Mortdale Maintenance Depot facts for kids

The Mortdale maintenance depot is a special place where Sydney Trains trains are kept and fixed. It's located in the southern Sydney suburb of Mortdale, Australia. This depot plays a big part in keeping Sydney's trains running smoothly every day.

What is the Mortdale Depot?

This depot is like a big garage for trains. It has nine tracks, called "roads," inside a main building. There are also two raised outdoor tracks. Plus, it has a special area to wash trains. There are also several shorter outdoor tracks for storing trains.

The main job of the Mortdale depot is to park and maintain Tangara (T set) trains. These trains are used on the T4 Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line and South Coast Line local services.

Who Works There?

Special workers called shunters control how trains move inside the depot. They make sure trains are put together or separated safely. This helps with maintenance and repairs. Shunters also ensure everyone and everything moves safely within the depot.

History of the Depot

The Mortdale depot first opened in 1925. It was one of four new depots built for electric trains. This was part of a big plan by John Bradfield to electrify Sydney's train lines. The other depots were at Hornsby, Flemington, and Punchbowl.

In 1979, the Eastern Suburbs line opened. After this, Mortdale became the first depot to only have double-deck trains. These were called S sets. The last S set left Mortdale in April 2013. Now, the depot only looks after the newer T sets.

Future Plans

There are plans to make the Mortdale depot even better. In 2020, work began to prepare for upgrades. These upgrades will help the depot maintain more trains. This is part of the Transport for NSW's "More Trains, More Services" program. It aims to increase train services on the Illawarra line.