- Newcastle railway line, New South Wales
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- Not to be confused with Newcastle and Central Coast railway line
Newcastle Line Legend
Newcastle 
Civic 
Newcastle Mortuary (closed) Wickham Hamilton 
Main North line to Sydney 
Main North line to Maitland and beyond The Newcastle railway line is a branch railway line in the city of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. The line branches from the Main North line at Broadmeadow and travels in an easterly direction through the inner suburbs of Newcastle to Newcastle station. CityRail operates electric passenger train services over this line as part of its Newcastle and Central Coast line service, and diesel railmotors to Maitland and beyond as part of its Hunter line regional service.
Contents
History
Hamilton Station
A line between Newcastle and the then much larger settlement at Maitland was first proposed in 1853 by the proponents of the original Sydney- Parramatta railway. The Hunter River Railway Company was formed later that year and the line was surveyed, however the private company failed and was bought out by the NSW government[1]. Construction continued until the line opened in 1857[2], and was electrified in the 1980s.
The terminus at Newcastle was moved to various locations throughout the years, and has variously been named Honeysuckle and Honeysuckle Point. It was moved to its current location in 1872 and took its final name of Newcastle in 1935 when Civic and Wickham stations opened. A mortuary station opened in 1883 to serve trains departing for the Sandgate Cemetery. It closed in 1933. A large goods yard, the Newcastle Goods yard was constructed east of Newcastle station in 1858. This has now been closed and almost no trace remains. The line was duplicated in 1864. The Main North Line from Sydney connected at Hamilton Junction in 1887.
Threatened closure
A criticism[who?] of the line has been that it cuts Newcastle off from its own harbour foreshore. As a proposed solution to this, since 2003 there have been studies to close the line and have Broadmeadow station become the major rail transport hub for the Newcastle region.[3]
In 2005 there was a move pushed by business and property development interests to close the line with the proposal to redevelop the foreshore. This was widely criticised by among others Upper Hunter Valley users, and former Deputy Prime Minister and rail enthusiast Tim Fischer.[4][5] Originally the New South Wales government had decided to close the line but later in 2006 and after a huge public outcry the Premier Morris Iemma announced that the line would stay open although in 2007 tenders were placed for a study into the lines future, including possible removal of the overhead wires and 'dieselisation' of services.[6]
In October 2008 in response to demands from the development group General Property Trust that the rail line be removed from the city centre the Minister for the Hunter, Jodi McKay MP commissioned a consultation with the online consultation website Bang the Table.[7] It yielded over 90,000 page views and 2800 comments from the community. A survey on the site showed in excess of 70% of respondents favoured the removal of the line from the current city centre terminus.
Services
Passenger and goods services were operated by steam haulage from inception. In 1961, the 620/720 class diesel railcars were introduced to provide local suburban service to Maitland on the Hunter line and south to Fassifern and Toronto on the Toronto branch line. Long haul trains to Sydney were operated by steam haulage until their final withdrawal from Sydney-Newcastle services in 1971, and from goods haulage in 1972. Diesel haulage was introduced, reaching a peak in 1982 when the 81 class locomotives for foods traffic were introduced.
In 1984, the line was electrified when the electrification project from Wyong to Newcastle was completed and electrified local and long distance services were introduced south to Sydney. Local services to Maitland and beyond continue to be served by diesel railcars. The implementation of the Endeavour cars from 1994, and the Hunter cars from 2006, allowed the final withdrawal of the long running 620 & 720 railcars.
See also
External links
References
- ^ Walters, C: The Great Northern Railway Newcastle to Maitland 150 years on Australian Railway History, April 2007. ARHS
- ^ "Newcastle Branch". www.nswrail.net. http://www.nswrail.net/lines/show.php?name=NSW:newcastle. Retrieved 2006-05-01.
- ^ "Working group releases Newcastle city rail report". News Online (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 2003-11-21. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2003/11/21/994106.htm.
- ^ "Shires' group urged to oppose rail closure plan". News Online (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 2005-06-08. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2005/06/08/1387054.htm.
- ^ "Fischer outlines Newcastle rail plan". News Online (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 2005-09-12. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2005/09/12/1458114.htm.
- ^ "Iemma backflips on Newcastle rail decision as Cabinet set to meet". News Online (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 2006-02-21. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2006/02/21/1574435.htm.
- ^ "Newcastle Connectivity". Bang The Table. http://www.bangthetable.com/newcastlerail.
Railway Lines in New South Wales 
Main lines Broken Hill Line · Main North Line · Main South Line · Main West Line · North Coast Line · South Coast Line
Country branch lines Berrima Line • Binnaway-Werris Creek Line • Blayney-Demondrille Line • Boggabilla Branch • Bombala Line • Canberra Branch • Cobar Branch • Coonamble Branch • Grenfell Branch • Gwabegar Line • Hay Branch • Lake Cargelligo Branch • Medway Quarry Branch • Mungindi Line • Naradhan Branch • Newcastle branch • Oaklands Branch • Parkes to Narromine Line • Picton - Mittagong loop • Pokataroo Branch • Sandy Hollow - Gulgong Line • South Maitland Railway • Stockinbingal - Parkes Line • Temora to Roto Line • Tottenham Branch • Troy Junction - Merrygoen Line • Unanderra - Moss Vale Line • Walgett Branch • Warren Branch • Yanco - Griffith Line
Closed: Ballina line • Barraba line • Belmont line • Boorowa branch • Brewarrina Line • Burcher Branch • Camden Branch • Captains Flat Branch • Corowa Branch • Crookwell line • Dorrigo Line • Eugowra branch • Holbrook Branch • Kunama (Batlow) Branch • Kywong Branch • Merriwa line • Molong to Dubbo line • Morpeth line • Mount Hope line • Murwillumbah Branch • Newnes line • Oberon Line • Rand Branch • Rankins Springs Branch • Richmond Vale Railway • Taralga Branch • Tocumwal line • Toronto Line • Tumbarumba Line • Tumut Branch •Wallsend Branch • Westby Branch
Sydney lines Main Suburban Line • City Circle
Airport Line • Bankstown Line • Carlingford Line • Cumberland Line • Cronulla Line • Eastern Suburbs Line • East Hills Line • Epping to Chatswood Line • Illawarra Line • Inner West Line • North Shore Line • Northern Line • Olympic Park Line • Richmond Line • South Line • Western Line
Goods only: Metropolitan Goods Line • Southern Sydney Freight Line
Closed: Camden Line • Kurrajong Line • Rogans Hill Line • Ropes Creek Line • Royal National Park Line • Sandown Line
Interurban and regional passenger services Blue Mountains Line • Hunter Lines • Newcastle & Central Coast Line • South Coast Line • Southern Highlands Line
Proposed or under construction Tourist & heritage railways Glenreagh Mountain Railway • Lachlan Valley Railway • Richmond Vale Railway • Skitube • Zig Zag Railway
Categories:- Regional railway lines in New South Wales
- Standard gauge railways in Australia
- Newcastle, New South Wales
- Transport in Hunter Region, New South Wales
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