South Coast Line

This article is about the NSW TrainLink service. For the railway, see South Coast railway line, New South Wales.

South Coast Line

A NSW TrainLink H set travelling towards Scarborough.
Overview
Service type	Intercity rail
Locale	Illawarra region, New South Wales
First service	21 June 1887 (1887-06-21)
Current operator(s)	NSW TrainLink
Route
Termini	Central, Bondi Junction Bomaderry
Stops	45
Distance travelled	166 km (103 mi)
Line(s) used	Eastern Suburbs railway line South Coast railway line Port Kembla railway line
Technical
Rolling stock	NSW TrainLink H set and Endeavour railcar
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Track owner(s)	RailCorp
Transport for NSW rail services Metro North West & Bankstown North Shore & Western Leppington & Inner West Liverpool & Inner West Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Cumberland Lidcombe & Bankstown Olympic Park Airport & South Northern

The South Coast Line is an intercity rail service operated by NSW TrainLink that services the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The service runs from Central, and runs the entire length of the eponymous South Coast railway line to Bomaderry. The service also runs along the Eastern Suburbs railway line at peak hours and the Port Kembla railway line to Port Kembla. It is operated with NSW TrainLink H sets and intercity variants of Sydney Trains T sets, with Endeavour railcars operating the service on the non-electrified line between Kiama and Bomaderry.

Passenger trains first operated on the South Coast railway line in 1887, and is one of five routes on the NSW TrainLink Intercity network. The South Coast Line routes span 40 stations, across 159 km of railway. An additional 5 stations and 7 km of railway are travelled by South Coast Line trains at peak hour on the Eastern Suburbs railway line.

History

Stations

The first passenger train services on the Illawarra commenced on 21 June 1887, after the line was completed from Clifton to Wollongong, and later, North Kiama on 9 November 1887. The line was later connected to Waterfall via Helensburgh, Otford, Stanwell Park and Coalcliff the following year between July and October 1888, after delays on construction between Waterfall and Clifton. The line was further extended to Bomaderry through Kiama, opening on 2 June 1893.

An American Suburban carriage passenger train approaches Austinmer station. (photograph dated 1914)

View of the Shellharbour Junction station, which opened in late 2014.

While the railway network at Port Kembla was built in 1916, stations and passenger trains servicing the surrounding suburbs did not operate until 5 January 1920, when the Port Kembla railway station was opened. A station at Cringila was added to the Port Kembla commuter branch in 1926, along with one at Port Kembla North, a decade later, in 1936. A railway station for workers at Port Kembla, named Lysaghts, after the nearby Bluescope Lysaght steel plant, was also opened in 1938.

Services and rolling stock

Services were originally operated with Locomotive-hauled trains and, later, Diesel railcars, prior to the electrification of the South Coast railway line. The line was electrified to Helensburgh in 1984, with the suburban Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line service occasionally extending their service past the terminus at Waterfall at Helensburgh during peak hours; a practice in which the current Sydney Trains Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line service still does today. Electrification extended to Wollongong the following year. Despite the newly installed electrification, diesel and locomotive trains still operated along the line from Kiama all the way past Wollongong to Sydney, including the locally-famous South Coast Daylight Express, until 1991. Electrification of the South Coast railway line was further extended to Dapto in 1993 and, finally, to Kiama in 2001. The railway between Kiama and Bomaderry is the only part of the line that remains non-electrified, operated by New South Wales Endeavour railcars since their introduction in 1994.

The electrified rolling stock of the South Coast Line began with V set intercity trains. There were later accompanied by Tangaras when they were introduced into the CityRail network in 1988. Originally, the Tangaras that ran on the South Coast Line were different variations of T sets known as G sets. G sets differed from T sets in that they had reversible seats, toilets, fresh water dispensers and luggage racks. In late 2005, it was discovered that a majority of the V set rolling stock operating on the South Coast Line were suffering from corrosion in their underframes. More G sets were introduced onto the South Coast Line to compensate, and eventually became the standard rolling stock on the South Coast Line after V sets ceased operating on the service. From January 2012, V sets ceased operating South Coast services. In 2009, however, after the introduction of OSCARs onto the intercity CityRail network, All G sets were recalled for conversion into T sets. The OSCAR fleet effectively replaced the G set rolling stock and, since 2010, standard Sydney Trains T sets, owned by NSW TrainLink, have been operating services to Port Kembla.

Incidents

On 20 December 1994, an accident involving two empty S sets occurred during a shunting procedure at Waterfall. One of the trains jack-knifed onto the platform, demolishing the concrete pedestrian bridge. No injuries or casualties, however, were reported. On the morning of 31 January 2003, an intercity Tangara en route to Port Kembla derailed at high speed between Waterfall and Helensburgh, resulting in the deaths of seven people and injury of forty. The accident was the third major accident resulting in fatalities on the CityRail network in 13 years, after the Cowan rail accident in 1990 and Glenbrook rail accident in 1999.

On 24 November 2011, a Pacific National coal train derailed near Clifton, causing the suspension of South Coast Line services between Waterfall and Thirroul. Services were resumed four days later, after the derailed train was removed from the tracks. The train had derailed immediately after coming out of the Clifton tunnel, with the front eight clearing the tunnel and derailing, and the rear twelve carriages remaining inside the tunnel. The Office of Transport Safety Investigations found that the cause of the derailment was a broken axle.

Services

The rolling stock of the South Coast Line: OSCARs (left), Tangaras (center), and Endeavours (right).

NSW TrainLink South Coast Line services typically commence from Platform 14 at Central, though, peak hour services can commence from Bondi Junction and Martin Place on the Eastern Suburbs railway line, and stop at Central at Platform 25. South Coast Line trains pass through most of the stations on the suburban section of the South Coast railway line, and usually only stop at Redfern, Wolli Creek, Hurstville, Sutherland and Waterfall, though services to and from Thirroul and Port Kembla also make additional stops at Sydenham, Loftus, Engadine and Heathcote. The most common Central to Kiama services, operated by NSW TrainLink H sets (OSCARs), bypass most of the stations on the line, while all-stations services operate between Waterfall and Port Kembla and Thirroul and Port Kembla with NSW TrainLink-owned Sydney Trains T sets (Tangaras). All Central to Kiama services make stops at all stations between North Wollongong and Kiama, with the exception of the request stop Kembla Grange. Express services also exist between Bondi Junction and Wollongong, and Bondi Junction and Dapto. Shuttle train services between Kiama and Bomaderry are operated by Diesel-engined New South Wales Endeavour railcars, due to the line not being electrified past Kiama.

Stopping Patterns

Weekday Peak Hours There are no set stopping patterns for peak hours, however every 20 minutes a service operates between Bondi Junction all stations to Central (Platforms 24/25), Redfern (Platform 11/12), Wolli Creek, Hurstville and the South Coast.

Weekday Off-Peak

• Central (i), Redfern (Platform 1/2), Wolli Creek, Hurstville, Sutherland, Helensburgh, Thirroul, North Wollongong, Wollongong then all stations (except Kembla Grange) to Kiama (operates every 60 minutes)
• Kiama then all stations to Bomaderry/Nowra (operates every 120 minutes - connects with every second Central-Kiama train)
• Waterfall then all stations to Port Kembla via Thirroul and Wollongong (operates every 60 minutes)

Weekends

• Bondi Junction, all to Central (Platform 24/25), then Redfern (Platform 11/12), Wolli Creek, Hurstville, Sutherland, Waterfall then all stations to Thirroul, then North Wollongong, Wollongong and then all stations to Kiama (operates every 120 minutes)
• Bondi Junction, all to Central (Platform 24/25), then Redfern (Platform 11/12), Wolli Creek, Hurstville, Sutherland, Waterfall, Helensburgh, Thirroul, North Wollongong, Wollongong and then all stations to Kiama (operates every 120 minutes - connects with Nowra train)
• Kiama then all stations to Bomaderry/Nowra (operates every 120 minutes - connects with express Bondi Junction-Kiama train)

Stations

New South Wales metropolitan rail area, with the South Coast Line highlighted in blue

Name	Code	Distance from Central	Travel Time	Railway	Suburbs serviced	Connecting Services
colspan="7" style=background:#Template:NSW TrainLink color|Bondi Junction - Waterfall (Suburban section)
Bondi Junction	BJN	6.7 km	dep.	Eastern Suburbs railway line	Bondi Junction, Woollahra	Template:Eastern suburbs & Illawarra line
Edgecliff	ECL	4.8 km	3 min		Edgecliff, Darling Point	Template:Eastern suburbs & Illawarra line
Kings Cross	KSX	3.4 km	3 min		Kings Cross, Rushcutters Bay	Template:Eastern suburbs & Illawarra line
Martin Place	MPC	2.1 km	2 min		Sydney	Template:Eastern suburbs & Illawarra line
Town Hall	THL	1.1 km	3 min		Sydney	Services Template:Airport, Inner West & South line Template:Bankstown line Template:Eastern suburbs & Illawarra line Template:Newcastle & central coast line Template:North Shore, Northern & Western line
Central	SBO	0.0 km	3 min		Sydney, Strawberry Hills, Ultimo, Surry Hills	Services Template:Airport, Inner West & South line Template:Bankstown line Template:Blue mountains line Template:Eastern suburbs & Illawarra line Template:Newcastle & central coast line North Coast Region Template:North Shore, Northern & Western line North West Region Southern Region Western Region
Redfern	RDF	1.3 km	2 min		Redfern, Waterloo, Darlington	Services Template:Airport, Inner West & South line Template:Bankstown line Template:Blue mountains line Template:Eastern suburbs & Illawarra line Template:Newcastle & central coast line Template:North Shore, Northern & Western line
Wolli Creek	RDF	7.3 km	8 min	South Coast railway line	Wolli Creek, Arncliffe	Template:Airport, Inner West & South line Template:Eastern suburbs & Illawarra line
Hurstville	HVL	14.8 km	15 min		Hurstville, Hurstville South	Template:Eastern suburbs & Illawarra line
Sutherland	SLD	24.6 km	10 min		Sutherland	Template:Eastern suburbs & Illawarra line
Waterfall	WFL	38.7 km	12 min		Waterfall	Template:Eastern suburbs & Illawarra line
colspan=7 style=background:#Template:NSW TrainLink color|Waterfall - Coniston
Helensburgh	HSB	46.3 km	9 min	South Coast railway line	Helensburgh, Lilyvale
Otford	OTF	54.6 km	6 min		Otford, Stanwell Tops
Stanwell Park	SWP	56.0 km	4 min		Stanwell Park
Coalcliff	CCF	59.3 km	6 min		Coalcliff
Scarborough	SWP	62.5 km	5 min		Scarborough, Clifton
Wombarra	WMJ	64.4 km	3 min		Wombarra
Coledale	COL	66.2 km	3 min		Coledale
Austinmer	AUR	68.6 km	3 min		Austinmer
Thirroul	TRL	70.2 km	2 min		Thirroul
Bulli	BUI	72.2 km	2 min		Bulli
Woonona	WOJ	74.0 km	2 min		Woonona
Bellambi	BLM	75.6 km	2 min		Bellambi, Russell Vale
Corrimal	CIM	77.0 km	1 min		Corrimal, East Corrimal
Towradgi	TOW	78.0 km	1 min		Towradgi, Tarrawanna
Fairy Meadow	FMW	79.4 km	2 min		Fairy Meadow
North Wollongong	NHW	81.3 km	3 min		North Wollongong, Gwynneville, Mount Ousley
Wollongong	WOL	82.9 km	4 min		Wollongong	Wollongong - Bundanoon Coach
Coniston	CNI	84.1 km	2 min		Coniston
colspan=7 style=background:#Template:NSW TrainLink color|Coniston - Port Kembla (Port Kembla branch)
Lysaghts	LYS	86.3 km	3 min	Port Kembla railway line
Cringila	CRG	87.7 km	2 min		Cringila
Port Kembla North	PBN	88.8 km	2 min		Warrawong
Port Kembla	PKM	90.2 km	3 min		Port Kembla
colspan=7 style=background:#Template:NSW TrainLink color|Coniston - Kiama
Unanderra	UDR	88.3 km	5 min	South Coast railway line	Unanderra
Kembla Grange	KGG	91.6 km	3 min		Kembla Grange
Dapto	DAP	95.1 km	5 min		Dapto, Horsley	Wollongong - Bundanoon Coach
Albion Park	ALP	103.3 km	~9 min		Albion Park Rail	Wollongong - Bundanoon Coach
Oak Flats	OAF	105.5 km	3 min		Oak Flats, Blackbutt
Shellharbour Junction		108.9 km	4 min		Croom, Flinders, Shell Cove
Minnamurra	MUR	113.4 km	5 min		Minnamurra
Bombo	BMB	117.6 km	5 min		Kiama Downs
Kiama	KAM	119.2 km	3 min		Kiama
colspan=7 style=background:#Template:NSW TrainLink color|Kiama - Bomaderry (Non-electric service)
Gerringong	GOG	128.6 km	9 min	South Coast railway line	Gerringong
Berry	BRY	140.8 km	9 min		Berry
Bomaderry	BOM	153.4 km	9 min		Bomaderry, Nowra

External links

• NSW TrainLink official website