- Cumberland railway line
-
Cumberland Line 
Mode Commuter rail Owner CityRail Operator(s) CityRail Connects Campbelltown
Glenfield
Liverpool
Parramatta
BlacktownLength 47 km Stations 23 Fleet R, S, M, C sets Depot(s) Flemington Line colour Magenta Key dates 1996 Opened The Cumberland railway line connects Blacktown and Campbelltown stations in the western suburbs of Sydney, Australia and appears in magenta on the CityRail network map. The Cumberland line consists of pre-existing track on the main western and southern lines, plus a new "Y-link" track between Harris Park and Merrylands stations.
Contents
History
The line was opened in 1996 as part of former Prime Minister Paul Keating's 'Building Better Cities' programme in recognition of Parramatta's place as the capital of Sydney's west.[1] It cost $80 million to construct, and required the construction of a little over one kilometre of new track and no new stations. This track consists of the creation of a triangular junction at the junction of the 'Old Main South' and the 'Main Western Line by laying track between Merrylands and Harris Park stations, known as the 'Y Link' including a new flyover of the 'Up Old Main South' over these new tracks. The intention of this link was to allow direct services to operate from Liverpool and Campbelltown to Parramatta and Blacktown without requiring a change of trains at Granville. The line takes its name from the Cumberland Plain on which much of Western Sydney was built.
Track arrangement at the Y Link
Description of route
Physically, the line consists of the Western Line from Blacktown station to Harris Park, the 'Y Link' as described above, the "Old Main South" (known as the South Line) between Merrylands and Cabramatta, and the Main South Line between Cabramatta and Campbelltown.
Service cuts
A peak-hour Cumberland railway line service gets ready to depart Blacktown bound for Campbelltown where these services terminate.Upon its opening in 1996, the line had a regular half-hourly service in both directions consisting of 38 journeys per day. Subsequent timetables saw its services significantly reduced to the point of running only during weekday peak hours, and since 2005 the line only runs in one direction at a time: two services run in the morning peak from Campbelltown to Blacktown (one of which extends to Quakers Hill, via the Richmond branch of the Western line), and three services return from Blacktown to Campbelltown in the evening (as of 31 October 2011, one commences on the Richmond branch, from Schofields).
This service also occasionally operates on weekends if trackwork affects the Western and South lines, particularly between Granville and Strathfield. Services from Glenfield and Liverpool are diverted to the Western Line and proceed beyond Blacktown, to either Penrith or Richmond, and vice versa.
Prior to the Y-Link's opening, passengers travelling between the Western and South lines are required to change trains at Granville. With the reduction in services to peak hours only (aside from trackwork services), this travelling strategy has been resumed by most commuters.
In 2006, the then-Iemma Labor Government's NSW State Plan committed to re-introduce a regular half-hourly service to the Cumberland line during 2007 "subject to detailed timetable and train planning... and fleet delivery, availability and rostering"[2]. A CityRail news release on 15 December confirmed this intention, based on the gradual introduction of the then-new OSCAR (H set) trains, which would displace outer suburban Tangara (G set) sets; the latter trains then reassigned to suburban service[3]. This promise was not delivered, and the Cumberland Line to this day remains a peak-hour-only service.
Cumberland Line stations
Name of Station Code MyMulti
ZoneServing Suburbs Pattern stops at this station Connections Cumberland Line Blacktown BAK Three Blacktown 
■Western Line
■Blue Mountains LineSeven Hills SEV Two Seven Hills ■Western Line
■Blue Mountains LineToongabbie TBB Two Toongabbie ■Western Line
■Blue Mountains LinePendle Hill PDH Two Pendle Hill ■Western Line
■Blue Mountains LineWentworthville WWH Two Wentworthville ■Western Line
■Blue Mountains LineWestmead WMD Two Westmead ■Western Line
■Blue Mountains LineParramatta PTA Two Parramatta ■Western Line
■Blue Mountains LineHarris Park HRK Two Harris Park ■Western Line
■Blue Mountains LineMerrylands MLN Two Merrylands ■South Line Guildford GUD Two Guildford ■South Line Yennora YNR Two Yennora ■South Line Fairfield FFL Two Fairfield ■South Line Canley Vale CVE Two Canley Vale ■South Line Cabramatta CTT Two Cabramatta ■Inner West Line ■Bankstown Line
■South LineWarwick Farm WKF Two Warwick Farm ■Inner West Line ■Bankstown Line
■South LineLiverpool LPO Two Liverpool ■Inner West Line ■Bankstown Line
■South LineCasula CSL Three Casula ■South Line Glenfield GFD Three Glenfield ■Airport & East Hills Line
■South LineMacquarie Fields MQF Three Macquarie Fields ■Airport & East Hills Line
■South LineIngleburn IGB Three Ingleburn ■Airport & East Hills Line
■South LineMinto MIO Three Minto ■Airport & East Hills Line
■South LineLeumeah LUM Three Leumeah ■Airport & East Hills Line
■South LineCampbelltown CAM Three Campbelltown ■Airport & East Hills Line
■South Line
■Southern Highlands LineStopping Patterns
- Pattern 1: All stations to Campbelltown (& vice-versa) (peak).
References
- ^ "CityRail: Have times changed?". Railway Digest, November 2005. ARHS NSW Division. http://www.arhsnsw.com.au/rdigest.htm.
- ^ New South Wales Government (2006). NSW State Plan: Appendices. Archived from the original on 23 October 2007. Accessed on 3 November 2011.
- ^ Rail Corporation New South Wales (2006). The first Oscars are out and about. Press release. Accessed on 3 November 2011.
Major public transport services in Greater Sydney Commuter rail
(CityRail)Airport & East Hills Line · Bankstown Line · Carlingford Line · Cumberland Line · Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line · Inner West Line · North Shore Line · Northern Line · Olympic Park Line · South Line · Western Line
Under planning: North West Rail Link · Parramatta to Epping Rail Link
Under construction: South West Rail LinkRegional rail Blue Mountains Line · Hunter Line · Newcastle & Central Coast Line · South Coast Line · Southern Highlands LineCommuter bus
(Buses in Sydney)Regional bus Ferry Berowra Waters · Dangar Island · Eastern Suburbs · Inner Harbour · Lower Portland · Lane Cove River · Manly · Mortlake · Parramatta River · Pittwater (ex Church Point) · Pittwater (ex Palm Beach) · Port Hacking · Sackville · Taronga Zoo · Webbs Creek · WisemansOther Categories:- Transport in Sydney
- Railway lines in Sydney
- Standard gauge railways in Australia
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