Rail Clearways Program

CityRail ticket with Rail Clearways promotional material
Berowra additional platform completed in October 2006
Hornsby additional platform completed in April 2009
Kirrawee additional platform built as part of Cronulla line duplication completed in April 2010
Lidcombe turnback platform completed in November 2010
Extra track at Riverwood laid as part of Kingsgrove to Revesby quadruplication completed in April 2013

The Rail Clearways Program (formerly the CityRail Clearways Project) was a program of public works on Sydney's suburban railway network conceived in 2004 with the aim of easing congestion by reducing the amount of infrastructure shared by multiple services. The disparate projects at pinch points throughout the network were designed to increase capacity and improve reliability. All projects were delivered by the Transport Construction Authority until it was subsumed in November 2011 by Transport for New South Wales. Following the introduction of a new timetable in October 2013 that realised the benefit of many of the projects, the program was completed with the opening of the final upgrade in January 2014.

Conception

In the mid-2000s, the Government of New South Wales suffered heavy criticism for its perceived mishandling of the Sydney rail network, which had very poor on time performance following the January 2003 Waterfall train disaster. The safety regime introduced after this crash required drivers to stick to the speed limit, which often caused delays due to the expectations of the timetable for higher speeds. A slower, more realistic, timetable was introduced in September 2005, significantly improving on time running.[1] The Clearways Program was intended to be the next step in improving on time performance.

Clearways routes

The Clearways Program aimed to divide the network's fourteen metropolitan rail lines into five independent "clearways" reducing the heavily interwoven nature of the Sydney system. This was intended to isolate incidents to one part of the network so other clearways would still run as scheduled, increasing on time performance. The clearways feed the existing lines through the Central Business District.[2]

As the Carlingford Line does not run through the CBD, it was not included in any of the clearway routes. However, a Carlingford line upgrade was still included in the program, but this was cancelled in the November 2008 Mini-Budget.[3] The Cumberland Line is spread across Clearways 4 and 5.

The five clearways routes are:

Clearway 1: Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra

This route did not change from the pre-clearways Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line. The projects undertaken on this route have increased capacity.

Clearway 2: Bankstown

After the Airport line opened in May 2000, most trains from the East Hills line used the new line to approach the city, easing congestion on the older line between Sydenham and Erskineville, where tracks are shared with Bankstown Line services. Under the program, new dedicated tracks for the Bankstown line between Sydenham and Erskineville were to be constructed to the west of the existing four tracks to allow express East Hills line trains from Clearway 3 to again run via Sydenham. The Airport line would be served by slower East Hills line trains from Clearway 4. Under the plan, St Peters and Erskineville railway stations were expected to continue to be served by the Bankstown line. This would have required platforms, partially completed in the 1970s as part of the Eastern Suburbs line construction, to have been activated at these two stations. The works were cancelled in November 2008, and the plan for frequent operation of express East Hills line services via Sydenham was abandoned.

A second Bankstown line project involved the construction of a new turnback platform at Lidcombe, separating the Bankstown line's operations from the former Inner West line (now part of the Airport, Inner West & South Line). This works in concert with the Homebush turnback project, which provides a terminating point for all stations trains on the Airport, Inner West & South Line. This separation was enacted in the October 2013 timetable.

Clearway 3: Campbelltown Express and Clearway 4: Airport & South

The Campbelltown Express Clearway would have separated the section of the East Hills line west of Revesby from the inner section that line by quaduplicating between Kingsgrove and Revesby and sending express services through to the City Circle via Sydenham. This was to allow more frequent express services to the City, relieve pressure on other parts of the network and improve the distribution of passengers.

On the Airport & South Clearway, limited stops services would have begun at Glenfield and made their way through Liverpool, Cabramatta, Granville, Lidcombe and Strathfield stations to the City Circle, while all-stations services to the City started at Homebush.[4] After passing through the City Circle, trains would have headed south-west via the Airport to Revesby (running parallel with the Campbelltown Express line from Wolli Creek to Revesby).

In the October 2013 timetable these two clearways were merged to create the Airport, Inner West & South Line. Differences from the original plan include via Revesby and via Granville services sharing tracks between Glenfield and Macarthur, and all stations and limited stops services via Revesby sharing tracks between Revesby and Central. In the 2013 timetable most trains from Macarthur via Revesby use the local (pre-existing) tracks between Revesby and Wolli Creek and make a number of stops along the route. These trains approach the City via the Airport. The route via Sydenham and the express tracks between Wolli Creek and Revesby are only used by a limited number of peak hour services as well as NSW TrainLink services to Goulburn, Canberra, Griffith and Melbourne.

Clearway 5: North West

The North West Clearway provides an independent corridor for the North Shore, Northern & Western Line to improve reliability and capacity. Trains from the west start from the Richmond, Penrith or Epping branches, meet up at Strathfield and travel through the city to Chatswood. Here trains split, either continuing up the North Shore line to Berowra, or via the Chatswood to Epping line to Hornsby.

Projects

Many infrastructure upgrades need to be completed in order to implement the Clearways plan. These projects included upgrading stations, adding extra tracks, stabling facilities, or upgrading junctions. The projects included:

Project Clearway[4] Description Opened
Berowra third platformNorth WestAllows through trains to pass terminating suburban trainsOctober 2006[5][6]
Bondi Junction turnback and stabling sidings.Eastern Suburbs & IllawarraImproves terminating capacity and provides more space for trains to be stabled in off-peak periodsJuly 2006[5][7]
Carlingford line passing loop at RydalmereN/AWould have provided a passing opportunity on the single track section between Rosehill and CarlingfordCancelled November 2008[3]
Erskineville-Sydenham six tracksBankstown
Campbelltown Express
Would have created a new track pair for Bankstown line trains, allowing Campbelltown Express trains to have their own track pairCancelled November 2008[3]
Homebush TurnbackAirport & SouthBreaks the Bankstown loop by giving Inner West line trains a place to terminate where six tracks reduce to fourMarch 2011[5][8]
Hornsby fifth platformNorth WestAllows through trains to pass terminating suburban trainsMarch 2009[5][9]
Kingsgrove-Revesby QuadruplicationCampbelltown Express
Airport & South
Allows express trains to overtake and remain separate from all stops services, in conjunction with existing four track section between Wolli Creek and KingsgroveApril 2013[5][10]
Lidcombe TurnbackBankstownBreaks the Bankstown loop by giving Bankstown line trains a place to terminateNovember 2010[5][11]
Liverpool Second TurnbackBankstownNew platform for through trains, allowing conversion of existing through platform and side turnback into two centre turnbacksJanuary 2014[12][13]
Macarthur fourth platform and upgradeCampbelltown ExpressNew platform for through trains, allowing conversion of existing through platform into centre turnbackStage one (upgrade): December 2010
Stage two (new platform) deferred 2013[5][14]
Macdonaldtown TurnbackAirport & SouthAllows trains to layover close to the cityDecember 2005[5]
Macdonaldtown StablingAirport & SouthExtension of Macdonaldtown TurnbackNovember 2007[5][15]
Quakers Hill-Vineyard DuplicationNorth WestImproves capacity to support new suburbs in North-Western SydneySchofields - Vineyard deferred Oct 2008[3]
Quakers Hill - Schofields: October 2011[5][16]
Revesby TurnbackAirport & SouthReplacement of side turnback at East Hills with more efficient centre turnbackDecember 2008[5][17]
Sutherland-Cronulla DuplicationEastern Suburbs & IllawarraDuplication of single track sections between Sutherland and Gymea and between Caringbah and Cronulla to improve capacityApril 2010[5][18]

Resignalling

Non-clearways projects

Other projects of the era which were not part of the Rail Clearways program but will also improve the suburban passenger network include:

Cancelled projects included:

References

  1. Yearly On-Time Running CityRail 2007
  2. Planned major Clearways routes CityRail
  3. 1 2 3 4 Mini-Budget 2008/09 page 25 New South Wales Treasury November 2008
  4. 1 2 Planned major Clearway routes CityRail
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Rail Clearways Program - Completed Projects Transport for New South Wales
  6. Berowra Station Platform 3 Project Profile Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation
  7. Bondi Junction Turnback Project Profile Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation
  8. Homebush Turnback Project Profile Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation
  9. Hornsby Platform 5 & Stabling Project Profile Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation
  10. Kingsgrove to Revesby Quadruplication Project Profile Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation
  11. Lidcombe Turnback Project Profile Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation
  12. Liverpool Turnback Project Profile Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation
  13. Liverpool Turnback Transport for New South Wales January 2014
  14. Macarthur Station Upgrade & Interchange Project Profile Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation
  15. Macdonaltown Stabling Project Profile Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation
  16. Richmond Line Duplication Project Profile Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation
  17. Revesby Turnback Project Profile Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation
  18. Cronulla Line Duplication Project Profile Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation

External links

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