Hunter railway line, New South Wales

Public transport infrastructure in Sydney
logo=
name=Hunter line
transport_mode=Regional rail
line_owner=CityRail
operation_area=
map_colour=Purple/Grey
stations_number=31
interchange_names=Newcastle
Hamilton
Maitland
Dungog/Scone
operator_names=CityRail
fleet_names=Hunter Railcars
depot_names=BroadmeadowThe Hunter railway line is a regional railway line which is part of Sydney's CityRail network. The line runs from the central business district of Newcastle, on the coast, northwest to Scone and Dungog in the Hunter Valley area.

History and Features

:"See also: Main North Line and North Coast Line."The Hunter line consists of the Newcastle branch line between Newcastle and Islington Junction, the Main North line between Islington Junction and Maitland, the North Coast Line between Maitland and Dungog and the Main North line between Maitland and Scone. The Main North line, formerly known as the Great Northern Railway (G.N.R.), was the original mainline between Sydney and Brisbane. This line, which ran via Armidale and required a change of gauge at Wallangarra, was opened to Maitland in 1857 ["The Great Northern Railway Newcastle to Maitland 150 Years On" Walters, Chris Australian Railway History, March, 2007 pp83-113] . The next stage was to Singleton in 1863. The G.N.R. was then extended past Scone to Tamworth in 1878. The new main line to Brisbane, via the North Coast was opened in 1932. The Newcastle rail network remained independent until 1889 to the Sydney network when the main line between Sydney and Newcastle, which included the Hawkesbury River Railway Bridge, was completed.

Between Islington Junction and Maitland, there is a four track section where the line runs parallel to the Newcastle coal lines, which serve a number of colleries along the route. The line is double track between Newcastle and Antiene on the main line, and between Maitland and Telarah on the North Coast line, and single track between Telarah and Dungog, and between Antiene and Scone, with duplication from Antiene to Muswellbrook proposed. The line is not electrified except between Hamilton and Newcastle for the benefit of Sydney trains, and the line is serviced by new Hunter railcars and older Endeavour railcar sets, both running in a 2-car configuration. Until 2007, 620 & 720 class diesel railcars(DMUs) built in the 1960s previously serviced the line.

Services run regularly between Newcastle and Telarah, with less frequent services to Dungog and Scone.

tations

topping Patterns

*Pattern 1: Newcastle, all to Telarah and vice-versa (peak and off-peak).
*Pattern 2: Newcastle, all to Warabrook, then Beresfield, Thornton, Metford, Victoria Street, Maitland and Telarah and vice-versa (peak and off-peak - weekdays only).
*Pattern 3: Newcastle all to Maitland and vice-versa (one afternoon off-peak service on weekdays, two services on weekends).
*Pattern 4: Newcastle, all to Warabrook, then Beresfield, Thornton, Metford, Victoria Street, Maitland and all stations to Dungog and vice-versa (peak and off-peak, 5 services a day on weekdays, 3 services a day on Saturdays, 2 services a day on Sundays).
*Pattern 5: Newcastle, all to Warabrook, then Beresfield, Thornton, Metford, Victoria Street, Maitland, and all stations to Scone and vice-versa (peak and off-peak, 3 services (1 early morning, 1 afternoon peak hour, 1 evening peak hour) on weekdays, 2 services (1 early morning, 1 evening) on weekends). For 1842 from Scone to Newcastle train, it stops all stations to Maitland, then Warabrook, then all stations to Newcastle.
*Pattern 6: Newcastle, all to Warabrook, then Beresfield, Thornton, Metford, Victoria Street, Maitland and all stations to Muswellbrook and vice-versa (one mid-morning off-peak service on weekdays only).

Closed stations

*Allandale - permanently closed on September 9, 2005
*Belford - permanently closed on September 4, 2005