Northern Line (Sydney)

The Northern Line (numbered T9, coloured red) is a commuter rail line operated by Sydney Trains in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It serves some of Sydney's Inner West and Northern suburbs. It was spun off from the old T1 North Shore, Northern & Western Line as a separate line in April 2019, to distinguish and make it more easily identified from the other T1 services. It is also a reincarnation of the older Northern Line which was under operation until 2013.

Northern Line
An A set at Cheltenham station
Overview
Service type	Commuter rail service
Status	Active
Locale	Sydney
Current operator(s)	Sydney Trains
Route
Line(s) used	Main North Main Suburban North Shore
Technical
Rolling stock	T, H, A and B sets
Depot(s)	Hornsby
Timetable number(s)	T9
Sydney rail services Metro North West & Bankstown North Shore & Western Leppington & Inner West Liverpool & Inner West Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Cumberland Lidcombe & Bankstown Olympic Park Airport & South Northern

T9 Northern Line
km continues as 17.1 Gordon 15.9 Killara 14.6 Lindfield 13.3 Roseville 11.7 Chatswood 10.3 Artarmon 8.4 St Leonards 7.2 Wollstonecraft 6.1 Waverton 5.1 North Sydney 4.4 Milsons Point 2.0 Wynyard 1.2 Town Hall 0.0 Central 1.3 Redfern 10.6 Burwood 11.8 Strathfield 13.4 North Strathfield 14.5 Concord West 16.6 Rhodes 18.2 Meadowbank 19.2 West Ryde 20.2 Denistone 21.4 Eastwood 23.4 Epping 25.4 Cheltenham 26.9 Beecroft 28.6 Pennant Hills 29.4 Thornleigh 31.7 Normanhurst 33.9 Hornsby

History

Main article: Main North railway line, New South Wales

Diagram of the Northern Line prior to 2009

Original incarnation (until 2013)

The traditional Northern Line was the suburban portion of the Main North railway line (Strathfield - Hornsby) which opened in 1886 and was electrified in 1926. When the Sydney Harbour Bridge was opened, it connected railway services from the Main North line and the City underground onto the North Shore line.

Passenger services used to operate as the Main North Line (same name as the physical railway line) and was colour coded red on railway maps. It operated all the way to Cowan, until the service was truncated to Berowra in January 1992. The service, along with the North Shore Line service (yellow), later also ran along the North Shore railway line towards the City via the Harbour Bridge, forming a continuous loop via Strathfield, Epping and back to Hornsby.

Diagram of the Northern Line between 2009 and 2013. The line is marked in red.

In later years, the line operated as the Northern Line and ran from Hornsby to North Sydney via Strathfield and the City, with the North Shore line replacing services between Hornsby and Berowra. In February 2009, the Epping to Chatswood rail link was opened. In October 2009, the Northern Line service was integrated with the shuttle service between Epping and Chatswood. As a result, the traditional Northern Line was split in two, with trains from north of Epping operating via the new link, approaching the city via the North Shore Line and rejoining the traditional route before terminating at Epping.

Part of T1 (2013 to 2019)

In October 2013, the Northern Line, North Shore Line and Western line were merged to form the T1 North Shore, Northern & Western Line, which was colour coded yellow.

On weekdays, trains from the upper Northern Line (Hornsby via Macquarie University) joined up with the Western Line trains towards Richmond or Emu Plains, while trains from the lower Northern Line (Epping via Strathfield) joined up with the North Shore Line trains towards Hornsby or Berowra. On weekends, trains ran similar to prior to merger, where the lower Northern Line trains from Epping continue onto the upper Northern Line trains at Chatswood into Hornsby via Macquarie University.

In September 2018, the Epping to Chatswood line closed in order to be converted to metro standards as part of the Sydney Metro Northwest project. As a result, the traditional Northern line branch from Hornsby to Central via Strathfield was reinstated.

Reincarnation (since 2019)

Diagram of the T9 Northern Line post-2019.

On 28 April 2019, as part of the integration with the Sydney Metro Northwest, the Northern Line branch was spin-off from the T1 Line and became a separate T9 Northern Line, though using the same rolling stock. The new line runs from Hornsby to Gordon via Strathfield (and vice-versa). The separated line runs a similar route to the pre-2009 incarnation of the line. It is also similarly colour-coded red.

In September 2023 it became the first line in Sydney to be fully wheelchair accessible, with the completion of the upgrade at Denistone station.

Route

The line begins at Hornsby - a junction station with the North Shore Line. The line heads south to Strathfield via Epping using the Main North Line, crossing the Parramatta River between Rhodes and Meadowbank. At Strathfield, trains usually head onto a flyover over the 'Main lines', before heading east onto the Main Suburban Railway, usually using the middle 'Suburban' pair of the six tracks between Redfern and Strathfield. Trains pass through Redfern and Central, then through the western limb of the City Circle before heading across the Harbour Bridge. Trains then head north along the North Shore towards Gordon, where they continue as T1 North Shore line trains (to Hornsby or Berowra).

For off-peak and weekend services, the T9 generally makes a complete loop from Hornsby to Hornsby or Berowra (anti-clockwise), and vice versa. However, the route is split into two distinct stopping patterns during the morning and afternoon peak:

Anti-clockwise direction:

• All stations from Hornsby to Epping, then Eastwood, West Ryde, Meadowbank, Rhodes, Strathfield, Burwood and then finally terminating at Central (Grand Concourse).
• All stations from Epping to Strathfield, then Redfern, Central, then all stations to Gordon, then all stations to Hornsby or Berowra (continuing as T1 North Shore line).

Clockwise direction:

• All stations from Berowra or Hornsby or Lindfield to Redfern, then Strathfield, and then all stations to Epping.
• Central (Grand Concourse), then Burwood, Strathfield, Rhodes, Meadowbank, West Ryde, Eastwood, Epping, and then all stations to Hornsby.

The route from the Northern Line to Redfern station is officially branded and published as T9, but from Central onwards, PIDS (Passenger Information Display Screens) show all services as T1, even if it came from the Northern Line. This is in contrast with PIDS at stations from Hornsby to Redfern (via Strathfield) displaying/announcing the T9 services goes to Gordon, "and then service continues to T1 North Shore line."

T9 stations

Name	Distance from Central	Opened	Railway line	Serving suburbs	Other lines
Gordon	17.1 km	1890	North Shore	Gordon	T1
Killara	15.9 km	1899		Killara, East Killara
Lindfield	14.6 km	1890		Lindfield, East Lindfield
Roseville	13.3 km	1890		Roseville
Chatswood	11.7 km	1890		Chatswood	T1 M1
Artarmon	10.3 km	1898		Artarmon	T1
St Leonards	8.4 km	1890		St Leonards, Naremburn, Crows Nest, Greenwich, Artarmon
Wollstonecraft	7.2 km	1893		Wollstonecraft, Greenwich
Waverton	6.1 km	1893		Waverton
North Sydney	5.1 km	1932		North Sydney
Milsons Point	4.4 km	1932		Milsons Point, Kirribilli
Wynyard	2.1 km	1932		Sydney CBD, Barangaroo	T1 T2 T3 T8
Town Hall	1.2 km	1932		Sydney CBD	T1 T2 T3 T4 T8
Central	0 km	1855		Haymarket, Chippendale, Ultimo, Surry Hills	T1 T2 T3 T4 T8 M1
Redfern	1.3 km	1878	Main Suburban	Redfern, Waterloo, Darlington, Eveleigh	T1 T2 T3 T4 T8
Burwood	10.6 km	1855		Burwood	T2 T3
Strathfield	11.8 km	1876		Strathfield, Burwood	T1 T2 T3
North Strathfield	13.4 km	1918	Main North	North Strathfield, Concord West, Concord, Homebush	none
Concord West	14.5 km	1887		Concord West, Liberty Grove, Concord
Rhodes	16.6 km	1886		Rhodes, Liberty Grove
Meadowbank	18.2 km	1887		Meadowbank, West Ryde, Ryde
West Ryde	19.2 km	1886		West Ryde, Denistone
Denistone	20.2 km	1937		Denistone, Denistone East, Denistone West, West Ryde
Eastwood	21.4 km	1886		Eastwood
Epping	23.4 km	1886		Epping	M1
Cheltenham	26.8 km	1898		Cheltenham	none
Beecroft	28.3 km	1886		Beecroft
Pennant Hills	30 km	1886		Pennant Hills
Thornleigh	30.8 km	1886		Thornleigh, Pennant Hills, Westleigh
Normanhurst	33.1 km	1895		Normanhurst, Thornleigh, Hornsby
Hornsby	35.3 km	1886		Hornsby, Waitara	T1

Patronage

The following table shows the patronage for the year ending 30 June 2024.

2023–24 Sydney Trains patronage by line

T1	86,736,689
T2	47,048,199
T3	20,178,194
T4	54,802,802
T5	8,028,853
T6	–
T7	1,345,017
T8	37,691,564
T9	22,303,028

Further reading

• The Short North Singleton, C.C. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, March to June 1965

External links

• Sydney Trains Northern Line timetable Transport for NSW
• Neety's Train Page - information on suburban stations.
• New South Wales Railways - historical information on suburban stations.
• New South Wales Transport Information
• Australian Railmaps - information & maps of train services & stopping patterns.
• Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation project website