CityRail

This article is on the commuter rail network centred on Sydney, Australia. For the former New Zealand Railways service, see Tranz Metro.

For the Beijing subway line known as the CityRail Line, see Line 13, Beijing Subway

The concourse of  Central Railway Station, the main station on the CityRail network. The station opened in its present location in 1906.

CityRail is an operating division of RailCorp, a corporation owned by the state government of New South Wales, Australia. It is responsible for providing commuter, 'intercity' and regional rail services, and some coach services, in and around Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong, the three largest cities of New South Wales. It is also the name of the network on which the services run.

Construction of what is now the CityRail network began in 1855. Today it consists of 302 stations and over 2,060 km of track, extending to the upper Hunter Valley and the Shoalhaven area. Four new lines are now in various stages of planning and construction. CityRail and the state's Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation are currently engaged in a process of "sectorisation", a project called "Rail Clearways", in an effort to reduce its operational complexity.

Established under the Transport Administration Act (NSW) 1988 around 1990, CityRail is a "product group" of Rail Corporation New South Wales (Railcorp), the state-owned corporation (SOC) that operates the New South Wales railways. It is a sister group of CountryLink, which operates rail and coach services in regional New South Wales.

Most of the CityRail system is electrified with 1500 V DC supplied by overhead wire; some isolated sections outside the Sydney metropolitan area are operated by diesel railcars. All CityRail electric trains are double-deck multiple units.

Operations

Fleet

CityRail Millennium train's operate on the Airport & East Hills, South, Bankstown, Inner West Lines to and from the City Circle

Main article: CityRail fleet

In 2009 CityRail ran ten types of rolling stock, in two categories: electric multiple units (EMUs) for suburban and interurban working, and diesel multiple units (DMUs) for interurban and regional lines running through less populated areas. All CityRail electric trains use 1500 V DC overhead electrification and travel on 1435 mm standard gauge tracks. All electric rolling stock has been double deck since the early 1990s.

The CityRail network is divided into three sectors, based around three maintenance depots. EMU trainsets are identified by target plates, which are exhibited on the front lower nearside of driving carriages. Target designations and set numbers are used in identifying EMU trainsets. The composition and formations of trainsets, and the target designations are subject to alteration. The target designation originally identified the depot at which a trainset was based, e.g. "M" for Mortdale, "F" for Flemington, "H" for Hornsby and "B" for Punchbowl (on the Bankstown line). However, the introduction of a variety of EMU types led to the target designation's use as a means of identifying the type of trainset, more like a vehicle or locomotive number. Hence, "M" is now used for the Millennium trainsets.

Cityrail maintenance sectors

Sector #	Depot	Serviced lines	Target plate
1	Mortdale	Illawarra and Eastern Suburbs, South Coast	Red
2	Flemington	Cumberland, Airport and East Hills, Olympic Park Sprint, Carlingford, South, Bankstown	Blue
3	Hornsby	North Shore, Northern, Western, Richmond, Newcastle, Blue Mountains, Central Coast	Black

All double deck InterUrban (DDIU or V set) EMU trains, which operate on the Blue Mountains, Newcastle and Central Coast, and South Coast lines, are serviced at Flemington Depot, and all M set and H set trains, which have a green target plate, are serviced at Eveleigh Maintenance Centre near Redfern station.

In November 2006 the NSW government and RailCorp/CityRail announced the manufacturer for the new trains (626 carriages) set to replace the L, R & S sets. The chosen manufacturer RelianceRail/Downer EDI is the same company that built the M (Millennium) sets. This has been said to be the largest order of rolling stock in Australia's history, at a cost of $3.6 billion, which includes a brand new maintenance facility at Auburn. The first eight carriages are tested to be on the network by 2009, with all running on the network by Early 2010-2013..

Ticketing

Main article: Automated Fare Collection System

CityRail's current automated ticketing system, dating from 1992, is based on magnetic stripe technology and is interoperable with the government's buses and ferries.

Unlike the ticketing systems of other cities in Australia, most of CityRail's ticket prices are calculated on the distance travelled. The distance begins in increments of 5 km up to 35 km, then in increments of 10 km up to 135 km, then increments of 20 km up to 255 km, then 305 km and over 305 km. As of June 2009 the minimum adult single fare for travelling up to and including 5 km was $AU3.20; the 513.54 km journey from Scone to Goulburn, the two stations furthest apart on the network, cost $AU22.

Entry to privately owned train stations at Sydney Airport, Mascot and Green Square requires a Station Access Fee in addition to the train fare, costing in total $15.20 for one adult to the City from the International Terminal..

Performance

According to the 'Parry report', "The interaction of metropolitan, suburban, intercity and freight lines and services has resulted in an overly complex system." This complexity has contributed in part to the organisation being widely criticised for poor reliability and safety. CityRail is also enormously expensive. RailCorp requires a government subsidy of close to $1.8 billion a year, approximately 5% of the state budget and more than three times what it collects in fares. "There is an overwhelming sense," the report concluded, "that CityRail does not promote a real commitment to quality, customer focus and a service culture."

On-time running has improved since new timetables were introduced in 2005 and 2006. In April 2008, 99.6% of all services ran, and 92.6% of these services arrived within five minutes of their scheduled arrival time. However a 2007 report by Hong Kong's Mass Transit Railway Corporation found that Sydney's train system reliability levels lagged behind international benchmarks.

Network

In 2009 CityRail operated 11 suburban lines, four intercity lines, and one regional line. The standard network map is shown here.

CityRail Suburban network.

Suburban lines

■ Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line - Between Bondi Junction and Waterfall/Cronulla. This includes the:

• Eastern Suburbs Line.
• Illawarra Line.
• Cronulla Line.

■ Bankstown Line - Between Central and Liverpool/Lidcombe, via City Circle (clockwise) and Bankstown.
■ Inner West Line - Between Central and Bankstown/Liverpool, via City Circle (anticlockwise) and Strathfield.
■ Airport & East Hills Line - Between Central and Macarthur, via City Circle (clockwise) and Sydenham (peak) or Wolli Creek.
■ South Line - Between Central and Campbelltown, via City Circle (anticlockwise) and Granville.
■ Cumberland Line - Between Blacktown and Campbelltown.
■ Western Line - Between Central and Emu Plains or Richmond. This includes the:

• Richmond Line.

■ North Shore Line - Between Central and Berowra (via Chatswood).
■ Carlingford Line - Between Clyde and Carlingford.
■ Olympic Park Sprint - Between Lidcombe and Olympic Park, extending to Central in off-peak and during special events.
■ Northern Line - Between North Sydney and Hornsby (via Strathfield).
■ Epping to Chatswood Rail Link - Between Epping and Chatswood (via Macquarie).

* In peak hour on the North Shore line, some outer-suburban services run to Gosford and Wyong, and some Western Line services extend to Springwood.

In peak hour, some City Circle services run in the opposite direction than normal

Intercity services

CityRail intercity and regional network as of 2000.

Intercity lines are shown in grey on CityRail maps, with the line colour on the stations.

■ South Coast Line - Between Central** and Bomaderry (Nowra) or Port Kembla.
■ Southern Highlands Line - Between Campbelltown** and Goulburn.
■ Blue Mountains Line - Between Central** and Lithgow.
■ Newcastle & Central Coast Line - Between Central and Newcastle.

** Some peak services on the South Coast Line run to/from Bondi Junction, some on the Southern Highlands Line to/from Central, and some on the Blue Mountains Line to/from Hornsby. Southern Highlands services run to Central only in the morning and from Central in the afternoon and evening. At other times, a change of train is required at Campbelltown or Macarthur.

Regional services

■ Hunter Lines - Between Newcastle and Telarah, with less frequent services to Dungog or Scone.

Connecting bus services

CityRail operates several bus routes along corridors where the railway line has been closed to passengers. These bus services appear in CityRail timetables and accept CityRail tickets, but they are operated by private-sector bus companies contracted by CityRail. In 2006 these CityRail bus services are:

■ Bowral to Picton Loop Line - Bowral to Picton via Thirlmere. weekdays only
■ South Coast to Southern Highlands Line - Bundanoon/Bowral to Wollongong via Robertson.
■ Lithgow to Bathurst - Lithgow to Bathurst via Mt Lambie.
■ Fassifern to Toronto - Fassifern to Toronto via Blackall's Park.

NightRide

File:Nightridemap.gif

Nightride Map

Main article: NightRide

To provide a passenger service between midnight and 5.00 am while leaving the tracks clear of trains for maintenance work, a parallel bus service was established in 1989. The NightRide operates typically at hourly intervals (some routes depart more frequently on weekends). NightRide services are run by private bus operators, and are identified by route numbers beginning with "N". All valid CityRail tickets for a destination (apart from single tickets) are accepted on NightRide services. Bus stops and railway stations do not always perfectly coincide, but there is a reasonable approximation on most routes.

Network overview

An R set leaves Artarmon railway station, on the North Shore Line

The underground Museum station in the centre of Sydney

The CityRail network is a hybrid of three different types of passenger railway: metro-style underground; suburban commuter rail and interurban.

For example, a person who lives in Blacktown, 30 km west of Sydney and works in the city centre 2 km from Sydney's Central Station can catch a CityRail suburban service from his/her local station. However, the train does not terminate at Central Station, instead proceeding onward into the underground network in Sydney's CBD and some inner city neighbourhoods without the need to change trains or buy tickets from a different railway organisation.

There is evidence this hybrid arrangement was deliberate. The design of the early electric carriages was developed as a combination of the high-capacity, low-boarding time of the New York Subways trains and the existing English long carriage design that was established in Australia's long-haul steam train system. Those design principles have carried over to successive rolling stock.

CityRail also operates several interurban services that terminate at Central Station (though some services operate in the metro-style portions of the system in the peak hours). These lines stretch over 160 km (100 miles) from Sydney, as far north as Newcastle, as far west as Lithgow, as far south-west as Goulburn and as far south as Kiama and Port Kembla. Southern Highlands trains require a connection at Campbelltown as they run into the city during peak hours only.

Regional services operate from the terminus station at Newcastle, with local electric services to the Central Coast and diesel services to Maitland. After Maitland, the DMUs travel either to Scone or Dungog, but most terminate at Maitland or Telarah. Another regional service operates as part of the South Coast Line, with DMUs between Kiama and Bomaderry-Nowra.

The hub of the CityRail system is Central Station, where most lines start and end. Trains coming from the Airport and East Hills Line and Bankstown Line, after travelling anticlockwise on the City Circle sometimes terminate upon arrival at Central and proceed to the Macdonaldtown Turnback. However, most trains continue on and become respective outward bound Inner West trains and South Line trains. The reverse applies for trains coming from the Inner West and South Lines, which, if not terminating, become outward bound trains on the Airport and East Hills line and Bankstown Line respectively. In the same manner, all trains from the Western Line or Northern Line become North Shore line trains once they reach Central and vice-versa.

As well as the intercity services mentioned above, local services also run in the Newcastle local area during off-peak times, as part of the Newcastle & Central Coast Line. Local services also run on the South Coast Line in the Wollongong local area, usually between Thirroul and Port Kembla.

History

The original railway network for Sydney CBD planned by John Bradfield

CityRail's origins go as far back as 1855 when the first railway in New South Wales opened between Sydney and Granville, now a suburb of Sydney but then a major agricultural centre. The railway formed the basis of the New South Wales railways and was owned by the government. Passenger and freight services were operated from the beginning. The State's railway system quickly expanded from the outset with lines radiating from Sydney and Newcastle into the interior of New South Wales, with frequent passenger railway services in the suburban areas of Sydney and Newcastle along with less frequent passenger trains into the rural areas and interstate. All services were powered by steam locomotives, though in the 1920s petrol railcars were introduced for minor branch lines with low passenger numbers, both in metropolitan Sydney and rural areas.

The CityRail system as it exists today is to some extent the result of the vision and foresight of John Bradfield, one of Australia's most respected and famous civil engineers. He was involved in the design and construction of Sydney's underground railways in the 1920s and 1930s, but he is more famous for the associated design and construction of Sydney's greatest icon, the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Electrification

New South Wales uses an overhead electrification system at 1 500 volts direct current. Whilst inferior to and more expensive than modern single phase alternating current equipment, it was in vogue during the 1920s and is generally sufficient for the operation of electric multiple unit trains. However, the introduction of powerful electric locomotives in the 1950s, followed by the Millennium Train in 2002, revealed drawbacks in this antiquated system of electrification. As the voltage is relatively low, high currents are required in order to supply a given amount of power, which necessitates the use of very heavy duty cabling and substation equipment (among the heaviest in the world). Until the retirement of electric locomotives from freight service, it was often necessary to observe a "power margin" to ensure that substations were not overloaded. This situation was similar to that which applied to The Milwaukee Road's 3 000 VDC electrification. Plans to electrify the Hunter Valley at 25 kV alternating current were abandoned in the 1990s. With private freight operation favouring diesel haulage, it is unlikely that the electrification will extend beyond its present outer-metropolitan limits in the forseeable future.

Electrification came to Sydney's suburbs in 1926 with the first suburban electric service running between Sydney's Central Station and the suburb of Oatley approximately 20 km south of Sydney. In the same year, the first underground railway was constructed from Central Station to St James in Sydney's CBD . Electric trains that had previously terminated at the Central Station continued north, diving underground at the Goulburn Street tunnel portal, stopping at Museum underground station and then terminating at St James. Other lines were soon electrified. Also, in conjunction with the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge which opened in 1932, an additional underground line in downtown Sydney was constructed, connecting the North Shore line with Central Station via two downtown stations, Town Hall and Wynyard.

World War II interrupted programmes for further electrification, but an extensive electric network was in place in 1948.

Structure

The Public Transport Commission of New South Wales was created in 1972 by the merger of the Department of Railways, New South Wales and the New South Wales Department of Government Transport, which operated buses and ferries. It was broken up in 1980 into the State Rail Authority and Urban Transit Authority. CityRail was established in 1990 under the Transport Administration Act (NSW) 1988 as a business unit of State Rail.

Criticism

The quality of the rail system is a matter of considerable political sensitivity. Its performance has been questioned due to issues regarding safety, punctuality and other technicalities. Transport is the third largest area of public expenditure in NSW, after health and education. A newspaper distributed to commuters, mX, and the Sydney Morning Herald's "campaign for Sydney" kept transport at the top of the agenda ahead of the 2007 state election. Unfortunately, the railway in New South Wales is treated as a political football, with successive governments reluctant to commit to major capital works projects. With few exceptions, the result has been a series of incremental and largely inconsequential changes and additions to the network since the 1930s.

Safety

A typical message asking passengers to stand behind the yellow line, and tactile paving near the edge of the platform

The safety of the CityRail network was called into question by two fatal accidents. The second Glenbrook train disaster in 1999 killed seven people. In 2003, the Waterfall train disaster killed six. Inquiries were conducted into both accidents. Official findings into the latter accident also blamed an "underdeveloped safety culture." There has been criticism of the way CityRail managed safety issues that arose, resulting in what the NSW Ministry of Transport called "a reactive approach to risk management." CityRail has launched public information campaigns regarding railway trespassing, prams and strollers, and falling between the platform and the train.

Crime and terrorism

Crime committed on railway property has decreased by 32.9% since 2002, which RailCorp attributes to the deployment of some 600 Transit Officers across the network. Most stations now have emergency "help points" to put passengers in immediate contact with authorities should an incident occur. All stations are covered by closed-circuit television surveillance. However a large amount of graffiti is still evident on some trains and the depots.

In recent years, concerns over terrorism have played a role in the management of the network. CityRail and other public transport providers participate in an ongoing public terrorism awareness campaign, If you see something, say something, adapted from a similar campaign in New York.

Integrated ticketing system

Tcard was an integrated inter-modal stored-value ticketing project, similar to London's Oyster Card, originally intended to be in place before the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The project experienced many delays and was the source of acrimony and lawsuits between the developer ERG and the state government. In 2007 the state government terminated the project and the $64m invested in it has been written off. ERG and the independent regulator attributed some of the delays to CityRail's complex fare structure.

Value

In his interim report to the NSW Government, Tom Parry was highly critical of CityRail. "It is hard to believe that taxpayers or the state are getting the best possible value from the large amounts of money being spent each year," he wrote.

Overloading

In 2008 overloading of trains was found by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal to be a significant cause of delays. Ten of the 13 lines have peak loads over 135% of capacity, and three in ten trains during the morning peak are officially overcrowded.

Future development

Partial diagram of possible 2050 network under the proposed Christie report

Main article: Proposed railways in Sydney

The CityRail network is undergoing a process of expansion in response to concerns that rail services are inadequate in Western Sydney, while the existing network has become dilapidated. At present, the Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation is undertaking or planning several construction projects for CityRail.

The Government of New South Wales announced in 2003 that it intended to separate the existing CityRail lines into five independent lines with more reliable and frequent services. The project is called "Rail Clearways", and the five new sectors are listed as the Illawarra and Eastern Suburbs Line, the Bankstown Line, the Campbelltown Express Line, the Airport & South Line and the North-West Lines. This project is estimated to cost $AU1.5 billion and is scheduled for completion in 2010.

Related to the Clearways Project is the construction of the new 13 km Epping to Chatswood Line which runs between Epping on the Northern Line and Chatswood on the North Shore line, with three new stations in between, servicing the North Ryde industrial area, Macquarie University, and Macquarie Shopping Centre. Services were scheduled to commence on 22 February 2009, however this was moved to 23 February due to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd declaring 22 February as a "day of mourning" for the Black Saturday bushfires. The first service left Epping at 11:05 am.

See also

• List of Sydney railway stations
• Metro Light Rail
• Metro Monorail
• Railways in Sydney
• Southern Sydney Freight Line
• Sydney underground railways

Notes

References

• RailCorp Annual Report 2005-2006
• Interim Report of the Ministerial Inquiry into Sustainable Transport in New South Wales
• Details and map of Clearways
• North West Rail Link
• South West Rail Link
• Christie Report - Long Term Strategic Plan for Rail.
• NSW Audit Office: Managing Disruption to CityRail services.

External links

Official

• CityRail - CityRail Website
• CityRail's Fleet - CityRail webpage of its rolling stock.
• RailCorp Homepage
• Rail Infrastructure Corporation
• State Transit Authority

Enthusiast

• Railpage Australia - General news and discussion about Australian railways.
• Sydney Electric Train Society (SETS) Incorporated - Established in 1991 for the preservation and operation of Sydney's vintage single deck electric trains and electric locomotives 4615 and 8606.
• Trendy's Trainpage - Facts and photos of the trains and railways of Sydney, Australia
• The Intercity Platform - Images (and videos) of the CityRail Fleet.
• Historical NSW Rail Timetables- Historical Sydney Railway Timetables