New 2009 CityRail timetable
From 11 October 2009 all lines may have changes to departure times, arrival times and connections. Customers are advised to consult the new timetable prior to commencing their journey by clicking on the links below.
Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line
Bankstown Line
Inner West Line
Airport & East Hills Line
South Line
Cumberland Line
North Shore Line
Western Line
Carlingford Line
Olympic Park services
Northern Line
South Coast Line
Southern Highlands Line
Blue Mountains Line
Newcastle & Central Coast Line
Hunter Line
Information is correct at the time of publication and is subject to change.
Started Sunday 11 October 2009
Summary
RailCorp has developed a new CityRail timetable which will incorporate the Epping to Chatswood rail link. The timetable was introduced on Sunday 11 October 2009.
The integration of the Epping to Chatswood rail link, together with other completed Rail Clearways projects, will allow CityRail to increase capacity on the network to provide additional services. The introduction of the new timetable will integrate the link into the broader CityRail network meaning that rail users will have direct services from the CBD and upper Northern/lower North Shore lines to this popular new link.
The new timetable will provide a number of important benefits for customers including:
- additional peak services on the Western, South and East Hills lines;
- additional services between 9.00am and 11.30am for Western, South, Northern and lower North Shore passengers;
- additional carriages on peak hour trains to increase capacity;
- more even spread of patronage across peak hour trains;
- crowd relief at CBD stations;
- direct rail access from the CBD to the Macquarie Park/North Ryde employment corridor.
Many bus timetables will also change to facilitate connections with CityRail services. In some areas, bus routes will also change. Find out about changes to buses at 131500.com.au.
New services
The Northern Line will change, with services operating from Hornsby to the City via Macquarie Park, and services operating from Epping to the City via Strathfield. Integration of the new link means that the Northern Line will receive four suburban services an hour for the majority of the day. All suburban trains on the Northern Line will operate as 8-car trains.
The operation of Northern Line services via Macquarie Park means that CityRail can deliver additional peak services on the Western Line including:
- A new morning peak service will operate from Quakers Hill to the North Shore, departing Quakers Hill at 7.10am, arriving at Town Hall at 8.04am and North Sydney at 8.14am.
- A new semi-fast afternoon peak service will operate from North Sydney to Quakers Hill. This service will depart North Sydney at 5.12pm, Town Hall at 5.22pm and will arrive at Quakers Hill at 6.15pm.
- A new semi-fast afternoon peak service will operate from North Sydney to Penrith. This service will depart North Sydney at 5.27pm, Town Hall at 5.37pm and will arrive at Penrith at 6.41pm.
- A new semi-fast afternoon peak service will operate from North Sydney to Penrith. This service will depart North Sydney at 6.27pm, Town Hall at 6.37pm and will arrive at Penrith at 7.47pm.
- In addition, two Quakers Hill services that currently terminate at Central will extend to the North Shore via the CBD. The 7.24am Quakers Hills service will arrive Town Hall at 8.20am and North Sydney at 8.30am. The 7.39am Quakers Hill service will arrive Town Hall at 8.35am and North Sydney at 8.45am.
Benefits will also be provided during the off peak on the Western Line including:
- Services at Penrith, St Marys, Mt Druitt, Blacktown, Seven Hills, Westmead, Parramatta, Granville and Strathfield in both directions will increase from four to six services an hour in the off peak until approximately 11.30am.
- The hourly City to Riverstone service will now extend to Richmond, providing two services an hour from midday to 4.00pm on weekdays.
The new timetable will provide benefits to other CityRail lines including:
- A new fast afternoon peak service will be provided from Central to Campbelltown via Sydenham on the Airport & East Hills Line. This service will depart Central at 5.56pm, arriving at Campbelltown at 6.51pm.
- The South Line has a new Liverpool to the City via Granville service departing Liverpool at 7.54am and arriving Central at 8.50am, providing crowd relief on South Line services.
- Additional off peak services will be provided on the South, Northern and lower North Shore lines until approximately 11.30am.
- Additional weekend services for stations on the Bankstown and Inner West Lines, increasing the frequency of trains to 15 minute intervals (currently half-hourly) from approximately 7.30am to 5.30pm.
A new link, a new timetable
A new link
On 23 February 2009, the $2.3 billion Epping to Chatswood rail link opened and a passenger shuttle service began operating on the new link between Epping and Chatswood. This new link is the largest infrastructure project built in NSW in recent times and the first expansion of Sydney's rail network since the Airport Line commenced passenger services in May 2000.
The new 12.5 kilometre tunnel provides an underground passenger rail link connecting Epping to Chatswood via Macquarie Park. Three new state-of-the-art stations have been built at Macquarie University, Macquarie Park and North Ryde, and major upgrades have been made to the Epping and the Chatswood Transport Interchanges to assist connections to other services.
The new timetable will provide frequent direct train services to and from Sydney’s expanding economic and education centres giving a new transport option to approximately 30,000 workers in the Macquarie Park area and 30,000 students and staff at Macquarie University. The new link connects this expanding centre to North Sydney and the CBD, where there are frequent connections to the rest of Sydney including the airport. The passenger shuttle service between Epping and Chatswood will cease when the new timetable is introduced.
The new link between Epping and Chatswood provides a new rail path to the CBD via the North Shore for services from the north and north-west. Furthermore, this frees up capacity to provide up to four additional peak services an hour on the Western Line to the CBD, thus creating capacity for 12,000 additional passengers a day and generating an extra 7.1 million new trips. For thousands of commuters in Sydney’s west this will mean more regular services and a more comfortable journey to the CBD.
A new timetable
The new rail link is being fully integrated into the CityRail network, as part of the Northern Line, with the new timetable. The new timetable will see additional peak hour services, 6-car trains increased to 8-car trains on more services across Sydney to provide extra capacity, and additional off-peak services added to the late morning period on the South, lower North Shore, Western and Northern lines.
When the new timetable is introduced, passenger shuttle services between Epping and Chatswood will be replaced with direct services between Hornsby and the CBD via Macquarie Park and the North Shore, continuing to Epping via Strathfield and return.
Plan your journey
The new timetable will bring several changes across the network. We’re encouraging all of our customers to be aware that there may be changes to their normal service. Bus timetables will also be altered to align services with changes in the CityRail timetable. It is important that customers check their timetables and plan their travel.
Part of a wider plan
In September 2005 and May 2006, CityRail introduced new timetables. These timetables were an important step in the overall plan to make CityRail's services more reliable.
The NSW Government is committed to improving the rail network. The Epping to Chatswood rail link is one component of the multi-billion dollar long-term plan to increase capacity to meet growing demand and expand the CityRail network. Beyond the 2009 timetable, further timetables will be introduced following the continued delivery of new assets, including Rail Clearways projects and new trains.
Sydneysiders are now using CityRail in unprecedented numbers and this growth is being accompanied by record investment in the improvement and expansion of the CityRail network.
Patronage figures for the 2007/08 financial year show a total of 296.1 million passenger journeys were made on the network. That is an increase of 5.2% compared to 2006/07. Western Sydney witnessed record growth with a 7.7% increase in patronage, and the South Line jumped by 6.1%.
The new link between Epping and Chatswood is part of a wider plan to deliver reliable, safe and frequent services to the people of Greater Sydney.
How will the new link operate?
The new rail link will form part of the Northern Line. Under the new timetable, Northern Line suburban services will operate from Hornsby to the City via Macquarie Park (a station on the new link), then North Sydney to the CBD and continuing to Epping via Strathfield. Trains will then return the same way. Operating the services this way this frees up capacity on the busy Western Line to the CBD for additional services to operate between the west and the City.
What type of trains will operate on the new Northern Line?
Oscars have been running as a shuttle service since the new link opened in February. Now that the link is being integrated with other services in the network, CityRail will need to operate other types of trains as well. Air-conditioned K-set trains will operate on the new link, with some Oscars operating during the off-peak periods. All trains operating on the new link will be eight carriages.
