveiled.^[8]

Network changes

The first expansion of the Sydney suburban network during the Sydney Trains era occurred in 2015 when the South West Rail Link opened between Glenfield and Leppington. The network will reduce in size over the coming years as sections of the network are transferred to the city’s metro and light rail networks.

The line between Chatswood and Epping will form part of Sydney Metro Northwest and will close for conversion in 2018.^[9] The section of line between Sydenham and Bankstown will form part of Sydney Metro City & Southwest. This is due to open in 2024.^[10] The section of line between Camellia and Carlingford will form part of the Parramatta Light Rail network. The light rail is expected to open in 2023.^[11]

Patronage

Sydney Trains railway stations are identified with an orange and white T symbol

The following table lists patronage figures for the network (in millions of journeys) during the corresponding financial year. Australia's financial years start on 1 July and end on 30 June. Major events that affected the number of journeys made or how patronage is measured are included as notes.

Sydney Trains patronage by financial year

Year	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17
Patronage	282.2	291.9	322	324.7
Notes and references	[note 1] [12]	[note 2] [12]	[13]	[note 3] [14]

2016-17 Sydney Trains patronage by line

T1	139 889 000
T2	85 087 000
T3	27 348 000
T4	64 428 000
T5	5 708 000
T6	511 000
T7	1 740 000

2016-17 patronage of Transport for NSW's Sydney services by mode

Network

Rail Lines

Sydney Trains operates seven suburban lines across metropolitan Sydney.

In conjunction with a new timetable released on 20 October 2013, the Sydney Trains network was reorganised with a new numbering system. The number of lines was reduced from eleven to seven by grouping some lines together.

Sydney Trains network without the South West Rail Link

The concourse of Central railway station, the main station on the Sydney Trains network that opened in its present location in 1906

The main hub of the Sydney Trains system is Central station, which most lines pass through. Central is also the terminus of most NSW TrainLink lines. After leaving Central, trains coming from the T2 Airport, Inner West & South Line and T3 Bankstown Line then travel through the City Circle - a ring line beneath the Sydney central business district. After completing the City Circle, these trains pass through Central for a second time and return to the suburbs. The T1 North Shore, Northern & Western Line and T4 Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line pass through the central business district and continue on to other areas of Sydney. The T5 Cumberland Line serves Western Sydney and provides access to the major centre of Parramatta from the south west of the city without requiring a change of trains at Granville. The T6 Carlingford Line and T7 Olympic Park Line are suburban shuttle services.

2017 timetable

A new Sydney Trains timetable is planned for late 2017. The T2 line will be split in two. The new T2 will consist of services from Leppington to the city via Granville, with a branch to Parramatta being added. A new T8 line will cover services from Macarthur to the city via Sydney Airport or Sydenham. The T2 will be coloured light blue - a similar colour to former CityRail's South Line. The T8 will be coloured green. T4 will also take on a darker blue colour. In addition lines will get a Line Direction label which will consist of a geographic or terminus station reference.^[15] T5 services will be modified to no longer travel to and from Campbelltown, instead starting and terminating at Leppington. Late night and weekend services will be introduced on the line.^[16] The late night services will extend to Richmond, replacing T1 services at these times.^[15] These changes mean the section of the network between Glenfield and Macarthur will be served exclusively by services operating via the East Hills railway line.^[16]

NightRide

To provide a passenger service between midnight and 05:00 while leaving the tracks clear of trains for maintenance work, parallel bus services were established in 1989. NightRide services operate typically at hourly intervals (some routes depart more frequently on weekends). NightRide services are contracted to private bus operators, and identified by route numbers beginning with "N".

Operations

In July 2013 Howard Collins, the former Chief Operating Officer of London Underground, was appointed as Chief Executive of Sydney Trains. In addition to operating suburban train services, Sydney Trains maintains the New South Wales Metropolitan Rail Area, and maintains all but a handful of operational railway stations in the state. Sydney Trains is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Transport for New South Wales (TfNSW) statutory authority.^[17]

Fleet

A set

Sydney Trains operates a fleet of S (192 carriages), K (160 carriages). C (56 carriages), T (447 carriages), M (140 carriages), and A sets (626 carriages).

The Sydney Trains network is divided into three sectors, based around three maintenance depots.^[18] EMU trainsets are identified by target plates, which are exhibited on the front lower nearside of driving carriages.^[19] Target designations and set numbers are used in identifying EMU train sets. A sets do not have a target plate, but instead have the set number written directly on the front of the train. The composition and formations of train sets, and the target designations are subject to alteration.

Ticketing and Costs

Sydney Trains currently uses the Opal card ticketing system which was introduced to the network in April 2014.^[20] The fare system is fully integrated with the NSW TrainLink Intercity network - trips involving both suburban and intercity services are calculated as a single fare and there is no interchange penalty. Opal is also valid on bus, ferry and light rail services but separate fares apply for these modes. The following table lists Opal fares for reusable smartcards and single trip tickets as of 3 July 2017:^[21]

^ = $2.50 for Pensioner/Senior cardholders

The previous ticketing system was introduced in 1992 and was based on magnetic stripe technology. It was shut down on 1 August 2016.^[22]

Unlike the ticketing systems of other cities in Australia, most of Sydney Trains' ticket prices are calculated on the distance travelled, and were found to be inexpensive by world standards as at December 2003.^[23] However, in October 2012, a report published by PricewaterhouseCoopers found the rail system performed poorly compared to many metro services from 27 other major world cities. Sydney was ranked as the fourth-worst public train system, beating only Los Angeles, São Paulo and Johannesburg for operation efficiency and coverage, while being proven to have the most expensive tickets of any major city public transport system. An update to the same Cities of Opportunity report in 2014 - after the roll out of the Opal card - has shown a drop to second most expensive system after London. Despite fares having only seen increases since this roll out, the card does afford regular users 'rewards' such as half price train journeys after a certain number of rides and daily cap limits. Since July 2013 customer satisfaction has risen from 78% to over 90% (November 2016) and most Sydneysiders acknowledge "Fixing the Trains" has seen major improvements in cleanliness, reliability, customer service and better information.

On Sundays, the transport fare is capped at $2.60 per day.

Entry to privately owned train stations at Sydney Airport requires a station access fee in addition to the train fare. This station access fee does not apply for Green Square and Mascot.^[24]

See also

• Commuter rail in Australia
• NSW TrainLink
• Railways in Sydney
  • List of Sydney Trains railway stations
  • Sydney underground railways
  • Proposed railways in Sydney

References

External links

Media related to Sydney Trains at Wikimedia Commons

• Sydney Trains website