Frequently asked questions

We recommend that you arrive at your station a few minutes earlier than the timetabled service to allow sufficient time to purchase your ticket and board your train.

Please note that train doors may begin closing up to 20 seconds before the scheduled departure time to assist with on-time running.

Remember, you can buy your MyTrain weekly on any day of the week and add an extra week (top up) at any ticket machine located between your two stations. Alternatively, you can purchase a MyTrain monthly, quarterly or yearly.

Information on delays to services can be found in the Service interruptions section on this website. We update this page regularly. As we operate over 2,500 services daily, it is difficult to provide information on individual trains.

Additionally, we have installed large plasma screens at major stations to provide you with the latest train running information. Messages are kept brief and to the point to allow you to view this information as you enter the station.

Alternatively, you can phone Transport Info on 131 500 and press 2.

Station staff and train crews can also assist you with information regarding delays or service alterations.

A train service can be delayed or cancelled for a number of reasons, including:

• Train or infrastructure problems,
• Vandalism or anti-social behaviour,
• Severe weather conditions, and
• Sick passengers or train crew.
  

The rail network is very complex and delays on one line can impact on other lines. The Rail Clearways plan is designed to remove bottlenecks and junctions, reduce congestion and delays, and allow for simpler timetables to create more reliable and frequent services.

For more information visit What affects our performance?

Sometimes a decision is made to skip smaller stops in order to limit the overall impact of late-running trains. This means we can avoid much wider disruption and inconvenience to our customers as trains can be returned to normal timetables sooner.

Skipping stops is a last resort in managing network delays and is used on rail networks throughout the world in such circumstances. RailCorp aims to limit skipped station stops to 0.5% in peak periods.

Performance information on skipped stops can be found in the Our performance section of this website.

In some circumstances train controllers are required to make quick decisions to alter timetabled services in order to prevent much wider disruption and inconvenience. This may include cancelling, re-routing or altering stopping patterns on our services.

Due to the nature of such incidents, it is not always possible to provide you with the details of service changes before they occur. However, CityRail staff will endeavour to provide this advice as soon as possible.

No. We do not guarantee connections and will not hold a train in the event of late running services. Doing so would cause further problems within our network. Our aim is to provide reliable point-to-point services. There is one exception, the weekday 6.23pm service from Campbelltown to the Southern Highlands is a guaranteed service.

Some intercity services during the morning and afternoon peaks are 'pick-up' or 'set-down' services only. These are specified in timetable booklets and on this website.

This is necessary to provide enough capacity for customers travelling to outer stations with fewer services. Fines apply to customers travelling inappropriately on these services. Services with set-down and pick-up restrictions are indicated by a 'd' or 'u' in our timetables.

Some trains on the Blue Mountains, Newcastle & Central Coast and South Coast lines stop on demand only. They are defined by an a symbol in the timetable. To alight at one of these stations, please notify the guard when you board the service.

Ideally this is something we do not plan for. However, situations will arise from day to day where it will become necessary for a train to momentarily stop between stations. This can be to allow another train to cross tracks in front of yours or perhaps because your train has caught up to the train in front, which may have been delayed for one reason or another.

Our timetable planners address these situations, where possible, when reviewing our timetables.

Yes. Here at RailCorp we regularly monitor the changing needs of our customers and make adjustments to your timetable, train frequency and the number of carriages on your train when it is feasible and appropriate to do so.

We monitor patronage levels by way of ticket sales, counts of customers arriving at and departing stations and passenger counts on trains.

The formulation of our timetable is very complex, and in a network as extensive as ours, we are not able to provide a service that suits the requirements of every customer.

The CityRail network consists of 15 rail lines. You can use our Network map or our useful Which timetable tool to find the line any station is located on. With this knowledge you can locate the correct timetable/s.

For a guide to major stations and the platform numbers from which particular services depart visit the Which platform? section on this website. Please note these are subject to change, so check the indicator and listen to announcements before boarding the train.

RailCorp has a multi-billion dollar Rail Growth Plan and Rail Clearways Plan to increase capacity on the CityRail network to cater for growth. There are two key phases of growth which include:

Phase 1 - Reduce congestion and overcrowding
Phase 2 - Maximises capacity

The Rail Growth Plan is supported by a range of new infrastructure projects, station upgrades and the acquisition of new trains.

The Rail Clearways Plan is an initiative of the NSW Government to strengthen reliability and increase capacity on the CityRail network, presently recognised as one of the most complex in the world.

This plan comprises of a number of projects to simplify the network to allow more reliable and frequent services and to increase capacity for future growth.

Additionally, $3.6 billion is being invested in 626 new air-conditioned carriages to fast-track the replacement of 498 non air-conditioned carriages and provide additional capacity on the network.

Yes, if we can verify the delay we can provide you with a letter of explanation. Use our online feedback form and include relevant information such as the train time and date.

You can also check the Service interruptions section of this website. We list service interruptions that occurred within the last four hours.

'The Fish' and 'The Chips' were names given to two fast trains from the Blue Mountains to the city. The names have been carried over to apply to today's services.

General consensus has it that 'The Fish' was named after a driver in the 1880s - John Herron, who was nicknamed the 'Big Fish' and who enjoyed a reputation for on-time running. 'The Fish' originally only ran to Mt Victoria but it has now been extended to Lithgow.

When a second train was put on the service from Sydney to Springwood, it was natural that it should be called 'The Chips'. This train originally ran to Springwood, but has now been extended to Mt Victoria.