Sydney, the largest city in
Australia, has an extensive network of passenger and freight railways. The passenger system consists of an extensive
suburban railway network,
Sydney Trains, which has a central
underground core running at
metro-equivalent frequencies, and a
light rail line, mostly running on a formerly disused line that was a part of the separate network of
freight lines.
Sydney Metro is a
rapid transit system under construction, that will be operated independently from the current train network, but interchange with it. The
light rail network is also expanding, with the only currently operational light rail line being the
Dulwich Hill Line.
The existing network has some things in common with conventional rapid transit systems, including 20 hours a day operation, 15 minute or better frequencies on most of the network, large underground sections, a ridership comparable and even larger than most North American rapid transit systems and relatively small distances between stations.
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Most suburban services operate through central Sydney via the underground
City Circle (not a true circle line but a two-way loop extending under the CBD from Central Station, the
Eastern Suburbs underground line, or over the
Harbour Bridge. There are have been long term plans for a new underground line passing beneath
Pitt Street to a new harbour crossing. Currently this line is in the advanced planning stages as a
rapid transit line, with construction expected from 2017-2024.
Timetables are published for all lines, and most lines run on headways of 15 minutes in peak periods, half-hourly off-peak and weekends. Headways are closer over shared routes. Although frequencies match
metro style operation in the city core, few Sydneysiders use the underground network as a metro, most journeys being commuter trips from suburbs into the central city area. An exception to this is the
Eastern Suburbs line which serves the high density inner eastern suburbs and opened in 1979.
Rolling stock
Main article:
Rail rolling stock in New South Wales
All suburban passenger trains in Sydney are double-deck
electric multiple units. Upon electrification in the 1920s Sydney operated single-deck multiple units but these were progressively withdrawn from the 1960s until their final demise in 1993. Single-deck cars will be reintroduced to Sydney with the completion of the Sydney Metro Northwest. [...]
