Cumberland Line

The Cumberland Line (numbered T5, coloured magenta) is a commuter rail line operated by Sydney Trains in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It connects Schofields and Leppington stations in the western suburbs. Limited services extend from Schofields to Richmond. The line opened in 1996, following the construction of a 'Y-link' track between Harris Park and Merrylands stations. The intention of this link was to allow direct services to operate from the south west suburbs to Parramatta and Blacktown without requiring a change of trains at Granville. The line takes its name from the Cumberland Plain on which much of Western Sydney was built.

Cumberland Line
An M set at Warwick Farm station
Overview
Owner	Transport Asset Holding Entity
Locale	Sydney, New South Wales
Termini	Richmond Leppington
Stations	30
Service
Type	Commuter rail
Operator(s)	Sydney Trains
Depot(s)	Mortdale
Rolling stock	M, A sets
History
Opened	1996; 28 years ago (1996)
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Sydney Trains services Metro North West North Shore & Western Inner West & Leppington Bankstown Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Cumberland Olympic Park Airport & South Northern v t e

v t e Cumberland Line
Legend
Richmond (late night) East Richmond (late night) Clarendon (late night) Windsor (late night) Mulgrave (late night) Vineyard (late night) Riverstone (late night) Schofields Quakers Hill Westlink M7 Marayong Main Western line Blacktown Seven Hills Toongabbie Pendle Hill Wentworthville Westmead Parramatta Harris Park Western Motorway Main Suburban line to City Merrylands Guildford Yennora Distribution Centre Prospect Creek Yennora Fairfield Canley Vale Main South line Cabramatta Cabramatta Creek Warwick Farm Liverpool South-West Motorway Casula East Hills line to City Glenfield Main South line to Albury Hume Motorway Edmondson Park Leppington

History

Cumberland Line history

 

Pre-2013 route (Blacktown to Campbelltown)

2013-17 route (Schofields to Campbelltown)

Upon its opening in 1996, the line had a regular half-hourly service in each direction consisting of 38 journeys per day. Subsequent timetables saw its services significantly reduced to the point of running only during weekday peak hours, and from 2005 to 2013 the line only ran in one direction at a time: two services ran in the morning peak from Campbelltown towards Blacktown and three services ran in the opposite direction in the evening. Some services operated to or from Quakers Hill or Schofields on the Richmond line, but the line's official terminus on network maps and other material remained at Blacktown.

Prior to the Y-Link's opening, passengers travelling between the Western and South lines were required to change trains at Granville. With the reduction in services to peak hours only, this travelling strategy was resumed by most commuters.

In 2006, the then-Iemma Labor Government's NSW State Plan committed to re-introduce a regular half-hourly service to the Cumberland line during 2007 "subject to detailed timetable and train planning... and fleet delivery, availability and rostering".^[1] A CityRail news release on 15 December confirmed this intention, based on the gradual introduction of the then-new OSCAR (H set) trains, which would displace outer suburban Tangara G sets; the latter trains then reassigned to suburban service.^[2] This promise was not delivered, and the Cumberland Line remained a peak-hour-only service with 4 car trains.

Daytime half-hourly services were re-introduced on 21 October 2013. Services finished in the early evening and did not operate on weekends. At this time, the line was also officially extended to Schofields, where most northbound services terminated.

As part of a major timetable change for the Sydney Trains network on 26 November 2017, Cumberland Line services were modified to no longer travel to and from Campbelltown, instead starting and terminating at Leppington. Simultaneous changes to the Airport, Inner West & South Line saw that line split into the Inner West & Leppington Line and Airport & South Line. These changes mean the section of the network between Glenfield and Macarthur is served exclusively by services operating via the East Hills railway line.^[3][4][5] The changes also saw late night and weekend services introduced on the Cumberland Line.^[6] The late night services extend to Richmond, replacing T1 services at these times.^[3] On weekends, trains operate between Schofields and Liverpool only with early morning and late night services extending to Leppington and Richmond.

Description of route

Physically, the line consists of the Richmond railway line from Schofields/Richmond to Blacktown, the Main Western Line from Blacktown station to Harris Park, the 'Y-link' as described below, the "Old Main South" between Merrylands and Cabramatta, the Main South Line between Cabramatta and Glenfield, and the South West Rail Link between Edmondson Park and Leppington.

 

T5 interactive map

Trains and Services

During the week, the Cumberland Line usually has 2 tph in each direction between Schofields and Leppington. In the peak, the services usually only run till Blacktown due to other services. On the weekend, this line holds 2 tph in both directions between Schofields and Liverpool. The line is usually serviced by 4-car Millenniums, though sometimes being serviced by Waratah A sets.

Y-link

 

Track arrangement at the Y Link

The 'Y-link' was opened in 1996 as part of former Prime Minister Paul Keating's 'Building Better Cities' programme in recognition of Parramatta's place as the capital of Sydney's west.^[7] It cost $80 million to construct, and required the construction of a little over one kilometre of new track and no new stations. This track consists of the creation of a triangular junction at the junction of the 'Old Main South' and the 'Main Western Line by laying track between Merrylands and Harris Park stations. The work included a new flyover of the 'Up Old Main South' over these new tracks.

Cumberland Line stations

Name	Railway line	Serving suburbs	Other lines
Richmond - Leppington
Richmond	Richmond	Richmond, North Richmond	T1
East Richmond		Richmond
Clarendon		Clarendon
Windsor		Windsor
Mulgrave		Mulgrave
Vineyard		Vineyard
Riverstone		Riverstone
Schofields		Schofields
Quakers Hill		Quakers Hill
Marayong		Marayong
Blacktown		Blacktown
Seven Hills	Main Western	Seven Hills
Toongabbie		Toongabbie
Pendle Hill		Pendle Hill
Wentworthville		Wentworthville
Westmead		Westmead
Parramatta		Parramatta	T1 T2
Harris Park		Harris Park
Merrylands	Old Main South	Merrylands	T2
Guildford		Guildford
Yennora		Yennora
Fairfield		Fairfield
Canley Vale		Canley Vale
Cabramatta	Main South	Cabramatta	T2 T3
Warwick Farm		Warwick Farm
Liverpool		Liverpool
Casula		Casula	T2
Glenfield		Glenfield	T2 T8
Edmondson Park	South West	Edmondson Park	T2
Leppington		Leppington

Patronage

The following table shows the patronage of Sydney Trains network for the year ending 30 June 2022.

2021–22 Sydney Trains patronage by line^{[n.b. 1][8]}

T1	41,980,000
T2	23,077,000
T3	11,198,000
T4	27,775,000
T5	3,503,000
T7	605,000
T8	16,879,000
T9	10,415,000

1. Figures based on Opal tap on and tap off data.

References

1. New South Wales Government (2006). . Archived from the original on 23 October 2007. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
2. . Rail Corporation New South Wales. 15 December 2006. Archived from the original on 18 January 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
3. (PDF). Transport for NSW. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
4. Barr, Eliza (27 February 2017). "Southwest Sydney train service to increase with new peak hour trains and north-south connection from Leppington to Parramatta and Blacktown". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
5. O'Sullivan, Matt (27 February 2017). "Decision on rail link to new Sydney airport 'many years off', Transport Minister Andrew Constance says". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
6. Transport for NSW (27 February 2017), "More Trains, More Services for South Western Sydney" Retrieved 27 February 2017
7. . Railway Digest, November 2005. ARHS NSW Division. Archived from the original on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2007.
8. "Train Patronage – Monthly Figures". Transport for NSW. Retrieved 20 August 2022.

External links

• Cumberland Line timetable Transport for NSW