40-510: Main North Line can refer to the following railway lines: Main North railway line, New South Wales , Australia Main North Line, New Zealand Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Main North Line . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
80-533: A branch to Dungog on the North Coast line . Sydney Trains operates suburban passenger services in the section between Strathfield and Berowra . The section between Strathfield and Maitland forms part of the interstate line between Sydney and Brisbane and sees intermodal freight traffic carried between the two cities. The section of line in the Hunter Valley sees intensive coal train working, with
120-440: A crew training service. There have been attempts to revive freight or tourist traffic to as far as Glen Innes, although these plans have not yet succeeded. A section of the line between Waratah and Maitland is quadruple track , with one pair being used exclusively for coal trains within the Hunter Valley coal trains and the other pair being used by passenger trains and general freight. The coal tracks from Port Waratah join
160-818: A locomotive hauled Grafton Express service to Grafton introduced in June 1990. In November 1993 the Grafton Express was also converted to XPT operation. When the Main North Line was closed north of Armidale in 1988, super-freighters to Brisbane began using the North Coast Line, operated by the State Rail Authority , then National Rail . Today, freight services on the North Coast Line are operated by Pacific National and SCT Logistics . These superfreighters do not serve any of
200-514: A significant shift in rail transport in the region, leading to an increased reliance on road transport and altering the dynamics of movement and passenger accessibility between these major cities. (Source: Transport for NSW, 2021). The line starts as a branch off the Main Suburban line at Strathfield in Sydney . The line heads north as a quadruple track electrified line to Rhodes, crossing
240-584: Is placed across the tracks a short distance from Dumaresq, at the 590 kilometre mark. North of Glen Innes the line, and particularly its bridges, have fallen into disrepair. In December 1991 the line was severed when the Roads & Traffic Authority built a deviation of the New England Highway over the line at Bluff Rock south of Tenterfield . At Wallangarra , the line met Queensland Railways' Southern railway line . The Great Northern Railway
280-578: Is the primary rail route in the Mid North Coast and Northern Rivers regions of New South Wales , Australia, and forms a major part of the Sydney–Brisbane rail corridor . The line begins at Maitland and ends at Roma Street railway station in Brisbane, although freight services terminate at the yard at Acacia Ridge on the outskirts of Brisbane. Along the way, the railway passes through
320-739: The Brisbane Express was withdrawn and replaced by the Gold Coast Motorail , operating to Murwillumbah. The North Coast Daylight Express and North Coast Mail operated to Grafton until they were both replaced in 1985 by a single Holiday Coast XPT train. Following the Booz Allen Hamilton review of 1989 which recommended severe rationalisation of country rail services, the Brisbane and Murwillumbah services were converted to XPT operation in February 1990, and
360-652: The Clarence River until the Grafton Bridge was completed in 1932. The Newcastle rail network remained independent of the main network radiating from Sydney until 1889, when the line between Sydney and Newcastle was completed with the opening of the Hawkesbury River Railway Bridge . Thus Newcastle was connected by rail with Wallangarra before it was connected with Sydney, such was the difficulty and expense of reaching and bridging
400-539: The Great Northern Railway ) is a major railway in New South Wales , Australia. It runs through Strathfield to Armidale . The line is the main line between Sydney and Armidale . As of 1988, the line closed progressively north of Armidale with services gradually withdrawn till 2004, with the main route between Sydney and Brisbane now the North Coast line . The end of these services marked
440-675: The John Whitton Bridge over the Parramatta River as a double track line. At West Ryde the line again expands out to four tracks through to Epping. The line is then largely double track through the northern suburbs of Sydney, crossing the Hawkesbury River Railway Bridge , before passing through the Central Coast . At Fassifern , a former branch line to Toronto divided off in an eastwards direction until closed in 1990. The line continues north to Broadmeadow in
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#1732775563699480-696: The Hawkesbury River. The Sydney to Newcastle section, Homebush to Waratah , had difficult topography to overcome, including crossing the Hawkesbury River , traversing the Mullet Creek bank and constructing the Woy Woy Tunnel . From the south, the line was opened between Homebush and Hornsby in 1886, then extended to Hawkesbury River in 1887. From the north, the line opened between Waratah and Gosford in 1887. Progress in
520-517: The Main North line. A daily North Western train operates from Sydney to Werris Creek before dividing, one operating along the Main North line to Armidale, the other section operating along the North-West line to Moree . Central Coast & Newcastle Line intercity passenger services operate between Sydney and Newcastle. The Hunter Line operates between Newcastle, Maitland and Scone , with
560-552: The North Coast line is now the only route between Sydney and Queensland . With the closure of former branches to Dorrigo (1972) and Murwillumbah (2004) there are no operating branches off the line. The Bonalbo branch from Casino was stillborn, with partial construction left incomplete. At the NSW/Queensland border is a long tunnel called Border Tunnel, a single-track extending 1160 metres. Immediately south of it
600-685: The North Coast line were the two daily services to Brisbane, the Brisbane Limited and the Brisbane Express . The Limited was the fastest service, stopping only at major stations, while the Express operated as a sweeper service stopping at most stations north of Grafton and provided connections to services on the Murwillumbah branch. Air-conditioned Sleeping cars had operated on the Brisbane Limited from 1960. In April 1973
640-667: The additional lines. Sandgate station is flanked by a pair of coal tracks on each side. As part of the Rail Clearways Program , in August 2006 an additional platform was opened at Berowra , and in March 2009 an additional platform and passing loop was opened at Hornsby . In 2011, the Northern Sydney Freight Corridor project commenced to improve access for freight trains. This has seen
680-480: The completion of a loop at Hexham in June 2012, two loops between Gosford and Narara in February 2015, plus an underpass and loop between North Strathfield and Rhodes in June 2015. A third track between Epping and Thornleigh was completed in June 2016. On 8 February 2024, a petition to reopen the Great Northern Railway north of Armidale to Wallangarra via Glen Innes and Tenterfield
720-482: The construction of the last section between Hawkesbury River and Gosford occurred when the Woy Woy Tunnel opened in 1887, then Mullet Creek to Gosford in 1888 and finally Hawkesbury River to Mullet Creek in 1889 when the original Hawkesbury River Railway Bridge was built. In 1892, the line was duplicated from Strathfield to Hornsby, and electrified in 1926 as part of the Bradfield electrification scheme. The line
760-563: The double track ends. Muswellbrook is the junction point for the former cross country line to Sandy Hollow and Gulgong . The Main North continues northwards through the Ardglen Tunnel to Werris Creek , where the Mungindi Line branches off to Moree , and a former cross country branch continues to Binnaway and ultimately Dubbo . The line continues north, but sees limited traffic beyond Werris Creek. The line reaches
800-529: The inner western suburbs of Newcastle . North of Broadmeadow is the junction with the Newcastle branch line , where electrification of the main line ends. However, electrification continues along the branch line to Newcastle Interchange terminus at Wickham, with the branch line beyond Wickham to the former Newcastle station having been closed and lifted from December 2014. The line then swings westwards as four tracks; two main line and two coal roads traverse
840-542: The left heading north, the difference of one circle due to the Cougal Spiral in the Border Ranges. Of course the curves are unevenly distributed meaning that maximum speeds change hundreds of times usually within the range of 60 km/h (37 mph) and 115 km/h (71 mph) for freight trains. The Australian Rail Track Corporation has recently resleepered the track with concrete sleepers, upgraded
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#1732775563699880-410: The line on the eastern side of the other tracks at Scholey Street Junction and pass underneath the other tracks at Hanbury Dive just west of Maud Street, continuing to Maitland on the western side of the other tracks. In November 1989, a fourth track was added between Eastwood and West Ryde . In the mid-1990s a loop was constructed at Cowan . The Sandgate Flyover was constructed in 2006 to allow
920-442: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Main_North_Line&oldid=932975680 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Main North railway line, New South Wales The Main North Line (also known as
960-401: The major New England towns of Tamworth and Armidale , the latter being the northernmost extent of service on the line. Until the mid-2000s freight traffic continued to the disused station at Dumaresq which is home to a now-also-disused agricultural fertilizer depot. There is now wire across the corridor at several points between Armidale and Dumaresq, after which the line is closed. A block
1000-574: The major freight link to the wheat and wool regions of northern and north-west New South Wales. In 1988, the newly elected Greiner State Government commissioned a report into the State Rail Authority by Booz Allen Hamilton . As a result, the line between Tenterfield and Wallangarra was closed. The last train to operate north of Tenterfield was an Australian Railway Historical Society charter on 15 January 1988 hauled by diesel locomotive 4487 . The last train to operate north of Glen Innes
1040-493: The outer suburbs of Newcastle to Maitland . The two coal roads run to the Newcastle coal lines , which serve a number of collieries along the route. Maitland is the junction of the North Coast line which continues to Brisbane and the Main North line. The line becomes double track immediately west of Maitland and heads through the Upper Hunter Valley townships of Branxton , Singleton and Muswellbrook where
1080-547: The section between Broadmeadow and Maitland one of the busiest freight lines in Australia. The line was hampered by the rugged terrain and a change of gauge at Wallangarra for traffic to Queensland. The line was superseded as the principal route to Brisbane by the completion of the North Coast Line in 1930. Despite being bypassed, the line remained busy for many years afterwards, with the line instead becoming
1120-548: The towns of Dungog , Gloucester , Wingham , Taree , Kendall , Wauchope , Kempsey , Macksville , Nambucca Heads , Urunga , Sawtell , Coffs Harbour , Grafton , Casino and Kyogle . After the standard gauge line ends at Acacia Ridge , it forms a dual gauge line into Brisbane , running alongside parts of the Beenleigh railway line . Since the Main Northern Line was closed north of Armidale in 1988,
1160-419: The towns they pass through - in the government railways era, there would be regular freight services to towns such as Kempsey, Grafton and Casino. The only freight train that regularly services the North Coast Line is a cement and sugar train for Grafton, and is operated by Pacific National. The North Coast Line has significant curvature, equivalent to turning through 150 circles – 75.5 to the right and 74.5 to
1200-433: The two passenger/freight tracks to rise and pass over the coal tracks that branch off to Kooragang Island in order to eliminate a capacity restriction caused by the long coal trains crossing the other tracks at grade. Because of the location of the overpass relative to the branch to Kooragang Island, a short section of the line has 6 parallel tracks. The bridge carrying Sandgate Road over the lines had to modified to allow for
1240-634: Was Border Loop , a short crossing loop, which is now closed. About one kilometre south of that is the Cougal Spiral . These two locations are often confused. The line is owned by the Transport Asset Holding Entity but leased to the Australian Rail Track Corporation until 2064. The first North Coast railway was opened between Murwillumbah , Byron Bay and Lismore in 1894 and extended to Casino in 1903 and Grafton in 1905. A branch line
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1280-399: Was built from Maitland to Paterson and Dungog in 1911. It was extended to Gloucester and Taree in 1913 and to Wauchope , Kempsey and Coffs Harbour and from Glenreagh to South Grafton (now Grafton station) in 1915. The gap between Coffs Harbour and Glenreagh, which contains five tunnels, was completed in 1922. The Clarence River was the most difficult river to cross and it
1320-559: Was built to Kyogle in 1910, it was extended to South Brisbane in 1930. The line was built between 1905 and 1932, and when completed, bypassed the Main North line and provided a quicker route up the eastern seaboard. The development of the line was hampered by the many large rivers that flow through the North Coast. The line also features the Cougal Spiral , which is one of only two spirals in New South Wales. A railway
1360-462: Was extended to Singleton in 1863, Muswellbrook in 1869, Scone in 1871 and Murrurundi in 1872. The GNR was then extended beyond Scone to Werris Creek and West Tamworth in 1878, Armidale in 1883, and reached the Queensland border at Wallangarra in 1888. The North Coast line to Brisbane, via the North Coast was opened in stages between 1905 and 1930, but a ferry carried trains across
1400-824: Was further electrified to Gosford in January 1960, Wyong in April 1982 and Newcastle in June 1984. Freight trains were hauled by electric locomotives until March 1998. Several lines branch from the Main North Line, including: The line was serviced by the overnight Northern Mail until it ceased in November 1988. The Northern Tablelands Express provided a daylight service to Glen Innes, with some journeys extended to Tenterfield until truncated in October 1985 to Armidale and in February 1990 to Tamworth. NSW TrainLink operates regional and intercity passenger services along
1440-589: Was hauled by steam locomotive 3001 on 22 October 1989 after which the line was formally suspended from operations. Following the Northern Tablelands Express being truncated in February 1990, the line north of Tamworth saw little use until the Xplorer service was introduced to Armidale in October 1993. The line to Glen Innes was still open in July 1992 when diesel locomotive 4499 operated
1480-674: Was not crossed until 1932. In the meantime, services were connected by rail ferry that carried the carriages across the river. The opening of the Grafton Bridge in 1932 completed the Sydney – Brisbane line as the first standard gauge inter-capital link. The completion of the Sydney–Brisbane link saw the Casino–Murwillumbah line become a branch line. In 1930 a branch line had been added to Ballina but this closed in 1949. The Murwillumbah branch closed in 2004. A picturesque branch
1520-734: Was opened from Glenreagh to Dorrigo in 1924, but was difficult to maintain due to the steep terrain and high rainfall and it was closed in 1972 after a washaway. The Glenreagh to Ulong section is proposed for reopening as a heritage tourist railway by the Glenreagh Mountain Railway . The Dorrigo Steam Railway & Museum is also being set up in Dorrigo as a museum and working exhibit. NSW TrainLink operates three daily XPT services from Sydney terminating at Grafton, Casino and Brisbane and thirty-one weekly services from Newcastle terminating at Dungog. The premier trains on
1560-452: Was presented to NSW Parliament by MP for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall . Jenny Aitchison MP for Maitland and Minister for Regional Transport and Roads answered saying it required a business case. The Great Northern Railway received a Historic Engineering Marker from Engineers Australia as part of its Engineering Heritage Recognition Program . North Coast railway line, New South Wales The North Coast railway line
1600-527: Was the original mainline between Sydney and Brisbane . The first section of the Main North line opened in 1857 from the port of Newcastle to East Maitland as the Hunter River Railway Company ' s line. At a public meeting for the company's establishment in 1853, William Charles Wentworth envisioned the line's extension to Scone up north and Sydney down south. The line was then extended to Victoria Street, Maitland in 1858. It
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