NSW TrainLink

NSW TrainLink is a regional 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.

NSW TrainLink was formed on 1 July 2013 when RailCorp was restructured and CountryLink was merged with the intercity services of CityRail.

History

In May 2012, the Minister for Transport announced a restructure of RailCorp. On 1 July 2013, NSW TrainLink took over the operation of regional rail and coach services previously operated by CountryLink; non-metropolitan Sydney services previously operated by CityRail; and responsibility for the Main North railway line from Berowra to Newcastle, the Main Western railway line from Emu Plains to Bathurst, and the South Coast railway line from Waterfall to Bomaderry.

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.

The process of transferring intercity services from NSW TrainLink to Sydney Trains began in 2023. From 1 July 2024, NSW TrainLink's Intercity services were transferred to Sydney Trains.

Network

NSW TrainLink services operate in areas of lower population density, using a reserved seat ticketing system.

An XPT travelling from Melbourne to Sydney, pictured between Jindalee and Morrisons Hill, New South Wales

Train services

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.

North Coast

North Coast XPT diagram.
Route diagram of the Armidale and Moree XPL services.

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

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: Burren Junction (via Wee Waa), Inverell, Walcha, Grafton, Glen Innes and Tenterfield.

Western

Dubbo XPT route diagram.
Broken Hill Xplorer route diagram.

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

Canberra Xplorer route diagram.
Griffith Xplorer route diagram.

Southern region services operate through the Illawarra, South Coast, Monaro, South Western 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.

Roundel used to identify coach services

Coach services

Dysons Irizar i6 bodied Scania K310IB at Wagga Wagga station in September 2015
Dysons Mitsubishi Fuso Rosa at Wagga Wagga station in January 2015

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.

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. The services operated by Forest Coach Lines and Sunstate Coaches commenced new five-year contracts on 1 July 2016.

The full list of coach operators providing services as at January 2015 was:

+ not included in January 2015 re-tendering process

From 2018, NSW TrainLink introduced several new road coach services on a trial basis:

Rolling stock

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.

Future fleet

A fleet of bi-mode CAF Civity trains is scheduled to replace the XPT, Xplorer and Endeavour fleets as part of the NSW TrainLink Regional Train Project.

Performance

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.

Regional services are considered on-time if they operate within ten minutes of their scheduled time. 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. 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. 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.

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.

The following table shows the patronage of each line of the NSW TrainLink Intercity network for the year to date as of 5 April 2025, based on Opal tap on and tap off data.


Depots

The XPT fleet is maintained at the XPT Service Centre and the Endeavour and Xplorer fleets at Eveleigh Railway Workshops. The new bi-mode fleet will be maintained at a new facility, Mindyarra Maintenance Centre, in Dubbo.

References

Media related to NSW TrainLink at Wikimedia Commons

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