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Blue Mountains Line
AV set atGlenbrook
Overview
Service type	Commuter rail
Status	In operation
Locale	Blue Mountains andCentral West,New South Wales
First service	1868 (as part of the Main Western Line)
Current operator	Sydney Trains
Former operators	State Rail Authority,CityRail,NSW TrainLink
Ridership	10,154,000 passengers in 2019
Route
Termini	Central Bathurst
Stops	21
Line used	Main Western
Technical
Rolling stock	D set Mariyung V set Intercity (electric services) N set Endeavour railcar (non-electric services)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)standard gauge
Electrification	1957 (west toLithgow)
Track owner	Transport Asset Holding Entity
Timetable number	BMT
Route map Sydney Trains intercity services Blue Mountains Central Coast & Newcastle Hunter South Coast Southern Highlands v t e

BMT Blue Mountains Line
Routemap design based on official Transport for NSW branding
km from Central toHornsby to theCity Circle 00.0 Central 01.3 Redfern for services and stations between Redfern and Strathfield see: Sydney Trains 11.8 Strathfield 12.7 Homebush 14.3 Flemington 16.6 Lidcombe 18.6 Auburn 20.7 Clyde 21.2 Granville toLiverpool 22.5 Harris Park 23.2 Parramatta 25.2 Westmead 26.6 Wentworthville 28.3 Pendle Hill 30.0 Toongabbie 32.1 Seven Hills 34.9 Blacktown toRichmond 38.3 Doonside 40.9 Rooty Hill 43.8 Mount Druitt 47.4 St Marys 49.1 Werrington 52.7 Kingswood 55.1 Penrith 57.4 Emu Plains 63.6 Lapstone 67.1 Glenbrook 71.5 Blaxland 74.3 Warrimoo 77.4 Valley Heights 79.7 Springwood 83.0 Faulconbridge 86.8 Linden 90.4 Woodford 93.5 Hazelbrook 96.0 Lawson 97.7 Bullaburra 102.6 Wentworth Falls 107.6 Leura 109.9 Katoomba 115.8 Medlow Bath 120.7 Blackheath 126.7 Mount Victoria 137.1 Bell 150.9 Zig Zag 155.8 Lithgow Limit of electrification 181.4 Rydal 198.3 Tarana 239.9 Bathurst
Legend
Station Interchange station  North Shore & Western Line  Inner West & Leppington Line  Cumberland Line  NSW TrainLink Western Region Not all rail services shown For closed stations, wheelchair access and other features see: Template:Main Western railway line, New South Wales
This diagram: view talk edit

TheBlue Mountains Line (BMT) is anintercity rail service serving theBlue Mountains region ofNew South Wales,Australia. The line travels west fromSydney to the major town ofKatoomba and on toMount Victoria,Lithgow andBathurst. Mount Victoria is the terminus for most electric services, but some services terminate at Lithgow instead. Two express services per day in each direction, known as theBathurst Bullet, extend to the regional city of Bathurst, which is supplemented by road coaches connectingBathurst toLithgow. Due to electrification limits at Lithgow, the Bathurst Bullet is run using theEndeavour railcars, which operate on diesel. The Blue Mountains Line operates over a mostly duplicated section of theMain Western line. As such, the tracks are also traversed by theCentral West XPT,Outback Xplorer andIndian Pacific passenger services and by freight trains.

The Blue Mountains line is a section of theMain Western line which opened in 1868.^[1] The line was built with gradients as steep as 1 in 33 (3%) and curves as sharp as 8chains (160 m; 530 ft). Most of the curves were eased to 12chains (240 m; 790 ft) with duplication.^[2][3]

The line originally ascended the eastern and descended the western sides of the Blue Mountains via a series of zig-zag track sections. The eastern zig zag was by passed by a tunnel in 1892 and the western zig zag (currently atourist railway) was bypassed in 1910 with theTen Tunnels Deviation.^{[citation needed]}

In the 1950s, the line waselectrified primarily as a means of easing the haulage of coal freight from the western coalfields to the coastal ports,^[4] but a by-product of this programme was the introduction of electric interurban passenger services as far west asBowenfels, later cut back toLithgow.^[5] Goods trains are now exclusively diesel hauled. Electric passenger services were originally provided by a combination of electric locomotive hauled carriages and single deckelectric multiple unit sets (known asU sets), both of which have now been withdrawn and replaced by more modern rolling stock.^{[citation needed]}

In June 2012, New South Wales PremierBarry O'Farrell announced that services would be extended to Bathurst. The service, commonly known as theBathurst Bullet, commenced on 21 October 2012.^[6][7] A second Bathurst Bullet return service was introduced on 16 September 2019.^[8]Springwood services were previously the only services where anH set train would be scheduled. Due to the width of H sets, they risked striking platforms past Springwood with their outward opening plug doors and tunnels pastKatoomba. The last H sets were removed from the line in 2017 and 2018, but they are still used as a replacement train. As theV sets are being replaced by theNew Intercity Fleet, which are wider, the loading gauge of the line past Springwood will be increased. This will be done by a combination of carving notches into tunnel walls and reducing required clearances by lowering speed limits.^[9] TheNew South Wales D set or Mariyung trains entered service on the line on 13 October 2025.^[10] In 2026, they will also operate on theSouth Coast Line.

Station upgrades as part of theTransport Access Program (TAP) were carried out, as well as more minor upgrades. A full list of completed upgrades can be viewed at the TAP'scompleted projects page, whilstcurrent projects can be viewed here.^[11]

Mariyung D sets

Endeavour railcar N sets

Intercity V sets

The rolling stock of the Blue Mountains Line

All electric Blue Mountains line services start and terminate from the intercity platforms (4–15) of Central (Sydney Terminal) station. During the weekday off-peak, they operate hourly, alternating between services to Mount Victoria and Lithgow. During the morning and afternoon peaks, some express services operate, together with short workings to Springwood and Katoomba.^{[citation needed]}

There are two daily services each way between Bathurst to Central, known as theBathurst Bullet, mainly catering for commuters working in Sydney. Two services run toward Central in the morning and return in the afternoon. Two shuttle services operate from Lithgow to Bathurst in the early morning and return to Lithgow late at night.^{[citation needed]}

Some off-peak electric interurban services on the line only consist of four carriages, with peak hour services usually consisting of eight carriages. Regional diesel services on the line consist of two carriages.^{[citation needed]}

Blue Mountains Line stations

Name	Code [20]	Distance from Central	Travel Time [ab 1]	Railway	Suburbs serviced	Connecting Services
Central – Emu Plains (Suburban section)
Central	CEN	0.0 km	Departure	Main Western	Sydney, Strawberry Hills, Ultimo, Surry Hills	Services T1 T2 T3 T4 T7 T8 T9 M1 L1 L2 L3 CCN SCO SHL North Coast North Western Southern Western
Redfern (Weekday peak hour services only)	RDF	1.3 km	2 min		Redfern, Waterloo, Darlington	Services T1 T2 T3 T4 T7 T8 T9 CCN SCO
Strathfield	STR	11.8 km	11 min		Strathfield	Services T1 T2 T3 T7 T9 CCN North Coast North Western Western
Parramatta	PAR	23.2 km	12 min		Parramatta	T1 T2 T5 L4 Western
Westmead (Bathurst Bullet services only)	WMD	25.2 km	3 min		Westmead	T1 T2 T5
Blacktown	BAK	34.9 km	9 min		Blacktown	T1 T5 Western
Penrith	MPT	49.5 km	14 min		Penrith	T1 Western
Emu Plains	EPS	54.4 km	3 min		Emu Plains, Emu Heights	T1
Emu Plains – Lithgow
Lapstone	LAP	63.2 km	7 min	Main Western	Lapstone
Glenbrook	GBR	67.1 km	4 min		Glenbrook
Blaxland	BXD	71.5 km	5 min		Blaxland
Warrimoo	WRM	74.3 km	3 min		Warrimoo
Valley Heights	VHS	77.4 km	5 min		Valley Heights
Springwood	SPR	79.7 km	3 min		Springwood
Faulconbridge	FLB	83.0 km	5 min		Faulconbridge
Linden	LND	86.8 km	5 min		Linden
Woodford	WFO	90.4 km	6 min		Woodford
Hazelbrook	HZK	40.7 km	4 min		Hazelbrook
Lawson	LWN	96.0 km	4 min		Lawson
Bullaburra	BUB	97.7 km	3 min		Bullaburra
Wentworth Falls	WFS	102.6 km	6 min		Wentworth Falls
Leura	LEU	107.6 km	6 min		Leura
Katoomba	KTO	109.9 km	6 min		Katoomba	Western
Medlow Bath	MED	115.8 km	7 min		Medlow Bath
Blackheath	BKE	120.7 km	6 min		Blackheath
Mount Victoria	MVR	126.7 km	1 min		Mount Victoria
Bell (Request stop only)	BEL	137.1 km	9 min		Bell
Zig Zag (Request stop only)	ZIG	150.9 km	15 min		Clarence
Lithgow	LTH	152.8 km	7 min		Lithgow	Western
Lithgow – Bathurst (Non-electrified section)
Rydal (Request stop only)	RDL	152.8 km	23 min	Main Western	Rydal	Western
Tarana (Request stop only)	TNJ	198.3 km	16 min		Tarana	Western
Bathurst	BHS	228.7 km	33 min		Bathurst	Western

The following table shows the patronage of each line of the NSW TrainLink Intercity network for the year ending 30 June 2024, based on Opal tap on and tap off data.^[22]

• Blue Mountains Railway Pages

• Transport in the Blue Mountains (New South Wales)
• NSW TrainLink
• Sydney Trains

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