North Sydney railway station

North Sydney
Station building and Blue Street entrance in August 2024
General information
LocationBlue Street, North Sydney
Australia
Coordinates33°50′28″S 151°12′26″E / 33.8411°S 151.2072°E / -33.8411; 151.2072
Elevation70 metres (230 ft)
Owned byTransport Asset Holding Entity
Operated bySydney Trains
Line(s)North Shore
Distance4.8 kilometres (3.0 mi) from Central
Platforms4 (2 island)
Tracks4
Connections Bus
Construction
Structure typeBuilt over
AccessibleYes
Other information
StatusStaffed
Station codeNSY
WebsiteTransport for NSW
History
Opened20 March 1932
ElectrifiedYes
Passengers
2023[2]
  • 10,813,110 (year)
  • 29,625 (daily)[1] (Sydney Trains, NSW TrainLink)
Services
Preceding station Sydney Trains Following station
Milsons Point
towards Emu Plains or Richmond
North Shore & Western Line Waverton
towards Berowra
Milsons Point
via Strathfield
towards Hornsby
Northern Line Waverton
towards Gordon
Preceding station NSW TrainLink Following station
Milsons Point
towards Central
Central Coast & Newcastle Line
(peak hour services)
Waverton
towards Gosford or Wyong

North Sydney railway station is located on the North Shore line, serving the Sydney suburb of North Sydney. It is served by Sydney Trains' T1 North Shore Line and T9 Northern Line services.

History

North Sydney station opened on 20 March 1932 at the same time as the North Shore line over the Sydney Harbour Bridge.[3] Prior to the bridge's opening, North Shore line trains had diverged from the current line at Waverton to the original Milsons Point station at Lavender Bay.

The station was built in a rock cutting with a street level overhead concourse above the platforms. The station has four platforms which correspond with the four railway tracks that were designed to cross the Sydney Harbour Bridge. At the Waverton end of the station there are four tunnels which have been cut into the rock. Unused tunnel stubs of 260 metres for proposed lines to Newport and Northbridge were cut at the same time with Chief Design Engineer John Bradfield calculating that without these, later construction of these lines would interfere with the North Shore line.[4]

From 1932 until 1958, two of the rail tracks designed for the bridge were used by trams, the latter being diverted onto Blue Street just before they would have entered North Sydney Station. After 1958 the tram tracks were removed from the Sydney Harbour Bridge and replaced by the Cahill Expressway.

Beginning in 1968 when the North Sydney Travelodge was built, the air rights over the station have progressively been redeveloped.[5] In December 1972, the awning over platforms 3 and 4 was demolished.[6] The station became totally enclosed with the opening of Zurich Insurance House in 1984.[7]

Upgrade

Between April 2006 and December 2008, the station was upgraded to handle extra traffic expected with the opening of the Epping to Chatswood line in 2009. The work included an expanded concourse and the installation of escalators and lifts.[8]

Platforms and services

The four platforms at North Sydney can have different usages, but the outer platforms are generally the only ones used in off-peak; the middle platforms generally serve terminating trains arriving from the city. Because the four platforms at North Sydney serve a double track railway to the north and south of the station, it has significant capacity for terminating traffic.

The line north through the tunnel from Platform 3 was not laid until 1992 and commissioned in August 1993.[9][10] The tunnel roads serving platforms 2 and 3 both have a 10 km/h speed limit and are occasionally used by passenger services.

Trackplan
Tunnel and middle tracks end just before Waverton station
N↑ To Waverton
S↓ To Milsons Point
Platform Line Stopping pattern Notes
1 services to Penrith, Emu Plains & Richmond via Central & Strathfield weekday services to Richmond and 6 CCN services to Blacktown
services to Epping & Hornsby via Central & Strathfield[11]
6 Weekday Morning peak NSW TrainLink services to Blacktown via Central[12]
2 terminating services, returning to Richmond and Penrith [13]
3 peak hour services and weekend terminating services, returning to Penrith Occasionally used by terminating T4 line services during service disruptions between Central and Bondi Junction
4 services to Lindfield, Gordon, Hornsby & Berowra 6 Evening peak NSW TrainLink services to Wyong[14][15]
services to Gordon[11]
3 Weekday Evening peak NSW TrainLink services to Gosford
3 Weekday Evening peak NSW TrainLink services to Wyong
[12]

CDC NSW operates two bus routes via North Sydney Station, under contract to Transport for NSW:[citation needed]

  • 612X: to Castle Hill via St Leonards, Epping Rd, Gore Hill Technology Park and M2
  • 602X: to Bella Vista Station via M2, T-way, Epping Rd and Gore Hill Technology Park
External image
image icon North Sydney station Public Transport Map by Transport for NSW

Historic photos

References

  1. ^ This figure is the number of entries and exits of a year combined averaged to a day.
  2. ^ "Train Station Monthly Usage". Open Data. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  3. ^ North Sydney Station NSWrail.net
  4. ^ "Peninsula Railway Dead-End" Railway Digest January 1986 page 15
  5. ^ "20 Years Ago" Railway Digest April 1988 page 150
  6. ^ "20 Years Ago" Railway Digest December 1992 page 282
  7. ^ "North Sydney Underground" Railway Digest February 1985 page 43
  8. ^ Upgrade project profile Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation
  9. ^ "North Sydney" Railway Digest November 1992 page 434
  10. ^ "Milsons Point – Waverton" Railway Digest November 1993 page 495
  11. ^ a b "T9: Northern line timetable". Transport for NSW.
  12. ^ a b "Central Coast & Newcastle line timetable". Transport for NSW.
  13. ^ "T1: Western line timetable". Transport for NSW.
  14. ^ "T1: North Shore line timetable". Transport for NSW.
  15. ^ "Central Coast & Newcastle line timetable". Transport for NSW.