Bankstown railway line

Bankstown railway line
The Bankstown railway line at left as it runs through Dulwich Hill in 2010. At right is the Metropolitan Goods railway line which runs parallel to the Bankstown railway line between Marrickville and Campsie. The former Rozelle branch of the Metropolitan Goods railway line is at the top right; it has since been converted to light rail.
Overview
Status	Partially open
Owner	Transport Asset Holding Entity
Termini	Sydenham Sefton Park Junction
Stations	3 open
Service
Services	T6 Lidcombe & Bankstown
Operator(s)	Sydney Trains
History
Opened to Belmore	1 February 1895
Extended to Bankstown	14 April 1909
Connected to Sefton Park Junction	16 July 1928
Closed	30 September 2024
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Electrification	1,500 V DC overhead line
Route map Sydney Metro Northwest to Tallawong Eastern Suburbs line to Bondi Junction North Shore line to Hornsby City Circle line 0.0 Central Airport line to Wolli Creek 1.3 Redfern Main Suburban line to Granville Waterloo 2.9 Erskineville 3.8 St Peters Sydney Metro Trains Facility South Sydenham limit of closure for Metro conversion Port Botany line to Port Botany Meeks Road Junction Illawarra line to Bomaderry 6.6 Marrickville 7.9 Dulwich Hill Wardell Road Junction Inner West Light Rail to Central 8.8 Hurlstone Park 10.2 Canterbury Canterbury Park Racecourse sidings Cooks River 11.7 Campsie Metropolitan Goods line to Chullora Junction via Enfield Yard 13.2 Belmore 14.5 Lakemba 15.3 Wiley Park 16.4 Punchbowl former Punchbowl Maintenance Depot limit of closure for Metro conversion 18.7 Bankstown 20.6 Yagoona 22.1 Birrong Southern Sydney Freight Line Main Southern line to Albury Main Southern line to Lidcombe

The Bankstown railway line is a suburban railway which traverses the Inner West and Canterbury-Bankstown areas of Sydney. West of Bankstown it is used by T6 Lidcombe & Bankstown services, while east of Bankstown it is temporarily closed to facilitate conversion for its future use by M1 North West & Bankstown services.

Route

As originally built, the line branched from the Illawarra railway line just south of Sydenham at Meeks Road Junction, approximately 6 kilometres southwest of Central. From here the line runs westward along the valley of the Cooks River, parallel to the Metropolitan Goods railway line. At Dulwich Hill the line passes by the former Wardell Road Junction, where the Dulwich Hill light rail line now terminates with an overbridge interchange to the railway station.

Just past Canterbury, the line crosses to the southern side of the Cooks River. From here the line passes through Campsie, after which the Metropolitan Goods railway line turns away from the alignment towards Enfield Yard. Between Punchbowl and Bankstown is the former location of the Punchbowl Maintenance Depot, which has since been redeveloped for housing.

Bankstown is the foremost station on the line. Originally a through station, it is being rebuilt into two abutting terminal stations, with Sydney Metro services to operate eastward from it and Sydney Trains services to operate westward.

Just west of Bankstown the line turns sharply northward, passing through Yagoona and Birrong to reach the western endpoint of the line at Sefton Park Junction. Here, the line connects to the Main Southern railway line between Regents Park and Sefton.

Services

See also: Metro North West & Bankstown Line and Lidcombe & Bankstown Line

The line has been used primarily for suburban passenger services since its opening. Though some freight services used the line earlier in its history, cargo traffic is now confined to the dedicated freight tracks of the parallel Metropolitan Goods railway line between Marrickville and Campsie.

Historic services

Following the completion of the connection to Sefton Park Junction in 1928, suburban passenger services historically operated as a loop, with services originating from the City Circle travelling via Sydenham along the length of the line before returning to the City Circle via Lidcombe and the Main Suburban railway line, and vice versa.

This ceased in 2013 following completion of new turnbacks at Lidcombe and Homebush as part of the Rail Clearways Program. Between 2013 and 2024, services from the City Circle via the Bankstown railway line instead terminated either at the new turnback at Lidcombe, or continued westward along the Main Southern railway line to terminate at Liverpool instead.

Current and future services

In October 2024, Sydney Trains replaced their previous services along the length of the line with more limited T6 Lidcombe & Bankstown services west of Bankstown only. East of Bankstown, the line is closed for works to convert it to Sydney Metro standards, after which that part of the line will be utilised by M1 North West & Bankstown services.

History

The line roughly parallels the Cooks River between Sydenham and Campsie

Branch to Belmore

The line opened on 1 February 1895, initially as a branch from the Illawarra railway line at Sydenham to Belmore. Railway authorities initially conceived of the line as a opportunity to alleviate pressure on the Old Main South railway line by providing an alternate route to Liverpool, and also to advance development of the intervening land. However, the 1890s depression constrained the development of the line.

Extension to Bankstown and the Main Southern railway line

Increased suburban development prompted the line to be extended to Bankstown on 14 April 1909, with intermediate stations at Lakemba and Punchbowl. In 1916, the Metropolitan Goods railway line was constructed, running parallel to the line between Marrickville to Campsie. On 16 July 1928, the line was extended from Bankstown to Sefton Park Junction, where it joined the Main Southern railway line between Regents Park and Sefton. This allowed trains to operate to Liverpool, or in a loop back toward the City Circle via Lidcombe and the Main Suburban railway line.

Electrification

In 1926, the line between Sydenham and Bankstown became the second in Sydney to be electrified. To service the new electric rolling stock, Punchbowl Maintenance Depot was built on the line just east of Bankstown. Electrification was extended from Bankstown to Regents Park in 1939. A new station between Lakemba and Punchbowl at Wiley Park opened on 19 June 1938. Punchbowl Maintenance Depot closed in 1994.

Upgrades

In January 2006, a four-year project to upgrade the line was completed. The work included the re-sleepering of the entire line, replacing the former wooden sleepers with the more durable concrete ones, replacement and upgrade of the signalling, and also replacement of the ageing catenary, mostly with the more modern double contact wire variety. The lengthy upgrade process was noted for its "January Closedowns", in which the entire line was closed in January for the bulk of the upgrade work to take place.

Conversion for Sydney Metro services

Canterbury railway station in 2022, with preliminary metro conversion works underway.

As part of the Sydney Metro City & Southwest project, the line from Sydenham to Bankstown is being converted from its current double deck commuter rail configuration to a rapid transit line. This will allow much a higher frequency service and will alleviate bottlenecks in the Sydney Trains system, but ensuring the line meets modern metro standards is a technically challenging undertaking, particularly with some of the stations which have curved platforms over a century old.

Planning approval of the upgrade of the line between Sydenham and Bankstown was received in December 2018. Intermittent temporary closures began in December 2019 for works to prepare for the conversion to metro standards, with the expectation of a longer, extended closure to occur immediately prior to the commencement of metro services.

In 2023, with conversion of the line having fallen a year behind schedule, the NSW Government announced that the opening of Sydney Metro City & Southwest would be staged, with services metro services not reaching Bankstown until late 2025, after a 12-month closure of the line for conversion works. Since 30 September 2024 the line east of Bankstown has been temporarily closed, with buses replacing rail services between Sydenham and Bankstown.