Central Coast & Newcastle Line

Central Coast & Newcastle Line

A NSW TrainLink H set at Berowra railway station
Overview
Service type	Intercity rail
Locale	Central Coast and Newcastle, New South Wales
Current operator(s)	NSW TrainLink
Route
Start	Central
Stops	36
End	Newcastle Interchange
Distance travelled	165.60km
Line(s) used	Main North railway line Newcastle railway line
Technical
Rolling stock	NSW TrainLink H and V sets
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Track owner(s)	RailCorp
NSW TrainLink intercity services Blue Mountains Central Coast & Newcastle Hunter South Coast Southern Highlands

The Central Coast & Newcastle Line is a NSW TrainLink passenger train service that runs along the Main North railway line in New South Wales, connecting the state's two largest cities, Sydney and Newcastle. The service runs from Central through to Broadmeadow on the Main North railway line to Newcastle Interchange on the Newcastle railway line, and services the Hawkesbury River region, the Central Coast and the city of Newcastle.

Description of route

The Hawkesbury River separates Sydney and the Central Coast. The bridge over the river is one of the major engineering structures on the line.

The route traverse the Main West and Main South railway line routes until Strathfield, where it diverts north and follows the route of the Main North line until Broadmeadow, before diverting east along the route of the Newcastle branch line. To Newcastle Interchange The line is electrified at 1500V DC throughout, and is primarily double track, although there with refuge loops at Hawkesbury River, Gosford, Wyong, Awaba, and Sulphide Junction (between Cockle Creek and Cardiff). Some services terminate at Gosford and Wyong.

Sometimes when there is trackwork between Strathfield and Hornsby, trains will operate via the North Shore line to Hornsby (or to Epping via ECRL when there is trackwork between Strathfield and Epping), then follow the Main North railway line as normal.

Partial closure of Newcastle Line

The section of the Newcastle railway line between Hamilton and Newcastle was closed on 25 December 2014. Until the opening of Newcastle Interchange in 2017, Hamilton formed a temporary terminus.^[1] The closed section between Wickham and Newcastle is due to be replaced with the Newcastle Light Rail.^[2]

Services

Prior to electrification of the route, steam hauled passenger trains were varied and interesting.^[3] From November 1929 until April 1988, the Newcastle Flyer operated on the route. After electrification, services were taken over by U and V sets. Later the U sets were replaced by K and G sets which in turn were replaced by H sets.

From the time the line was electrified, services to Gosford were hauled by 46 class locomotives, their sphere of operation increasing as the wires were extended.

The last electric locomotives were withdrawn in March 1998^[4] with all services since hauled by diesel locomotives. Today Aurizon, Pacific National and Southern Shorthaul Railroad all regularly operate freight trains on the line.

Most all-stations trains have four carriages, with the first and last car being quiet carriages. Peak-hour and most express services usually have eight cars, with quiet carriages on the first, last, and the two middle carriages.

Upgrades

Proposed

A NSW TrainLink H set. H sets, along with V sets, service the line.

Warnervale station

A new station is proposed for Warnervale.^[10][11] The draft Central Coast Transportation Strategy stated that construction of the new railway station was to be completed by 2016.^[12] In October 2014 there were some differences between Wyong Council and the State Government over how a strategic piece of land should be developed at Warnervale.^[13]

Stations

This table does not include the services which run via the North Shore line and extend to Gosford and Wyong via Gordon .

Patronage

The following table shows the patronage of each line of the NSW TrainLink Intercity network for the year ending 30 June 2018, based on Opal tap on and tap off data.^[14]

2017-18 NSW TrainLink Intercity patronage by line

Blue Mountains Line	10 168 000
Central Coast & Newcastle Line	19 441 000
Hunter Line	926 000
South Coast Line	9 851 000
Southern Highlands Line	1 059 000

See also

• Main Northern Line- for details of history and construction.
• Newcastle Branch line- for the branch line between Broadmeadow and Newcastle.
• Woy Woy Tunnel.
• Hawkesbury River Railway Bridge.

References

Further reading

• The Short North, Singleton C.C. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, May et seq, 1965