North Shore & Western Line facts for kids

North Shore & Western Line
An A set train at Wentworthville
Overview
Service type	Commuter rail service
Status	Active
Locale	Sydney
Current operator(s)	Sydney Trains
Annual ridership	142,853,000 (2017–18)
Route
Line used	Main North Main Suburban Main Western North Shore Richmond
Technical
Rolling stock	T, H, A and B sets
Timetable number(s)	T1
Sydney Trains services Metro North West North Shore & Western Inner West & Leppington Bankstown Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Cumberland Olympic Park Airport & South Northern

The North Shore & Western Line (also known as T1) is a busy train line in Sydney, Australia. It's part of the Sydney Trains network. This line helps people travel between the North Shore, parts of the Inner West, and the Western Suburbs. You can spot T1 trains by their orange colour on maps and signs.

Before April 2019, this line was called the North Shore, Northern & Western Line. Then, a part of it became a separate line, the T9 Northern Line.

How the T1 Line Started

After an election in 2011, the government wanted to make transport in New South Wales better. In November 2011, a new group called Transport for NSW was created. Their job was to plan and improve transport services.

They created a new train timetable and changed how the lines were named. This started on 20 October 2013. That's when the old North Shore Line and Western Line joined with the Northern Line. Together, they formed the North Shore, Northern & Western Line. This new, bigger line was given the number T1.

For a while, the T1 line also used the Epping to Chatswood section. But this section closed in September 2018. It was being changed to become part of the new Sydney Metro Northwest train system. During this time, special bus services called Station Link helped people travel.

Once the metro opened, the original Northern Line route from Hornsby to Central via Strathfield was brought back. On 28 April 2019, this route became its own line, the T9 Northern Line. That's when the T1 line was renamed the North Shore & Western Line, as it is today.

The History of the Tracks

The T1 line uses several different railway tracks that were built over many years. These tracks were later connected to create the long T1 route we see now. The main part of the line is the Main Suburban railway line. This line runs from Central Station to Granville. From Granville, it continues as the Main Western line. The Richmond railway line then branches off from the Main Western line at Blacktown.

Going the other way from Central towards the North Shore, the T1 uses the North Shore Line up to Hornsby. Then it continues along the Main North Line towards Berowra.

Main Western and Richmond Lines

The Main Western line first opened to Penrith in 1863. It started as a branch from the Main South line at Granville. The train tracks were made electric up to Parramatta in 1928 and to Penrith in 1955.

A branch line to Richmond opened in 1864. This was thanks to engineer James Moore. The tracks from Riverstone to Richmond became electric in August 1991. Trains started running directly from Richmond to Sydney in 1992.

North Shore Line

The North Shore railway line first opened on 1 January 1890. It ran between Hornsby and St Leonards. The line was extended to Milsons Point by Sydney Harbour in 1893. Back then, people had to take a ferry boat from Milsons Point to get to central Sydney. The line became electric in 1927.

When the Sydney Harbour Bridge opened in 1932, a new Milsons Point station was built right on the bridge approach. The North Shore Line was then extended over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. This connected it to the underground train lines in central Sydney. So, the North Shore Line now links to the main Sydney train system at both Central and Hornsby.

Main North Line

The T1 line uses a section of the Main North railway line. This part runs between Hornsby and Berowra. It opened in 1887 and was made electric in 1959.

Where the T1 Line Goes

The T1 line travels through many important areas and town centres. These include Hornsby, Chatswood, North Sydney, the Sydney city centre (CBD), Parramatta, Blacktown, and Penrith.

Starting from Berowra, the line heads south to Hornsby using the Main North Line. At Hornsby, trains switch to the North Shore Line. They pass through North Sydney station and then cross the Sydney Harbour Bridge. After the bridge, they go through the western part of the City Circle underground loop, stopping at Central and Redfern stations.

From Redfern, trains usually use the middle set of tracks on the Main Suburban Railway. There are six tracks in total between Redfern and Strathfield. T1 trains usually don't stop at the smaller stations between Redfern and Strathfield.

The trains continue west from Strathfield to Granville. At Granville, they join the Main Western Line. After going through Parramatta, the line reaches Blacktown. Here, the line splits into two branches. One branch continues west along the Main Western Line to Emu Plains. The other branch heads north-west to Richmond, using the Richmond Line. <mapframe width="500" height="400" longitude="150.9721" latitude="-33.7629" zoom="10" align="left" text="T1 interactive map">

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T1 stations

Name	Distance from Central	Opened	Railway line	Serving suburbs	Other lines
Berowra	44.7 km	1887	Main North	Berowra	none
Mount Kuring-gai	40.7 km	1901		Mount Kuring-gai
Mount Colah	37.7 km	1887		Mount Colah
Asquith	35.7 km	1915		Asquith, Hornsby Heights
Hornsby	33.9 km	1886	North Shore	Hornsby, Waitara	T9
Waitara	24.2 km	1895		Waitara	none
Wahroonga	22.6 km	1890		Wahroonga
Warrawee	21.9 km	1900		Warrawee, Wahroonga
Turramurra	20.8 km	1890		Turramurra, North Turrmarra, South Turramurra
Pymble	18.9 km	1890		Pymble
Gordon	17.1 km	1890		Gordon	T9
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	T9 M
Artarmon	10.3 km	1898		Artarmon	T9
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, Lavender Bay
Milsons Point	4.4 km	1932		Milsons Point, Kirribilli
Wynyard	2.1 km	1932		Sydney CBD, Barangaroo	T2 T3 T8 T9 M
Town Hall	1.2 km	1932		Sydney CBD	T2 T3 T4 T8 T9
Central	0 km	1855		Haymarket, Chippendale, Ultimo, Surry Hills
Redfern	1.3 km	1878	Main Suburban	Redfern, Waterloo, Darlington, Eveleigh	T2 T3 T4 T8 T9 (T8 peak hours only)
Strathfield	11.8 km	1876		Strathfield, Burwood	T2 T9
Lidcombe	16.6 km	1858		Lidcombe	T2 T3 T7
Auburn (Only during weekend and late services)	18.7 km	1877		Auburn	T2
Clyde (Only during weekends and late services)	20.6 km	1882		Clyde, Granville
Granville (Only during weekends and late services)	21.4 km	1860		Granville
Harris Park (Only during weekends and late services)	22.6 km	After 1883	Main Western	Harris Park, Rosehill	T2 T5
Parramatta	23.2 km	1860		Parramatta
Westmead	25.1 km	1883		Westmead	T5
Wentworthville	26.7 km	1883		Wentworthville
Pendle Hill	28.3 km	1924		Pendle Hill
Toongabbie	29.9 km	1880		Toongabbie
Seven Hills	32.1 km	1863		Seven Hills
Blacktown	34.8 km	1860	Main Western Richmond	Blacktown
At Blacktown, the line branches. The western branch is towards Emu Plains, and the northwestern branch is towards Richmond.
To Emu Plains
Doonside	38.6 km	1880	Main Western	Doonside	none
Rooty Hill	40.9 km	1861		Rooty Hill
Mount Druitt	43.3 km	1881		Mount Druitt
St Marys	47.4 km	1862		St Marys, North St Marys
Werrington	49.1 km	1868		Werrington
Kingswood	52.7 km	1887		Kingswood, Cambridge Park
Penrith	55.1 km	1863		Penrith
Emu Plains	57.4 km	1868		Emu Plains, Emu Heights
To Richmond
Marayong	37.4 km	1922	Richmond	Marayong, Kings Park	T5
Quakers Hill	40.1 km	1872		Quakers Hill
Schofields	43.8 km	1870		Schofields
Riverstone	46.0 km	1864		Riverstone
Vineyard	49.2 km	1935		Vineyard
Mulgrave	52.6 km	1864		Mulgrave, McGraths Hill
Windsor	55.0 km	1864		Windsor, South Windsor
Clarendon	57.2 km	1870		Clarendon
East Richmond	60.0 km	1939		Richmond
Richmond	60.7 km	1864		Richmond, Hobartville

How Many People Ride the T1?

The table below shows how many people used the Sydney Trains network up to 30 June 2022.

2020–21 Sydney Trains patronage by line

T1	57 173 000
T2	32 462 000
T3	16 580 000
T4	38 199 000
T5	5 052 000
T7	657 000
T8	21 503 000
T9	14 488 000