1.
Light rail in Sydney
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The Sydney light rail network is a tram or light rail system serving the Australian city of Sydney, New South Wales. The network presently consists of a single 12. 8-kilometre line of 23 stations, a second line is under construction and two further lines serving Western Sydney have been announced. The network is controlled by the New South Wales Governments transport authority, Transport for NSW, in 2015-16,9.7 million passenger journeys were made on the network. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Sydney developed a tram network. In the 1980s and 1990s, the city areas of Darling Harbour. In 1988 the Sydney Monorail opened, connecting Darling Harbour to the Central Business District, a section of track between Pyrmont and Haymarket was upgraded and a new on-street section constructed to link the line to Central railway station. The line was set up as a partnership and opened in August 1997 as the Sydney Light Rail. The lines owner soon made proposals for an extension along the disused section of the goods line. The western extension opened in 2000, but the company was unsuccessful in its attempts to develop a CBD line, the extensions announced during the decade total almost 40-kilometres. If all projects are completed, the network would expand in size from 7. 2-kilometres at the start of the decade to approximately 50-kilometres, the contract gave the company significant control over the commercial arrangements relating to future extensions or interconnecting lines. SLRC contracted operation of the line to TNT, who owned the monorail. A major change occurred in August 1998 when the rail and monorail effectively merged. TNT sold the monorail to CGEA Transport and the companies owning SLRC, CGEA Transport and its successors have operated the inner city light rail network ever since. The company controlling the light rail and monorail became known as Metro Transport Sydney, the Government of New South Wales purchased Metro Transport Sydney on 23 March 2012 for $19.8 million, and the company was placed under the control of Transport for NSW. The monorail closed on 30 June 2013, from 1 July, the Metro Light Rail brand was phased out as part of a broader rebranding and reorganisation of public transport services in New South Wales. The process of shutting down Metro Transport Sydney and transferring assets to Transport for NSW was completed in September 2014, in December 2014, Transport for NSW awarded the contract to the ALTRAC Light Rail consortium, consisting of Alstom, Transdev, Acciona Infrastructure & Capella Capital. The operating contract commenced on 1 July 2015 and runs until 2034, Transdev Sydney operate and maintain the network as part of the consortium. The following table lists patronage figures for the network during the financial year
2.
Sydney Metro (2008 proposal)
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Sydney Metro was a proposed rapid transit railway network in Sydney, Australia, intended to connect the central business district with Rouse Hill, Westmead, Malabar and the lower North Shore. The cycle of announcement, re-announcement and cancellation of rail projects was a pattern under the Labor government that ruled New South Wales between 1995 and 2011. The short life of the Sydney Metro proposal was a significant contributing factor to Labor’s rout at the 2011 state election, although Labors Sydney Metro proposals were not revived, an alternative rapid transit system was proposed by the Liberal/Nationals government elected in 2011. Construction of this scheme, also known as Sydney Metro, began in 2013, although Sydney Metro would have been the first rapid transit system to be built in Australia – and one of only a handful in the Southern Hemisphere – the idea was not new. A true rapid transit system, separate from the increasingly congested suburban rail system, was proposed in 1968 by the new State Planning Authority’s Sydney Region Outline Plan. At the time, a number of cities were planning or building modern, standalone metros, including Toronto, Lisbon, Montreal, São Paulo, Seoul, Santiago, Washington, D. C. and Hong Kong. The 1964 introduction of the first double-deck carriages boosted capacity to an extent, SROP’s solution was a rapid transit system that would have augmented the city’s most crowded rail line, the Main West, with a fast, single-deck operation between the CBD and Parramatta. But though SROP fundamentally shaped Sydney’s growth for the next 20 years, the planned line was never built, improvements to the existing railway always took priority. Forty-four years later, a government report was to observe that in delaying the advent of rapid transit, “we have pushed the complex two-door double deck network further than any other operator. ”SROP’s eventual replacement, a plan called Sydney Into Its Third Century, was released by Labor planning minister Bob Carr in 1988. Although not a policy as such, the document set a radical change of direction that unwittingly built the strategic case for rapid transit. Firstly, it broke with SROP’s cardinal rule that new development should occur along existing railway corridors, secondly, it mandated a dramatic increase in urban density within the city’s existing footprint. Ironically, it was Carr himself who would have to deal with the consequences of his metropolitan plan, at first, the needs of the forthcoming Sydney 2000 Olympics – new rail lines to the airport and the new stadium planned by his Liberal predecessors – took priority. Carr’s first new rail proposal was the Parramatta to Epping Rail Link, something like it – a St Leonards to Eastwood line – had figured in Bradfield’s 1920 plan. The need for this extension was questionable, indeed, Carr and Scully’s successor, Michael Costa, were to remove it from the plan five years later. But the political imperative was clear, Carr owed his 1995 victory to just three electoral districts, all of them in Western Sydney, the next priority was the North West, where Carr as planning minister had green-lit future development far from mass transit links. The Governments solution was heavy rail from Epping to Castle Hill and this represented the beginnings of a major strategic shift, with future rapid transit proposals to incorporate private-sector operation as a core element. The following year, a collision at Glenbrook in the lower Blue Mountains killed seven people. Carr and Scully recognised that the system needed a serious strategic review
3.
Transport for New South Wales
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The authority is a separate entity from the New South Wales Department of Transport. The chief executive officer, called Secretary, for the agency is Tim Reardon, the authority reports to the New South Wales Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, presently Andrew Constance and the Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight, presently Melinda Pavey. Ultimately the ministers are responsible to the Parliament of New South Wales, the authority manages an annual multibillion-dollar transport budget and in partnership with the transport operating agencies manages more than A$106 billion in property, plant and equipment assets. Funding is provided for bus, rail, light rail, roads, ferry and community transport services, the authority also funds concession schemes such as the School Student Transport Scheme, the Private Vehicle Conveyance Scheme and the Taxi Transport Subsidy Scheme. The authority manages the design, timetabling and branding of these services and also provides passenger information via printed material, a telephone service. Operation of the services is contracted out to a mixture of other government-owned organisations, Transport for NSW public transport services are simply branded Transport. Patronage on the Sydney rail network increased during this period–customer patronage grew by 10.5 per cent, Transport for NSW provides a trip planner and transport service information on its customer service website, www. transportnsw. info, and via its 24-hour information line,131500. These services, outsourced to Serco since July 2010, were known as the Transport InfoLine or simply 131500. A parallel Teletype service for hearing and speech impaired passengers is available on 1800637500, Transport for New South Wales Official Website
4.
RailCorp
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Rail Corporation New South Wales is a State-owned corporation of the State of New South Wales established under the Transport Administration Act 1988 in 2004. From 2004 until 2013, RailCorp operated passenger services in New South Wales. Other functions include network access, leasing and managing the NSW Governments contract with Airport Link Company, the acting chief executive of RailCorp is Sydney Trains chief executive Howard Collins. Initially governed by a Board of Directors as a State owned corporation, changes to the Transport Administration Act,1988 resulted in abolition of the Board effective 1 July 2010 and the repositioning of RailCorp as an entity under Transport NSW. RailCorp reports to the Minister for Transport, in a series of seven reports released during 2008, the ICAC reported that more than $21 million in improper contracts and deals through the procurement of services in just three years. In June 2009, RailCorp terminated the contract of Vicki Coleman, its Chief Information Officer, the ICAC recommended charges against 33 people, yet by April 2012, only eight people had faced the courts. Those that received custodial sentences included Allan Michael Blackstock and Renea Hughes, youssef Madrajat was directed to undertake community service. Further charges are expected to be laid on others, and several are still waiting the outcome of criminal proceedings, RailCorp maintains a statewide Emergency Response Unit. The function of this unit is to attend incidents, such as derailments, the unit also undertakes cross-training with Fire and Rescue NSW. The units motto is Semper Paratus, translated from Latin to mean Always Ready, Rail transport in New South Wales Railways in Sydney RailCorp
5.
Sydney
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Sydney /ˈsɪdni/ is the state capital of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia and Oceania. Located on Australias east coast, the metropolis surrounds the worlds largest natural harbour, residents of Sydney are known as Sydneysiders. The Sydney area has been inhabited by indigenous Australians for at least 30,000 years, the first British settlers, led by Captain Arthur Phillip, arrived in 1788 to found Sydney as a penal colony, the first European settlement in Australia. Since convict transportation ended in the century, the city has transformed from a colonial outpost into a major global cultural. As at June 2016 Sydneys estimated population was 5,005,358, in the 2011 census,34 percent of the population reported having been born overseas, representing many different nationalities and making Sydney one of the most multicultural cities in the world. There are more than 250 different languages spoken in Sydney and about one-third of residents speak a language other than English at home and it is classified as an Alpha+ World City by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, indicating its influence in the region and throughout the world. Ranked eleventh in the world for economic opportunity, Sydney has a market economy with strengths in finance, manufacturing. Its gross regional product was $337 billion in 2013, the largest in Australia, there is a significant concentration of foreign banks and multinational corporations in Sydney and the city is promoted as one of Asia Pacifics leading financial hubs. Its natural features include Sydney Harbour, the Royal National Park, man-made attractions such as the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Tower and the Sydney Harbour Bridge are also well known to international visitors. The first people to inhabit the now known as Sydney were indigenous Australians having migrated from northern Australia. Radiocarbon dating suggests human activity first started to occur in the Sydney area from around 30,735 years ago, the earliest British settlers called them Eora people. Eora is the term the indigenous used to explain their origins upon first contact with the British. Its literal meaning is from this place, prior to the arrival of the British there were 4,000 to 8,000 native people in Sydney from as many as 29 different clans. Sydney Cove from Port Jackson to Petersham was inhabited by the Cadigal clan, the principal language groups were Darug, Guringai, and Dharawal. The earliest Europeans to visit the area noted that the people were conducting activities such as camping and fishing, using trees for bark and food, collecting shells. Development has destroyed much of the citys history including that of the first inhabitants, there continues to be examples of rock art and engravings located in the protected Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. The first meeting between the people and the British occurred on 29 April 1770 when Lieutenant James Cook landed at Botany Bay on the Kurnell Peninsula. He noted in his journal that they were confused and somewhat hostile towards the foreign visitors, Cook was on a mission of exploration and was not commissioned to start a settlement
6.
Rapid transit
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Rapid transit, also known as heavy rail, metro, subway, tube, or underground, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. The stations typically have high platforms, without steps inside the trains and they are typically integrated with other public transport and often operated by the same public transport authorities. However, some transit systems have at-grade intersections between a rapid transit line and a road or between two rapid transit lines. It is unchallenged in its ability to transport large numbers of people quickly over short distances with little use of land, variations of rapid transit include people movers, small-scale light metro, and the commuter rail hybrid S-Bahn. The worlds first rapid-transit system was the partially underground Metropolitan Railway which opened as a railway in 1863. In 1868, New York opened the elevated West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway, china has the largest number of rapid transit systems in the world. The worlds longest single-operator rapid transit system by length is the Shanghai Metro. The worlds largest single rapid transit service provider by both length of revenue track (665 miles and number of stations is the New York City Subway. The busiest rapid transit systems in the world by annual ridership are the Tokyo subway system, the Seoul Metropolitan Subway, the Moscow Metro, the Beijing Subway, Metro is the most common term for underground rapid transit systems used by non-native English speakers. One of these terms may apply to a system, even if a large part of the network runs at ground level. In Scotland, however, the Glasgow Subway underground rapid transit system is known as the Subway, in the US, underground mass transit systems are primarily known as subways, whereas the term metro is a shortened reference to a metropolitan area. In that vein, Chicagos commuter rail system, serving the area, is called Metra. Exceptions in naming rapid transit systems are Washington DCs subway system the Washington Metro, Los Angeles Metro Rail, and the Miami Metrorail, the opening of Londons steam-hauled Metropolitan Railway in 1863 marked the beginning of rapid transit. Initial experiences with steam engines, despite ventilation, were unpleasant, experiments with pneumatic railways failed in their extended adoption by cities. Electric traction was more efficient, faster and cleaner than steam, in 1890 the City & South London Railway was the first electric-traction rapid transit railway, which was also fully underground. Both railways were merged into London Underground. The 1893 Liverpool Overhead Railway was designed to use electric traction from the outset, budapest in Hungary and Glasgow, Chicago and New York all converted or purpose-designed and built electric rail services. Advancements in technology have allowed new automated services, hybrid solutions have also evolved, such as tram-train and premetro, which incorporate some of the features of rapid transit systems
7.
Elevated railway
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An elevated railway is a rapid transit railway with the tracks above street level on a viaduct or other elevated structure. The railway may be standard gauge, narrow gauge, light rail, monorail, Elevated railways are usually used in urban areas where there would otherwise be a large number of level crossings. Most of the time, the tracks of elevated railways that run on steel viaducts can be seen from street level, the earliest elevated railway was the London and Greenwich Railway on a brick viaduct of 878 arches, built between 1836 and 1838. The first 2.5 miles of the London and Blackwall Railway was also on a viaduct, during the 1840s there were other schemes for elevated railways in London which did not come to fruition. From the late 1860s elevated railways became popular in US cities, the New York West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway operated with cable cars from 1868 to 1870, thereafter locomotive-hauled. This was followed by the Manhattan Railway in 1875, the South Side Elevated Railroad, Chicago, the Chicago transit system itself is known as L, short for elevated. The Berlin Stadtbahn is also mainly elevated, the first electric elevated railway was the Liverpool Overhead Railway, which operated through Liverpool docks from 1893 until 1956. In London, the Docklands Light Railway is an elevated railway that opened in 1987 and. The trains are driverless and automatic, another modern elevated railway is Tokyos driverless Yurikamome line, opened in 1995. Most monorails are elevated railways, such as the Disneyland Monorail System, the Tokyo Monorail, the Sydney Monorail, the KL Monorail, the Las Vegas Monorail, many maglev railways are also elevated. During the 1890s there was some interest in railways, particularly in Germany, with the Schwebebahn Dresden. H-Bahn suspension railways were built in Dortmund and Düsseldorf airport,1975, the Memphis Suspension Railway opened in 1982. Shonan Monorail and Chiba Urban Monorail in Japan, despite their names, are suspension railways too, People mover or automated people mover is a type of driverless grade-separated, mass-transit system. The term is used only to describe systems that serve as loops or feeder systems. Similar to monorails, Bombardier Innovia APM technology uses only one rail to guide the vehicle along the guideway, aPMs are common at airports and effective at helping passengers quickly reach their gates. Elevator Grade separation Monorail Railway Rapid transit People mover Trackless
8.
Headway
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Headway is a measurement of the distance or time between vehicles in a transit system. The minimum headway is the shortest such distance or time achievable by a system without a reduction in the speed of vehicles, a shorter headway signifies a more frequent service. Headway is a key input in calculating the overall capacity of any transit system. A system that requires large headways has more empty space than passenger capacity, in this case, the capacity has to be improved through the use of larger vehicles. On the other end of the scale, a system with short headways, like cars on a freeway, the term is most often applied to rail transport, where low headways are often needed to move large numbers of people in mass transit railways. A lower headway requires more infrastructure, making lower headways expensive to achieve, modern large cities require passenger rail systems with tremendous capacity, and low headways allow passenger demand to be met in all but the busiest cities. Newer signalling systems and moving block controls have significantly reduced headways in modern systems compared to the lines only a few years ago. In principle, automated personal rapid transit systems and automobile platoons could reduce headways to as little as fractions of a second, there are a number of different ways to measure and express the same concept, the distance between vehicles. The differences are due to historical development in different countries or fields. The term developed from use, where the distance between the trains was very great compared to the length of the train itself. In the case of a system, train lengths are uniformly short. Where vehicle size varies and may be longer than their stopping distances or spacing, as freight trains and highway applications. The units of measure also vary, the most common terminology is to use the time of passing from one vehicle to the next, which closely mirrors the way the headways were measured in the past. A timer is started when one passes a point, and then measures time until the next one passes. This same measure can also be expressed in terms of vehicles-per-hour, distance measurements are somewhat common in non-train applications, like vehicles on a road, but time measurements are common here as well. Train movements in most rail systems are controlled by railway signalling systems. In many railways drivers are given instructions on speeds, and routes through the rail network, trains can only accelerate and decelerate relatively slowly, so stopping from anything but low speeds requires several hundred metres or even more. The track distance required to stop is often longer than the range of the drivers vision
9.
Track gauge
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In rail transport, track gauge is the spacing of the rails on a railway track and is measured between the inner faces of the load-bearing rails. All vehicles on a network must have running gear that is compatible with the track gauge, as the dominant parameter determining interoperability, it is still frequently used as a descriptor of a route or network. There is a distinction between the gauge and actual gauge at some locality, due to divergence of track components from the nominal. Railway engineers use a device, like a caliper, to measure the actual gauge, the nominal track gauge is the distance between the inner faces of the rails. In current practice, it is specified at a distance below the rail head as the inner faces of the rail head are not necessarily vertical. In some cases in the earliest days of railways, the company saw itself as an infrastructure provider only. Colloquially the wagons might be referred to as four-foot gauge wagons, say and this nominal value does not equate to the flange spacing, as some freedom is allowed for. An infrastructure manager might specify new or replacement track components at a variation from the nominal gauge for pragmatic reasons. Track is defined in old Imperial units or in universally accepted metric units or SI units, Imperial units were established in United Kingdom by The Weights and Measures Act of 1824. In addition, there are constraints, such as the load-carrying capacity of axles. Narrow gauge railways usually cost less to build because they are lighter in construction, using smaller cars and locomotives, as well as smaller bridges, smaller tunnels. Narrow gauge is often used in mountainous terrain, where the savings in civil engineering work can be substantial. Broader gauge railways are generally expensive to build and require wider curves. There is no single perfect gauge, because different environments and economic considerations come into play, a narrow gauge is superior if ones main considerations are economy and tight curvature. For direct, unimpeded routes with high traffic, a broad gauge may be preferable, the Standard, Russian, and 46 gauges are designed to strike a reasonable balance between these factors. In addition to the general trade-off, another important factor is standardization, once a standard has been chosen, and equipment, infrastructure, and training calibrated to that standard, conversion becomes difficult and expensive. This also makes it easier to adopt an existing standard than to invent a new one and this is true of many technologies, including railroad gauges. The reduced cost, greater efficiency, and greater economic opportunity offered by the use of a common standard explains why a number of gauges predominate worldwide
10.
Standard gauge
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The standard gauge is a widely used railway track gauge. Approximately 55% of the lines in the world are this gauge, all high-speed rail lines, except those in Russia, Uzbekistan, and Finland, are standard gauge. The distance between the edges of the rails is defined to be 1435 mm except in the United States. It is also called the UIC gauge or UIC track gauge, as railways developed and expanded, one of the key issues was the track gauge to be used. The result was the adoption throughout a large part of the world of a gauge of 1435 mm. In North East England, some lines in colliery areas were 4 ft 8 in. All these lines had been widened to standard gauge by 1846, parts of the United States, mainly in the Northeast, adopted the same gauge, because some early trains were purchased from Britain. However, until well into the half of the 19th century, Britain. The American gauges converged as the advantages of equipment interchange became increasingly apparent, notably, all the 5 ft broad gauge track in the South was converted to standard gauge over the course of two days beginning on 31 May 1886. See Track gauge in the United States, snopes categorized this legend as false, but commented that. It is perhaps more fairly labelled as True, but for trivial, the historical tendency to place the wheels of horse-drawn vehicles approximately 5 feet apart probably derives from the width needed to fit a carthorse in between the shafts. Others were 4 ft 4 in or 4 ft 7 1⁄2 in, the English railway pioneer George Stephenson spent much of his early engineering career working for the coal mines of County Durham. He favoured 4 ft 8 in for wagonways in Northumberland and Durham, the Hetton and Springwell wagonways also used this gauge. Stephensons Stockton and Darlington railway was primarily to transport coal from mines near Shildon to the port at Stockton-on-Tees. The initial gauge of 4 ft 8 in was set to accommodate the existing gauge of hundreds of horse-drawn chaldron wagons that were already in use on the wagonways in the mines. The railway used this gauge for 15 years before a change was made to 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in gauge, George Stephenson used the 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in gauge for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, authorised in 1826 and opened 30 September 1830. The success of this led to Stephenson and his son Robert being employed to engineer several other larger railway projects. Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway, authorised 1824 and opened 1825, used 4 ft 6 in, Dundee and Newtyle Railway, authorised 1829 and opened 1831, used 4 ft 6 1⁄2 in
11.
New South Wales
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New South Wales is a state on the east coast of Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south and it has a coast line with the Tasman Sea on its east side. The Australian Capital Territory is an enclave within the state, New South Wales state capital is Sydney, which is also Australias most populous city. In March 2014, the population of New South Wales was 7.5 million. Just under two-thirds of the population,4.67 million. Inhabitants of New South Wales are referred to as New South Welshmen, the Colony of New South Wales was founded as a penal colony in 1788. It originally comprised a more than half of the Australian mainland with its western boundary set at 129th meridian east in 1825, in addition, the colony also included the island territories of New Zealand, Van Diemens Land, Lord Howe Island, and Norfolk Island. During the 19th century, most of the area was detached to form separate British colonies that eventually became New Zealand. However, the Swan River Colony has never administered as part of New South Wales. Lord Howe Island remains part of New South Wales, while Norfolk Island has become a federal Territory, as have the now known as the Australian Capital Territory. The prior inhabitants of New South Wales were the Aboriginal tribes who arrived in Australia about 40,000 to 60,000 years ago, before European settlement there were an estimated 250,000 Aboriginal people in the region. The Wodi Wodi people are the custodians of the Illawarra region of South Sydney. The Bundjalung people are the custodians of parts of the northern coastal areas. The European discovery of New South Wales was made by Captain James Cook during his 1770 survey along the eastern coast of the Dutch-named continent of New Holland. In his original journal covering the survey, in triplicate to satisfy Admiralty Orders, Cook first named the land New Wales, however, in the copy held by the Admiralty, he revised the wording to New South Wales. After years of chaos and anarchy after the overthrow of Governor William Bligh, macquaries legacy is still evident today. During the 19th century, large areas were separated to form the British colonies of Tasmania, South Australia, Victoria. Responsible government was granted to the New South Wales colony in 1855, following the Treaty of Waitangi, William Hobson declared British sovereignty over New Zealand in 1840
12.
Opal card
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Opal is a contactless smartcard ticketing system for public transport services in the greater Sydney area of New South Wales, Australia. Operation of the Opal system is managed by the New South Wales Governments transport authority, Opal is valid on Transport for NSWs bus, rail, light rail and ferry services that operate in Sydney and the neighbouring Central Coast, Hunter Region, Blue Mountains and Illawarra areas. It is also accepted on train services in the Southern Highlands, Sydney has used a number of automated ticketing systems since the opening of the Eastern Suburbs Railway in June 1979. The Sydney Automated Fare Collection System was rolled out across all government-run train, bus, the system featured loose integration between the different modes of transport, a complex fare structure and excluded private operators. A unified brand for the majority of public transport tickets was introduced in April 2010, MyZone was designed to simplify the fare system and remove one of the stumbling blocks to the introduction of a smart card. The AFC system was retained where it was in use, but tickets could also be used on private buses - and subsequently on light rail - by presenting a ticket to the bus driver or tram conductor. A replacement for the AFC based on smart card technology, named Tcard, was first announced by the government in 1996, the development and rollout of the system was beset with difficulties, leading the government to terminate the contract in November 2007. The government sued ERG for $77 million who counter sued for $215m, the claim was settled in February 2012. After terminating the Tcard contract, the government quickly moved to reset the smartcard project and it called for expressions of interest for the second attempt at the project in August 2008. In April 2010 the government awarded the contract to the Pearl Consortium, whose members are the Commonwealth Bank, Cubic Transportation Systems, in September 2011 the new name for the system was announced as Opal, chosen from a selection of 665 names. Transport for NSW said Opal was chosen because it was uniquely Australian, short, as well as the opal being Australias national gemstone, the black opal is the New South Wales gemstone symbol. The first stage of the Opal card rollout commenced on 7 December 2012 as a trial on the Neutral Bay to Circular Quay ferry service followed on 8 April 2013 by the Manly to Circular Quay service, from 30 August 2013, Opal was available on all Sydney services. Opal was rolled out on Newcastles Stockton ferry service on 20 November 2014, the Opal rollout on train services commenced on 14 June 2013 on the City Circle and T4 Eastern Suburbs lines. The final stations were brought online on 11 April 2014, a trial rollout on bus services commenced in Sydney on northern suburbs routes 594 and 594H on 30 September 2013, followed by eastern suburbs route 333 on 6 December 2013. Single trip ticket machines were rolled-out during 2016, the process was completed on 1 August 2016. Opal replaced all pre-existing paper tickets, with tickets being withdrawn in stages,14 tickets were withdrawn on 1 September 2014. 11 Newcastle-specific tickets were withdrawn on 20 November 2014, on 1 January 2016 all other paper tickets were withdrawn except single and return tickets for trains, ferries and light rail and single bus tickets. The last remaining tickets were withdrawn on 1 August 2016, single trip Opal tickets serve as their replacement
13.
Sydney Metro Northwest
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Sydney Metro Northwest is a current project by the Government of New South Wales for a rapid transit link to the north-western suburbs of Sydney, Australia. Presently under construction, the Northwest Metro is being managed by Transport for New South Wales and is proposed to connect Rouse Hill to Chatswood via Castle Hill, prior to June 2015, the project was known as the North West Rail Link. Originally, North West Rail Link was meant to cover the section between Epping and Rouse Hill, in June 2015, it was announced that the entire project would be renamed the Sydney Metro Northwest, the first stage of the forthcoming Sydney Metro system. Planning for the original North West Rail Link was a long, the line was announced, cancelled and re-announced several times beginning in the 1990s. There were differing plans as to how the line would integrate into the rest of Sydneys transport system, main line rail connecting directly to the Epping to Chatswood line at Epping, with trains accessing the city via Macquarie Park. Rapid transit line from the north west to the city via the Inner West, Rapid transit line connecting to a modified Epping to Chatswood line at Epping. Trains terminate at Chatswood, with an extension to the city proposed for the future and this was the design which was ultimately selected. At the time, the proposal was for a $360 million heavy rail connection from Epping to Castle Hill, with extension to Mungerie Park. Delays in 2000 by the Carr Government in releasing a report on the proposal led to concern about the viability of the proposed route. This led to a deadlock between the State Government and Baulkham Hills Shire Council regarding construction of the $200 million Mungerie Park industrial and residential development at Kellyville. In response, the State Government threatened to remove the Councils planning powers for the Rouse Hill Development Area if planning approval was not granted. Member for the electorate of The Hills, Michael Richardson. The State Government had not responded to the request by 13 December 2000, well beyond the 21-day response limit, the State Government formally rejected the Freedom of Information request on 9 January 2001, despite acknowledging that release of the report would be in the public interest. As a result, the NSW Ombudsman began an investigation into NSW Transports refusal to release the report, the Action for Transport 2010 cost blowout was seen as the reason for the State Governments refusal to release the draft report into the North West rail link route. There was no mention of the link in the 2001 budget. A2002 NSW Treasury report mentioned the North West rail link, and that it was under development or investigation, on 10 March 2002, Transport Minister Carl Scully released a report detailing the preferred route alignment. The 19 km route was proposed to run from Epping to Mungerie Park at Rouse Hill via Castle Hill, the cost of construction was estimated at $1.4 billion. Public consultation on the proposal was conducted over eight weeks from 10 March to 3 May 2002, the consultation received 118 written submissions, 73% of which were in favour of the project proceeding, and only 5% strongly opposed the project
14.
Rouse Hill
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Rouse Hill is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. With a population of 7,482 Rouse Hill is located 42 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the government area of the City of Blacktown. Rouse Hill is part of Greater Western Sydney and is in the Hills District, Rouse Hill encompasses what was originally known as the Village of Aberdour along with the area originally known as Vinegar Hill following the convict rebellion of 1804. Rouse Hill was serviced by the first ferry service in the colony, Vinegar Hill Post Office opened on 1 October 1857 and was renamed Rouse Hill on 13 April 1858. The new name was chosen after the estate of Richard Rouse and his first grant here was in 1802 and his second grant was in 1816. Governor Lachlan Macquarie suggested the estate be called Rouse Hill, Rouse Hill is noteworthy in Australian history as the site of the main battle during an Irish rebellion, known as the Castle Hill rebellion or the second Battle of Vinegar Hill. The uprising was crushed by the authorities at Rouse Hill the following day with much loss of life. Many of the participants in the rebellion were summarily executed, the exact site of the Battle is uncertain but a monument with a plaque commemorating the event can be seen within Castlebrook Lawn Cemetery on Windsor Road in Kellyville Ridge. Richard Rouse built his home, Rouse Hill House, from 1813-18, service wings and an arcaded courtyard were added circa 1863. The simple, geometric layout of the garden is probably the oldest surviving in Australia, much of the family memorabilia has been preserved, including dolls, clothes and writings of the two girls, Nina and Kathleen Rouse. These form a unique and fascinating record of late-Victorian Australian childhood, Rouse Hill Town Centre built on the old golf course is a new town centre, owned and managed by The GPT Group, is located at the intersection of White Hart Drive and Windsor Roads. The first stage opened in September 2007 with the launch of the centre on 6 March 2008. The first stage comprises Woolworths and Coles supermarkets, a food terrace, the development has been integrated with the North-West T-way with provisions made for the proposed North West Rail Link. Rouse Hill Village Centre which opened in 1999, is a shopping centre located on Windsor Road. This complex features a major discount supermarket chain selling packaged groceries and perishables, as well as specialty shops, the Terrace is another small shopping centre which was opened on Panmure Street in 2004. Christ Church, an Anglican church located on Windsor Road, was built in 1863 for the United Church of England and Ireland and it was a church, school and the centre of most community events. In 2008, a Ministry and Education Centre opened alongside the restored Christ Church, most residents of Rouse Hill are reliant on private cars for transport, with a high number of households having two or more cars. Hillsbus provides services to Sydney CBD, North Sydney, Parramatta, Macquarie Park and Castle Hill, whilst Busways provides services to Blacktown, Riverstone, hillsbus also provides weekday services from Rouse Hill to Windsor
15.
Chatswood, New South Wales
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Chatswood is a major business and residential district in the Lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 10 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district. It is the centre of the local government area of the City of Willoughby. Chatswood was named after Charlotte Harnett, wife of then Mayor of Willoughby and a pioneer of the district, Richard Harnett, the moniker derives from her nickname Chattie and was shortened from Chatties Wood to Chatswood. Residential settlement of Chatswood began in 1876 and grew with the installation of the North Shore railway line in 1890, Chatswood Post Office opened on 1 August 1879, closed in 1886 and reopened in 1887. In 1900, Chatswood was easily accessible by public transport, in 1903 the Council Chambers moved from Mowbray Road to Victoria Ave. Chatswood was declared a town centre in 1983 and a city in 1989. Chatswood is one of the North Shores major commercial and retail districts, many retail outlets are situated along Victoria Avenue and many office buildings are situated along Pacific Highway. A number of high-density residential towers are located in Chatswood. Chatswood has two shopping centres, Chatswood Chase and Westfield Chatswood. There are also a few shopping centres such as Mandarin Centre, Chatswood Interchange, Lemon Grove, Victoria Plaza. The Melody Markets are held each Thursday and Friday in Chatswood Mall, Victoria Avenue and feature food and craft stalls, Chatswood has a wide variety of restaurants and cafes and is known as a major dining destination in the Lower North Shore of Sydney. There are a number of Chinese, Japanese and Korean restaurants. There are many hotels in Chatswood, The Mantra, near Chatswood railway station and The Sebel, the Chatswood Club, located on Help Street adjacent to Pacific Highway, is a venue hall which caters to weddings, birthdays, cocktail parties, and other age-appropriate festivities. Chatswood railway station is the junction of the Hornsby via Macquarie Park and Berowra via Gordon branches of the North Shore, rail services run south to the Sydney CBD and continue west to Strathfield and beyond. Rail services run north to Hornsby and peak hour run to Gosford, Wyong. The station became a junction when the Epping to Chatswood railway line opened in 2009, the Sydney Metro project which is currently under construction will include a stop at Chatswood Station. This project will deliver 65 km of new high capacity metro standard rail line for Sydney, an interstate bus service between Sydney and Brisbane via the North Coast stops at Chatswood. Major roads through Chatswood include the Pacific Highway, Mowbray Road, Boundary Street, Willoughby Road, Eastern Valley Way, the latter forms a pedestrian mall for the section running through the main retail area. In the 2011 Australian census, the population of Chatswood was 21,194 people,10,068 were male and 11,126 were female
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Port Jackson
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Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea and it is the location of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge. The location of the first European settlement in Australia, Port Jackson has continued to play a key role in the history and development of Sydney. Many recreational events are based on or around the harbour itself particularly the Sydney New Years Eve celebrations, the waterways of Port Jackson are managed by the Roads & Maritime Services. Sydney Harbour National Park protects a number of islands and foreshore areas, swimming spots, bushwalking tracks, the land around Port Jackson was occupied at the time of the European arrival and colonisation by the Eora clans, including the Gadigal, Cammeraygal, and Wangal. The Gadigal occupied the land stretching along the side of Port Jackson from what is now South Head. The Cammeragal lived on the side of the harbour. The area along the banks of the Parramatta River to Rose Hill belonged to the Wangal. The Eora occupied Port Jackson, south to the Georges River, the first recorded European discovery of Sydney Harbour, was by Lieutenant James Cook in 1770 - Cook named the inlet after Sir George Jackson. His ships log notation states at noon we were. about 2 or 3 miles from the land, eighteen years later, on 21 January 1788, after arriving at Botany Bay, Governor Arthur Phillip took a longboat and two cutters up the coast to examine Cooks Port Jackson. Phillip first stayed over night at Camp Cove, then moved down the harbour, landing at Sydney Cove, Phillip returned to Sydney Cove in HM Armed Tender Supply on 26 January 1788, where he established the first colony in Australia, later to become the city of Sydney. From 1938, seaplanes landed in Sydney Harbour on Rose Bay, in 1942, to protect Sydney Harbour from a submarine attack, the Sydney Harbour anti-submarine boom net was constructed. It spanned the harbour from Green Point, Watsons Bay to the battery at Georges Head, on the night of 31 May 1942, three Japanese midget submarines entered the harbour, one of which became entangled in the western end of the boom nets central section. Unable to free their submarine, the crew detonated charges, killing themselves in the process, a second midget submarine came to grief in Taylors Bay, the two crew committing suicide. The third submarine fired two torpedoes at USS Chicago before leaving the harbour, in November 2006, this submarine was found off Sydneys Northern Beaches. The anti-submarine boom net was demolished soon after World War II, and all that remains are the foundations of the old boom net winch house, today, the Australian War Memorial has on display a composite of the two midget submarines salvaged from Sydney Harbour. The conning tower of one of the submarines is on display at the RAN Heritage Centre, Garden Island. Fort Denison is a former site and defensive facility occupying a small island located north-east of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney Harbour
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Sydney central business district
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The Sydney central business district is the main commercial centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It extends southwards for about 3 km from Sydney Cove, the point of first European settlement in which the Sydney region was initially established, due to its pivotal role in Australias early history, it is one of the oldest established areas in the country. Geographically, its north–south axis runs from Circular Quay in the north to Central railway station in the south, at the 2011 Australian Census, the CBD recorded a population of 14,308. Sydney CBD is very used to refer not only to the CBD proper. The Sydney CBD is Australias main financial and economic centre, as well as a hub of economic activity for the Asia-Pacific region. The city centre employs approximately 13% of the Sydney regions workforce and it produced $64.1 billion worth of goods and services in 2011–12. Culturally, the city centre is Sydneys focal point for nightlife and it is also home to some of the citys most significant buildings and structures. The Sydney CBD is an area of very densely concentrated skyscrapers and other buildings, interspersed by parks such as Hyde Park, The Domain, Royal Botanic Gardens. George Street is the Sydney CBDs main north–south thoroughfare, the CBD runs along two ridge lines below Macquarie Street and York Streets. Between these ridges is Pitt Street, running close to the course of the original Tank Stream, bridge Street, took its name from the bridge running east–west that once crossed this stream. Pitt Street is the heart of the city which includes the Pitt Street Mall. Macquarie Street is a historic precinct that houses such buildings as the State Parliament House, administratively, the Sydney CBD falls under the authority of the local government area of the City of Sydney. The New South Wales state government also has authority over some aspects of the CBD, the Sydney CBD is home to some of the largest Australian companies, as well as serving as an Asia-Pacific headquarters for many large international companies. Sydneys CBD is serviced by rail, light rail, buses. There is a largely-underground CBD rail loop, accessed in both directions via Central, which services five additional CBD stations, plus a spur line to Bondi Junction which services two. The only light rail line currently operating links the southern part of the CBD, buses, both government-run and privately owned, service the CBD along several dozen routes to both inner and more remote suburbs. NightRide is an bus service that operates between midnight and 5, 00am, with most services running from George Street outside the Sydney Town Hall. Sydney Ferries operate largely from Circular Quay, on the edge of the CBD
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Bankstown
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Bankstown is a suburb of south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Prior to European settlement, Cumberland Plains Woodland occupied much of the area, turpentine ironbark forest covered much of what is now Bankstown. The land was occupied by the Bediagal people and their land bordered the Dharawal and the Darung people. The Aboriginal inhabitants strongly opposed the European settlers, the resistance ceased after a number of their leaders were killed or imprisoned in 1816. In that year an epidemic broke out amongst the people which reduced the Aboriginal populations. Hunter examined the country himself, and established one of the colonies there, called Banks Town. Hunter named the area Bankstown after Sir Joseph Banks, who travelled to Australia with Captain James Cook in 1770, the area of first European settlement along the river has been partially preserved as part of the Mirambeena Regional Park. The first town hall and Council Chambers were built in 1898 on the side of the Hume Highway. The council chambers were relocated to a new building in South Terrace in June 1918, the building still stands and now has a shopping arcade running through it. In 1939, local residents were made privy to the events of World War II, conscripted residents were required to report for duty at a drill hall on Canterbury Road, Belmore. Camps were set up in and around Canterbury Racecourse and local parks in the district, residents with foreign names were sent to internment camps as there was growing suspicion about residents with foreign names. A portion of these folk were Australian citizens who served with the Australian armed forces during World War I, during World War II, Bankstown Airport was established as a key strategic air base to support the war effort. In 1945 operations became the responsibility of the British Fleet Air Arm, known as HMS Nabberley, until 1946, during this period an RAAF unit known as No.1 Fighter Sector RAAF took control of the Capital Hall in Bankstown. This unit was formed in Bankstown, on 25 February 1942 and their living quarters were located next door and down the road from the hall & the staff were housed in galvanised iron barracks. Operations were handed over to the United States Army Air Corps on 10 April 1942 before they were transferred to a railway tunnel at St James railway station in Sydney. World War II began Bankstowns industrial revolution, there are now over seven-thousand businesses operating within the Bankstown district. Bankstown Council relocated to its premises in 1963 when the Civic Centre that is located on the corner of Chapel Road. It included the Council Chambers or Roundhouse, as its called and is still in use today as an administration building, the current town hall was built in 1973
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Parramatta
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Parramatta is a suburb of Sydney, Australia,23 kilometres west of its central business district on the banks of the Parramatta River. Parramatta is the seat of the City of Parramatta, one of four cities within the Sydney metropolitan area. Parramatta, founded by the British in 1788, the year as Sydney, is the oldest inland European settlement in Australia. Since 2000, government agencies such as the New South Wales Police Force, Parramatta is a major business and commercial centre, and home to Westfield Parramatta, the ninth largest shopping centre in Australia. It is colloquially known as Parra, radiocarbon dating suggests human activity occurred in Parramatta from around 30,000 years ago. The Darug people who lived in the area before European settlement regarded the area as rich in food from the river, the Parramatta Eels Rugby League club chose their symbol as a result of this phenomenon. Parramatta was founded in 1788, the year as Sydney. As such, Parramatta is the second oldest city in Australia, during 1788, Governor Arthur Phillip had reconnoitred several places before choosing Parramatta as the most likely place for a successful large farm. Parramatta was the furthest navigable point inland on the Parramatta River and also the point at which the river became freshwater, as a settlement developed, Governor Phillip gave it the name Rose Hill after George Rose, Secretary for the British Treasury. In 1791 he changed the name to Parramatta, approximating the term used by the local Aboriginal people, a neighbouring suburb acquired the name Rose Hill. In an attempt to deal with the crisis, Phillip in 1789 granted a convict named James Ruse the land of Experiment Farm at Parramatta on the condition that he develop a viable agriculture. There, Ruse became the first person to grow grain in Australia. The Parramatta area was also the site of the pioneering of the Australian wool industry by John Macarthurs Elizabeth Farm in the 1790s, Philip Gidley Kings account of his visit to Parramatta on 9 April 1790 is one of the earliest descriptions of the area. Walking four miles with Governor Phillip to Prospect he saw undulating grassland interspersed with magnificent trees, Governor Arthur Phillip built a small house for himself on the hill of The Crescent. It was used as a retreat by Governors until the 1850s, the house, Old Government House, is currently a historic site and museum within Parramatta Park and is Australias oldest surviving public building. In 1803, another incident occurred in Parramatta, involving a convicted criminal named Joseph Samuel. Samuel was convicted of murder and sentenced to death by hanging, in the second attempt, the noose slipped off his neck. In the third attempt, the new rope broke, Governor King was summoned and pardoned Samuel, as the incident appeared to him to be divine intervention
20.
Sydney Trains
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Sydney Trains is the suburban passenger rail network serving the city of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The network is a hybrid suburban-commuter railway with a central core that covers over 815 km of track and 178 stations over 7 lines. During weekend services trains are frequent with headways of upwards of a half-hour on outer stations with frequencies of less than 10 minutes in the underground core. The network is controlled by the New South Wales Governments transport authority, Transport for NSW, in 2015-16,322 million passenger journeys were made on the network. The Sydney Trains network is operated by a government owned organisation–also called Sydney Trains–that replaced the government operator. In May 2012 the Minister for Transport announced a restructure of RailCorp, intercity and Hunter Line services previously operated by CityRail are now operated by NSW TrainLink which was also formed as part of the restructure. RailCorp was left as the owner of the network infrastructure, in April 2013 the Sydney Trains logo was unveiled. The first expansion of the Sydney suburban network during the Sydney Trains era occurred in 2015 when the South West Rail Link opened between Glenfield and Leppington. The network will reduce in size over the years as sections of the network are transferred to the city’s metro. The line between Chatswood and Epping will form part of Sydney Metro Northwest and will close for conversion in 2018, the section of line between Sydenham and Bankstown will form part of Sydney Metro City & Southwest. This is due to open in 2024, the section of line between Camellia and Carlingford will form part of the Parramatta Light Rail network. Construction is expected to be completed by 2023, the following table lists patronage figures for the network during the corresponding financial year. Australias 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. Sydney Trains operates seven suburban lines across metropolitan Sydney, in conjunction with a new timetable released on 20 October 2013, the Sydney Trains network was reorganised with a new numbering system. The number of lines was reduced from eleven to seven by grouping some lines together, the main hub of the Sydney Trains system is Central Station, which most lines pass through. Central is also the terminus of most NSW TrainLink lines, after leaving Central, trains coming from the T2 Airport, Inner West & South Line and T3 Bankstown Line then travel through the City Circle - a ring line serving the Sydney Central Business District. After completing the City Circle, these pass through Central for a second time. The T1 North Shore, Northern & Western Line and T4 Eastern Suburbs and Illawarra Line pass through the Central Business District and continue on to other areas of Sydney
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Government of New South Wales
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The Government of New South Wales, also referred to as the New South Wales Government or NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales, in Australia. The Government of New South Wales, a constitutional monarchy, was formed in 1856 as prescribed in its Constitution. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, New South Wales has been a state of the Commonwealth of Australia, under the Australian Constitution, New South Wales ceded legislative and judicial supremacy to the Commonwealth, but retained powers in all matters not in conflict with the Commonwealth. Section 109 of the Australian Constitution provides that, where a State law is inconsistent with a federal law, initially the Australian states retained significant independence. Over time, however, that independence has been eroded by both the proliferation of Commonwealth Law, and the increasing financial domination of the Commonwealth. New South Wales is governed according to the principles of the Westminster system, Executive power rests formally with the Executive Council, which consists of the Governor and senior ministers. The Governor, as representative of the Crown, is the repository of power, which is exercised by him or her on the advice of the Premier of New South Wales. The Premier and Ministers are appointed by the Governor, and hold office by virtue of their ability to command the support of a majority of members of the Legislative Assembly. In 2006, the Sesquicentenary of Responsible Government in New South Wales, the Act was assented to by the Queen on 3 April 2006. The following individuals serve as government ministers, at the pleasure of the Queen, the government ministers are listed in order of seniority, while their opposition counterparts are listed to correspond with the government ministers. All Opposition counterparts are members of the Parliament of New South Wales
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West Ryde
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West Ryde is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. West Ryde is located 16 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, Ryde, North Ryde and East Ryde are separate suburbs. The suburbs of Denistone, Denistone West, Meadowbank and Melrose Park share the 2114 postcode with West Ryde, West Ryde is an extension of Ryde, which was named after the Ryde Store, a business run by G. M. Pope. He adopted the name from his birthplace of Ryde on the Isle of Wight, West Ryde is one of 16 suburbs that form the City of Ryde. West Ryde is approximately 12 kilometres from the centre of Sydney and it is bisected from west to east by one of Sydneys busiest roads, Victoria Road. It is crossed north to south by another road, Lane Cove Road. At the time of the arrival of Europeans at Sydney Cove in January 1788 and this clan formed part of a large Dharug language group. Much of the land in this suburb lying to the west of the northern railway line was originally granted to Dr William Balmain in the mid to late 1790s. Balmain was one of the assistant surgeons on the First Fleet and he worked as a magistrate in the colony and, due to the shortage of money at that time, was paid with the labour of convicts to work on his land. However, it is not known how much clearing and cultivation was done during those years, in 1801 Balmain and his family returned to England, where he died in 1803. His heirs were Jane and John Henderson, his children by a convict woman, while they were in England, the land was rented by the explorer Gregory Blaxland, who owned nearby Brush Farm. In 1818 the Balmain lands were sold to an ex-convict John Bennett and his nephew William was his heir. Soon after he inherited the land, William married Susan Brown, Major Edward Darvall and his family arrived in the colony in January 1840. He was a retired English army officer with strong connections to the British East India Company. His wife Emily came from a line of wealthy London merchants. In May 1840, the Darvalls leased Deniston Farm and 100 acres of land from a Dr Forster, however, the property was again advertised to let in the Sydney Morning Herald on 8 March 1849. In 1855 William and Susan Bennett sold all their land north of Victoria Road to Major Darvall, the Darvall property stretched from Shaftsbury Road to Ryedale Road and from Rowe Street to Victoria Road, a total of 360 acres. They built a house, Ryedale House, during the late 1850s
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