Main Suburban railway line

[v · Main Suburban line through Croydon
Line length:	21.2 km (13.2 mi)
Gauge:	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)

Legend

		Central
		Redfern
		junction Illawarra line
		Macdonaldtown
		Newtown
		Stanmore
		Petersham
		Lewisham
		Summer Hill
		Ashfield
		Croydon
		Burwood
		Strathfield
		junction Main North line
		Homebush
		Flemington
		junction Olympic Park line
		Lidcombe
		junction Main South (Bankstown) line
		Auburn
		Clyde
		junction Carlingford line
		Granville
		junction Old Main South (South and Cumberland) line
		continues as Main West line

The Main Suburban railway line is the technical name for the trunk railway line between Redfern railway station and Parramatta railway station in Sydney, Australia, but now generally refers to the section between Redfern and where the Old Main South Line branches off at Granville Junction.^[1] This term distinguished this trunk line from the Illawarra Line which branched south from the Illawarra Junction to Wollongong, and later the North Shore tracks which carried trains north over the Harbour Bridge.

History

Sextuplication works at Newtown station in 1927

This section of railway line is Sydney's oldest, opening in 1855. The line was quadrupled to Flemington in 1892.^[2] The line saw its most dramatic change in the period 1926-1927, when the section from Redfern to Homebush was expanded from 4 to 6 tracks by the addition of 2 tracks initially intended for non-electric express trains. Prior to 1926, all stations on the line had platform faces to all four tracks, and the tracks were labelled as 'fast' and 'slow'. After the completion of works in 1927, only Redfern and Strathfield had platform faces on all six tracks.^[3] The four tracks now known as the 'Up and Down Local lines' and the 'Up and Down Suburban Lines' were electrified in 1928. It was not until 1955 that the 'Up and Down Main Lines' were also electrified to coincide with the opening of the Blue Mountains electrification programme.

Description of route

The line commences at the Illawarra Junction south of Redfern station, the junction point of the Illawarra railway line. The line consists of three pairs of electrified tracks, six in total, which head west through the Inner Western suburbs of Sydney to Strathfield. The tracks are named 'Up' and 'Down' Main', 'Up' and 'Down' Suburban, and 'Up' and 'Down' Local. The 'Main' lines are express lines which have no intermediate platforms between Redfern and Strathfield, and usually carry InterUrban or express suburban trains. The inner 'Suburban' pair of tracks have some intermediate platforms and generally carry express or limited stops suburban train services (usually Western Line and Northern Line suburban services). The southernmost 'Local' pair of tracks have platforms at all intermediate stations and carry all-stations and some limited stops services (usually Inner West Line and South Line suburban services).

Stations

Station	Platforms	Served by
Macdonaldtown	2	■Inner West Line
Newtown	2	■Inner West Line ■South Line (limited services)
Stanmore	3	■Inner West Line
Petersham	2	■Inner West Line
Lewisham	2	■Inner West Line
Summer Hill	3	■Inner West Line
Ashfield	5 (inc 1 turnback)	■Inner West Line ■South Line
Croydon	5	■Inner West Line ■South Line (limited services)
Burwood	6	■Inner West Line ■South Line (limited services) ■Western Line ■Northern Line
Strathfield	8	■Inner West Line ■South Line ■Western Line ■Northern Line ■Newcastle & Central Coast Line ■Blue Mountains Line
Homebush	6 (inc 1 turnback)	■Inner West Line ■South Line (limited services)
Flemington	4	■Inner West Line ■South Line (limited services)
Lidcombe	4 (plus 1 turnback for Olympic Park line & 1 for Bankstown line)	■Inner West Line ■South Line ■Western Line
Auburn	4	■Western Line ■South Line
Clyde	4 (plus 1 fenced off, 1 for Carlingford line)	■Western Line
Granville	4	■Western Line ■South Line ■Blue Mountains Line (limited services)

See also

• The CBD Relief Line was proposed to connect to the Main lines.
• Railways in Sydney for an overview of railways in Sydney.
• CityRail for the organisation responsible for running electric passenger trains in Sydney.

References

1. ^ Sydney Electric Trains from 1926-1960, Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, April 2001.
2. ^ Australian Railway History, Vol 56, No. 810, April 2005
3. ^ Sydney Electric Trains from 1926-1960, Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, April 2001.