Northern Line (Sydney)

Template:Short description Template:Use Australian English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox rail serviceTemplate:Sydney Trains Line/Northern Line The Northern Line (numbered T9, coloured red) is a commuter rail service operated by Sydney Trains, serving the Northern and parts of the Inner West suburbs of Sydney.

History

File:CityRail NorthernLine.png

Diagram of the Northern Line prior to 2009

Original incarnation (until 2013)

The traditional Northern Line was the suburban portion of the Main North railway line (Strathfield - Hornsby) which opened in 1886 and was electrified in 1926. When the Sydney Harbour Bridge was opened, it connected railway services from the Main North line and the City underground onto the North Shore line.

Passenger services used to operate as the Main North Line (same name as the physical railway line) and was colour coded red on railway maps. It operated all the way to Cowan, until the service was truncated to Berowra in January 1992. The service, along with the North Shore Line service (yellow), later also ran along the North Shore railway line towards the City via the Harbour Bridge, forming a continuous loop via Strathfield, Epping and back to Hornsby.

File:ECRL Stateplan.png

Diagram of the Northern Line between 2009 and 2013. The line is marked in red.

In later years, the line operated as the Northern Line and ran from Hornsby to North Sydney via Strathfield and the City, with the North Shore line replacing services between Hornsby and Berowra. In February 2009, the Epping to Chatswood rail link was opened. In October 2009, the Northern Line service was integrated with the shuttle service between Epping and Chatswood. As a result, the traditional 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.

Part of T1 (2013 to 2019)

In October 2013, the Northern Line, North Shore Line and Western line were merged to form the T1 North Shore, Northern & Western Line, which was colour coded yellow.

On weekdays, trains from the upper Northern Line (Hornsby via Macquarie University) joined up with the Western Line trains towards Richmond or Emu Plains, while trains from the lower Northern Line (Epping via Strathfield) joined up with the North Shore Line trains towards Hornsby or Berowra. On weekends, trains ran similar to prior to merger, where the lower Northern Line trains from Epping continue onto the upper Northern Line trains at Chatswood into Hornsby via Macquarie University.

In September 2018, the Epping to Chatswood line closed in order to be converted to metro standards as part of the Sydney Metro Northwest project. As a result, the traditional Northern line branch from Hornsby to Central via Strathfield was reinstated.

Reincarnation (since 2019)

File:T9 Sydney Trains diagram.png

Diagram of the T9 Northern Line post-2019.

On 28 April 2019, as part of the integration with the Sydney Metro Northwest, the Northern Line branch was spin-off from the T1 Line and became a separate T9 Northern Line, though using the same rolling stock. The new line runs from Hornsby to Gordon via Strathfield (and vice-versa). The separated line runs a similar route to the pre-2009 incarnation of the line. It is also similarly colour-coded red.

Route

The line begins at Hornsby - a junction station with the North Shore Line. The line heads south to Strathfield via Epping using the Main North Line, crossing the Parramatta River between Rhodes and Meadowbank. At Strathfield, trains usually head onto a flyover over the 'Main lines', before heading east onto the Main Suburban Railway, usually using the middle 'Suburban' pair of the six tracks between Redfern and Strathfield. Trains pass through Redfern and Central, then through the western limb of the City Circle before heading across the Harbour Bridge. Trains then head north along the North Shore towards Gordon, where they usually terminate. Some services continue as T1 North Shore line trains (to Hornsby or Berowra).

For off-peak and weekend services, the T9 generally runs from Hornsby to Gordon via Epping, Strathfield and the North Shore. However, the route is split into two distinct stopping patterns during the morning and afternoon peak:

Anti-clockwise direction:

• All stations from Hornsby to Epping, then Eastwood, West Ryde, Meadowbank, Rhodes, Strathfield, Burwood and then finally terminating at Central (Grand Concourse).
• All stations from Epping to Strathfield, then Redfern, Central, then all stations to Gordon, then all stations to Hornsby or Berowra (continuing as T1 North Shore line).

Clockwise direction:

• All stations from Gordon to Redfern, then Strathfield, and then all stations to Epping.
• Central (Grand Concourse), then Burwood, Strathfield, Rhodes, Meadowbank, West Ryde, Eastwood, Epping, and then all stations to Hornsby.

T9 stations

Name	Distance from Central	Opened	Railway line	Serving suburbs	Other lines
Gordon	17.1 km	1890	North Shore	Gordon	Template:TFNSW lines
Killara	15.9 km	1899		Killara, East Killara
Lindfield	14.6 km	1890		Lindfield, East Lindfield
Roseville	13.3 km	1890		Roseville
Chatswood	11.7 km	1890		Chatswood	Template:TFNSW linesTemplate:TFNSW lines
Artarmon	10.3 km	1898		Artarmon	Template:TFNSW lines
St Leonards	8.4 km	1890		St Leonards, Naremburn, Crows Nest, Greenwich, Artarmon
Wollstonecraft	7.2 km	1893		Wollstonecraft, Greenwich
Waverton	6.1 km	1893		Waverton
North Sydney	5.1 km	1932		North Sydney
Milsons Point	4.4 km	1932		Milsons Point, Kirribilli
Wynyard	2.1 km	1932		Sydney CBD, Barangaroo	Template:TFNSW linesTemplate:TFNSW linesTemplate:TFNSW linesTemplate:TFNSW lines
Town Hall	1.2 km	1932		Sydney CBD	Template:TFNSW linesTemplate:TFNSW linesTemplate:TFNSW linesTemplate:TFNSW linesTemplate:TFNSW lines
Central	0 km	1855		Haymarket, Chippendale, Ultimo, Surry Hills	Template:TFNSW linesTemplate:TFNSW linesTemplate:TFNSW linesTemplate:TFNSW linesTemplate:TFNSW linesTemplate:TFNSW lines
Redfern	1.3 km	1878	Main Suburban	Redfern, Waterloo, Darlington, Eveleigh	Template:TFNSW linesTemplate:TFNSW linesTemplate:TFNSW linesTemplate:TFNSW linesTemplate:TFNSW lines
Burwood	10.6 km	1855		Burwood	Template:TFNSW linesTemplate:TFNSW lines
Strathfield	11.8 km	1876		Strathfield, Burwood	Template:TFNSW linesTemplate:TFNSW linesTemplate:TFNSW lines
North Strathfield	13.4 km	1918	Main North	North Strathfield, Concord West, Concord, Homebush	none
Concord West	14.5 km	1887		Concord West, Liberty Grove, Concord
Rhodes	16.6 km	1886		Rhodes, Liberty Grove
Meadowbank	18.2 km	1887		Meadowbank, West Ryde, Ryde
West Ryde	19.2 km	1886		West Ryde, Denistone
Denistone	20.2 km	1937		Denistone, Denistone East, Denistone West, West Ryde
Eastwood	21.4 km	1886		Eastwood
Epping	23.4 km	1886		Epping	Template:TFNSW lines
Cheltenham	26.8 km	1898		Cheltenham	none
Beecroft	28.3 km	1886		Beecroft
Pennant Hills	30 km	1886		Pennant Hills
Thornleigh	30.8 km	1886		Thornleigh, Pennant Hills, Westleigh
Normanhurst	33.1 km	1895		Normanhurst, Thornleigh, Hornsby
Hornsby	35.3 km	1886		Hornsby, Waitara	Template:TFNSW lines

Patronage

The following table shows the patronage for the year ending 30 June 2024. Template:Sydney Trains patronage by line Template:Reflist

Further reading

• The Short North Singleton, C.C. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, March to June 1965

External links

• Sydney Trains Northern Line timetable Transport for NSW
• Neety's Train Page - information on suburban stations.
• New South Wales Railways - historical information on suburban stations.
• New South Wales Transport Information
• Australian Railmaps - information & maps of train services & stopping patterns.
• Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation project website