| Main Western Line | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Overview | |||
| Termini | |||
| Stations | 48 open | ||
| Technical | |||
| Line length | 484 km (301 mi) | ||
| Number of tracks | 4 (Granville–St Marys) 2 (St Marys–Wallerawang) 1 (Wallerawang–Dubbo) | ||
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)standard gauge | ||
| Signalling | |||
| Train protection system | |||
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TheMain Western Railway (orGreat Western Railway[2][3]) is a major railway inNew South Wales, Australia. It runs through theBlue Mountains, andCentral West regions. It is 825 kilometres (513 mi) long, of which 484 kilometres (301 mi) is currently operational.
The Main Western Railway Line is a westwards continuation of what is known as theMain Suburban Line betweenSydney Central station andGranville. The line is six electrified railway tracks between Central andStrathfield, where theMain Northern line branches off. The line is then four tracks as it passes throughLidcombe, where theMain Southern line branches off, and then through the Sydney suburbs of Parramatta andBlacktown, where theRichmond railway line branches off. AtSt Marys, the line becomes two tracks as it passes throughPenrith andEmu Plains, the extent of Sydney suburban passenger train operation. From Emu Plains, the line traverses theBlue Mountains passing throughKatoomba andMount Victoria before descending down the western side of the Blue Mountains throughten tunnels toLithgow. Lithgow is the extent of urban electric passenger train services, although the electric wires extend slightly toBowenfels. The line then proceeds throughWallerawang, where the line becomes single track, and then passes throughTarana,Bathurst,Blayney,Orange (where theBroken Hill line branches),Wellington,Dubbo,Narromine,Nevertire,Nyngan,Byrock and toBourke. The section between Nyngan and Bourke is now closed. TheCentral West XPT operates as far as Dubbo.
TheSydney Railway Company, a private company established to serve the interests of the port of Sydney, announced proposals to build a railway line toBathurst in 1848. The company was taken over by the New South Wales Government in 1854, and in 1855 the first railway in the state was opened betweenSydney and the present-dayGranville (seeRail transport in New South Wales). This railway was extended from Granville to the currentParramatta station andBlacktown in 1860 andPenrith in 1863.
The railway then crossed theBlue Mountains between 1867 and 1869. The Blue Mountains were a significant geographical barrier to the development of western New South Wales, and the crossing required significant feats of engineering for the railways, including two 'Zig Zags': one for the ascent at Lapstone, and another for the western descent. The first"little" zigzag line opened nearGlenbrook in 1867 as part of the ascent ofLapstone Hill on a gradient of 1 in 30–33. It was built with comparatively light earthwork, although it included a substantial seven-span sandstone viaduct (the Knapsack Viaduct) built by engineer,John Whitton. By 1910, the line was replaced with a gentler alignment with 1 in 60 (1.67%) grades. The line reachedWentworth Falls in 1867 andMount Victoria in 1868.
On the western descent from the Blue Mountains, theLithgow Zig Zag was constructed between 1866 and 1869. It was laid out in the shape of a 'Z' including reversingpoints. It involved extremely heavy rock cuttings, three fine stone viaducts with 30-foot (9.1 m) semi-circular arches and a short tunnel. The Lithgow Zig Zag was replaced in 1910 by a deviation, which included ten tunnels.[4]
From the western foot of the Blue Mountains, the line was promptly extended toWallerawang by 1870,Tarana in 1872,Bathurst,Blayney in 1876 andOrange in 1877.
By 1877, there was significant political pressure to minimise the diversion of trade from western New South Wales to Victoria and South Australia via river trade along theDarling andMurray Rivers.[5] The town ofBourke had become the key centre for pastoralists in western New South Wales since its formation in 1861. Provision was thus made to extend the line to Dubbo, reachingWellington in 1880 andDubbo in 1881. At the time, Dubbo had grown into a town of strategic importance on the stock routes between northern New South Wales and the Victorian goldfields.
Beyond Dubbo, the railway opened up new land to European settlement, and was directly responsible for the development of townships. The line reached the future site ofNarromine in 1883, and the railway station was the first building in the future settlement. The line reached the site ofNevertire in 1882, serving the nearby established village ofWarren (a branch opened to Warren in 1898). Construction reached the site ofNyngan in 1883, with the nearby coach-stop village ofCanonbar moving in its entirety to establish the town of Nyngan. Beyond Nyngan, the line swept across the plains in a straight line for 116 miles (187 km), then the longest stretch of straight railway line in the world. It reached the temporary terminus ofByrock in 1884 before reaching its final destination ofBourke in 1885.[6]
Wool and livestock was the main source of goods traffic on the line throughout its life. In the 1890s a severe drought caused a significant downturn in traffic. In the following decade a branch to Brewarrina (in 1901) increased its catchment while that to Walgett (in 1908) from another artery, reduced its catchment area. The line beyond Dubbo became loss-making in 1901, and continued that way throughout its existence. Tonnages increased following World War 2, but declined from the 1970s. Passenger services beyond Dubbo ended in 1974.
Electrification reached Parramatta in 1928 and Penrith in 1955.[7] In the 1950s, the section of the line over the Blue Mountains was electrified primarily as a means of easing the haulage of coal freight from the western coalfields to the coastal ports,[8] but a by-product of this programme was the introduction of electric interurban passenger services as far west as Bowenfels, later cut back to the current terminus of Lithgow.[9] Since the late 1990s goods trains are now exclusively diesel hauled, with the only electric trains being passenger services using double deck interurban cars.
By 1980, quadruplication of the track betweenBlacktown andSt Marys was completed.[10] With the introduction of theXPT, the tracks between Blacktown & St Marys were authorised for 160 km/h XPT track speeds by theState Rail Authority in 1982.[11] These speeds were subsequently reduced to 115 km/h (equal to the prior non-XPT speeds) due to signalling deficiencies (related to emergency trip-braking at high speeds) being discovered in 2006 byCityRail engineers.[12] The deficiencies were not addressed with the introduction ofATP in 2021 and the lowered-speeds were permanently programmed into the new system.
In the 1990s the operator of interstate freight, theNational Rail Corporation, made the decision to divert Sydney- Perth traffic from the Blue Mountains section, to travel via theMain South line toCootamundra, and then via thecross country line toParkes. This resulted in reduced goods traffic and subsequent reduction of the line between Wallerawang and Tarana from double to single track.[13] Significant flooding saw the line cut between Nyngan and Bourke in April 1989, and the army destroyed a section of track north of Nyngan to relieve flood waters surrounding the town. It was not financially viable to repair and maintain the line, and the line was thus abandoned between Nyngan and Bourke.[14][15]
Many branch lines were built or being built from and/or to the Main Western Line, some of which remain operational.
Goods traffic continues as far as Nyngan, to and from theCobar branch which connects at this point.NSW TrainLink operates theCentral West ExpressXPT service to Dubbo and a twice daily return passenger service to Bathurst using DMU Endeavour rolling stock. The section between Sydney and Orange carries theIndian Pacific train toPerth (via theBroken Hill line) and the once weekly NSW TrainLink Sydney to Broken Hill Xplorer DMU. The section to Lithgow carries electric commuter trains to and from Sydney (theBlue Mountains Line).
High speed dynamic testing of rolling stock is authorised along a section of the line between Blacktown & St Marys (with sufficient track & overwiring capability). Often this section of line is shut at night to allow testing of new or re-designed rolling stock up to 160km/h[29] under controlled conditions, as the current signalling is deficient at these speeds.
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