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T1 North Shore & Western Line
The T1 North Shore & Western Line (currently the T1 North Shore, Northern & Western Line) is a future commuter rail line serving the North Shore and Western Suburbs in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The line will form part of the Sydney Trains network and will be coloured yellow on maps and informational material. The line will enter service in April 2019.
History
Following victory in the 2011 New South Wales election, the new O'Farrell Government embarked on reform of transport in New South Wales. In November 2011, a new organisation, Transport for NSW, was created to improve planning and coordination of transport projects and services. The organisation developed a new rail timetable and branding, which was put into effect on 20 October 2013. This saw the merger of the North Shore Line and Western Line (Berowra - City via Gordon then to Emu Plains or Richmond via Strathfield) with the Northern Line (Hornsby - City via Macquarie Park then to Epping via Strathfield). A new numbering system was also introduced and the line was given the number T1.
The Epping to Chatswood railway line, which had formed part of the T1 North Shore, Northern & Western Line, closed in late 2018 for conversion to metro standards as part of the Sydney Metro Northwest project. This saw the Northern Line return to its traditional route, although it is still being operated under the T1 North Shore, Northern & Western Line banner. In early 2019 Transport for NSW decided to reinstate separate branding for the Northern Line. The new T9 Northern Line will operate from Hornsby to Gordon via Strathfield. [1][2]
Railway line history
The North Shore & Western Line uses a number of different railway lines and is the result of various schemes to link the lines together. The line runs along the entirety of the Main Suburban railway line which runs from Central to Granville. This connects to the North Shore railway line at the city end and the Main Western line at the western end. T1 trains continue from the North Shore line to the Main Northern railway line (which branches from the Main Suburban line at Strathfield) and travel as far as Berowra. At Blacktown on the Main Western line, the T1 line branches in two. One branch continues along the Main Western line to Emu Plains and the other travels along the full length of the Richmond railway line.
The North Shore, Northern & Western Line formerly used the Epping to Chatswood line in addition to the above lines, which provided a second connection between the Main Northern and North Shore lines.
Main Western and Richmond lines
The Main Western line opened to Penrith in 1863 as a branch from the junction with the Main South line at Granville.[3] Electrification reached Parramatta in 1928 and Penrith in 1955.[4]
A branch line was opened to Richmond in 1864. Electrification from Riverstone to Richmond opened in August 1991.[5] Through running to and from Sydney commenced in 1992.
North Shore Line
The North Shore line was opened on 1 January 1890 between Hornsby and St Leonards. The line was extended to the Sydney Harbour foreshore at Milsons Point in 1893. Transport between this original Milsons Point station and central Sydney was by ferry boat. The line was electrified in 1927.
When the Sydney Harbour Bridge was opened in 1932 a new Milsons Point station (on the bridge approach) came into operation and the North Shore Line was extended through it and over the Sydney Harbour Bridge to link with the underground lines of central Sydney. The result is that the two ends of the North Shore Line link to the Sydney railway system at Central and Hornsby.
Main Northern and Epping to Chatswood lines
The traditional Northern Line was the suburban portion of the Main Northern line which opened in 1886 and was electrified in 1926. When the Sydney Harbour Bridge was opened, the Northern Line was connected to the City underground and the North Shore line.
In 2009 the Epping to Chatswood line was opened. The traditional Northern line route ran from Hornsby to North Sydney via Strathfield and the City. When the Epping to Chatswood Line opened, the Northern Line was split in two, with trains from north of Epping operating via the new link, approaching the city via the North Shore Line and rejoining the traditional route before terminating at Epping. The Northern Line was colour coded red prior to being merged with the North Shore and Western lines. After merging, the Northern Line loop was split on weekdays, with trains from the upper Northern Line continuing to Richmond or Emu Plains.
The Epping to Chatswood line closed in 2018. It is being converted to metro standards as part of the Sydney Metro Northwest project. As a result, the traditional Northern line route from Hornsby to Central via Strathfield was reinstated.[6]
Route
The line heads south from Berowra to Hornsby to using the Main Northern Line. Trains then divert on to the North Shore Line, eventually passing through North Sydney station before heading across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, through the western limb of the City Circle and the stations of Central and Redfern. Services then run along the Main Suburban Railway, usually using the middle 'Suburban' pair of the six tracks between Redfern and Strathfield. Services do not stop at intermediate stations between Redfern and Burwood.
At Strathfield, trains to Hornsby via Epping usually head onto a flyover over the 'Main lines', before heading north back on the Main Northern Line, crossing the Parramatta River between Rhodes and Meadowbank, and providing interchange with the North Shore and Berowra services at the Hornsby terminus. This means that trains from Hornsby approach the city from two different directions; Berowra via North Sydney trains approach from the north, and Hornsby via Strathfield trains approach from the west.
Other services continue west from Strathfield to Granville where trains join the Main Western Line. After passing through Parramatta, trains reach Blacktown, where the line divides in two. A western branch continues along the Main Western Line as far as Emu Plains and a north-western branch heads to Richmond using the Richmond Line.
References
Attribution
The first revision of this article was based on the following revision of the English Wikipedia article "North Shore, Northern & Western Line": wikipedia