| NSW TrainLink | |
| Imagesize2: | 225 |
| Image3: | TfNSW T.svg |
| Caption3: | Roundel |
| Imagesize3: | 90 |
| Owner: | Transport for NSW |
| Locale: | New South Wales, with services into the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia |
| Annual Ridership: | 46.4 million (2017/18) |
| Began Operation: | 1 July 2013 |
| Operator: | NSW Trains and private coach operators |
NSW TrainLink is a train and coach operator in Australia, providing services throughout New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, along with limited interstate services into Victoria, Queensland and South Australia. Its primary services are spread across five major rail lines, operating out of Sydney's Central railway station.
NSW TrainLink was formed on 1 July 2013 when RailCorp was restructured and CountryLink was merged with the intercity services of CityRail. Intercity services were transferred to Sydney Trains in 2024.
In May 2012, the Minister for Transport announced a restructure of RailCorp.[1] [2] On 1 July 2013, NSW TrainLink took over (a) the operation of regional rail and coach services previously operated by CountryLink; (b) non-metropolitan Sydney services previously operated by CityRail; and (c) responsibility for the Main Northern railway line from Berowra railway station to Newcastle station, the Main Western railway line from Emu Plains railway station to Bathurst railway station, and the Illawarra railway line from Waterfall station to Bomaderry railway station.[3] [4] [5]
On 21 August 2023, it was announced that the majority of intercity passenger services, crew and stations would move from NSW TrainLink to Sydney Trains.[6] The process of transferring intercity services from NSW TrainLink to Sydney Trains began in 2023,[7] and was completed by 1 July 2024.[8]
NSW TrainLink services operate in areas of lower population density, using a reserved seat ticketing system.
NSW TrainLink operates regional passenger services throughout New South Wales and interstate to Brisbane, Canberra and Melbourne. All rail services utilise diesel rolling stock. For more details of each train line see List of NSW TrainLink train routes.
| - !Line colour and name | Between | |
|---|---|---|
| Central to Brisbane | ||
| Central to Armidale or Moree | ||
| Central to Canberra or Griffith or Melbourne | ||
| Central to Broken Hill or Dubbo |
North Coast services operate through the Mid North Coast, Northern Rivers and South East Queensland regions. Services operate on the Main North and North Coast lines, travelling between Sydney Central station and Roma Street station in Brisbane.
Principal stations served by XPT trains are:
See the full list of stations served.
Cities and towns served by NSW TrainLink coaches connecting off North Coast services include: Tea Gardens, Forster, Port Macquarie, Yamba, Moree, Alstonville, Lismore, Ballina, Byron Bay, Murwillumbah, Tweed Heads and Surfers Paradise.
North Western services operate through the Hunter, New England and North West Slopes & Plains regions. Services operate on the Main North line from Sydney Central station to Werris Creek. where the service divides for Armidale and Moree.
Principal stations served by Xplorer trains are:
Cities and towns served by NSW TrainLink coaches connecting off North Western services include: Wee Waa, Inverell, Grafton, Glen Innes and Tenterfield.
Western region services operate through the Central Tablelands, Orana, and Far West regions. Services operate on the Main Western Line from Sydney Central station to Dubbo and the Broken Hill line to Broken Hill.
Principal stations served by XPT trains are:
Principal stations served by Xplorer trains are:
Cities and towns served by NSW TrainLink coaches connecting off Western services include: Oberon, Mudgee, Baradine, Cowra, Grenfell, Forbes, Parkes, Condobolin, Lightning Ridge, Brewarrina, Bourke, Warren and Broken Hill.
Southern region services operate through the Illawarra, South Coast, Monaro, South West Slopes, Southern Tablelands, Riverina, and Sunraysia regions, plus the Australian Capital Territory and parts of Victoria.
Services operate on the:
Principal stations served by XPT trains are:
Principal stations served by Xplorer trains are:
Cities and towns served by NSW TrainLink coaches connecting off Southern services include: Wollongong, Bombala, Eden, Tumbarumba, Bathurst, Dubbo, Condobolin, Griffith, Mildura and Echuca.
NSW TrainLink continued with the existing contracts entered into by CityRail and CountryLink for the provision of coach services.
On 1 July 2014, the Lithgow to Gulgong, Coonabarabran, Baradine services passed from Greyhound Australia to Ogden's Coaches.[9]
In July 2014, Transport for NSW commenced the re-tendering process for most of the routes with the previous 24 contracts reorganised into 18 contracts. The new contracts commenced on 1 January 2015 for a five-year period, with an option to extend for three years if performance criteria are met.[9] [10] The services operated by Forest Coach Lines and Sunstate Coaches commenced new five-year contracts on 1 July 2016.[11] [12]
The full list of coach operators providing services as at January 2015 was:[9] [13]
| Operator | Services | |
|---|---|---|
| Australia Wide Coaches | Lithgow to Bathurst, Orange & Parkes | |
| BusBiz | Lithgow to Dubbo & Nyngan Dubbo to Lightning Ridge Dubbo to Bourke Dubbo to Broken Hill Coolabah to Brewarrina Wagga Wagga to Kingston and Queanbeyan | |
| Berrima Coaches | ||
| Busways | Port Macquarie to Wauchope, Wauchope to Port Macquarie | |
| CDC Canberra | Canberra to Bombala & Eden | |
| Dysons | Wagga Wagga to Griffith Cootamundra to Tumbarumba Cootamundra to Bathurst/Dubbo Parkes to Condobolin | |
| Forest Coach Lines | ||
| Hunter Valley Buses | ||
| Loader's Coaches | Lithgow to Grenfell | |
| Oberon Bus Company | Mount Victoria to Oberon | |
| Ogden's Coaches | Lithgow to Gulgong, Coonabarabran & Baradine | |
| Oxley Explorer | Armidale to Tenterfield, Port Macquarie to Tamworth, Tamworth to Port Macquarie | |
| Port Stephens Coaches | Broadmeadow to Taree | |
| Premier Shoalhaven | ||
| G&J Purtill | Cootamundra to Condobolin Cootamundra to Mildura Wagga Wagga to Echuca Albury to Echuca | |
| Roadcoach | Moss Vale to Wollongong Queanbeyan to Cootamundra | |
| Sunstate Coaches | ||
| Symes Coaches | Tamworth/Armidale to Inverell Moree to Grafton |
From 2018, NSW TrainLink introduced several new road coach services on a trial basis:[14]
See main article: NSW TrainLink rolling stock. The entire NSW TrainLink fleet is maintained by Sydney Trains either directly or via a Sydney Trains contract with UGL Rail.
| Class | Image | Type | Service Speed | Carriage Numbers | Routes operated | Built | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| km/h | mph | |||||||
| XPT | Diesel locomotive | 160 | 99 | 19 locomotives | 1981–1994 | |||
| XPT carriages | Passenger carriage | 60 carriages | ||||||
| Xplorer | Diesel multiple unit | 145 | 90 | 23 | 1993 | |||
Patronage surged on regional trains in 2023, reversing pandemic-era losses and increasing a further three percent, with a particular increase in ridership on Sydney-Melbourne services. 107,000 monthly journeys were made on regional trains in 2023.[32]
Regional services are considered on-time if they operate within ten minutes of their scheduled time.[33] The target is for 92 percent of intercity services (formerly operated by NSW TrainLink) and 78 percent of regional services to operate on-time. In 2017–18 NSW Trains met both the Intercity target and the regional target. However, it failed to meet the Intercity target during peak hours.[34] These results partially reverse a trend of failing to meet punctuality targets. Since the organisation commenced operations in 2013–14, NSW Trains has never met the intercity peak punctuality target.[35] Regional train services have achieved their punctuality target twice, in 2015–16 and 2017–18. The 2015–16 result was the first time NSW Trains or its predecessor RailCorp had achieved the target in 13 years.[36]
The following table lists patronage figures for the network during the corresponding financial year. Australia's financial years start on 1 July and end on 30 June. Major events that affected the number of journeys made or how patronage is measured are included as notes.
| 2014–15 | 2015–16 | 2016–17 | 2017–18 | 2018–19 | 2019–20 | ||||
| Intercity (millions) | 32.9 | 34.5 | 38.5 | 40.8 | 44.7 | 41.3 | 31.2 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regional trains (millions) | 1.23 | 1.22 | 1.24 | 1.69 | < 1.7 | ||||
| Regional coaches (millions) | 0.572 | 0.537 | 0.510 | ||||||
| References | [37] < | --2015–16--> | [38] | [39] | [40] | [41] | |||
The XPT fleet is maintained at the XPT Service Centre and the Endeavour and Xplorer fleets at Eveleigh Railway Workshops. The new bi-mode[42] fleet will be maintained at a new facility, Mindyarra Maintenance Centre, in Dubbo.[43] [44]