Southern Sydney Freight Line

Southern Sydney Freight Line
New South Wales Metropolitan Rail Area with Sydney Freight network highlighted in black
Overview
OwnerAustralian Rail Track Corporation
Termini
Websitewww.ssfl.artc.com.au
Service
TypeFreight
History
Opened21 January 2013
24 June 2012Sefton Junction to Leightonfield opened
21 January 2013Leightonfield to Macarthur opened
Technical
Line length36 km (22 mi)
Number of tracks1
Map of the Southern Sydney Freight Line corridor
Yellow: Route constructed as part of the SSFL project
Green: Existing relief line incorporated into the project
Grey: Existing Metropolitan Goods railway line

The Southern Sydney Freight Line (SSFL) is a freight only railway line in the south-western suburbs of Sydney, Australia. The line was built to segregate freight trains from the Sydney Trains network. It forms part of a dedicated freight only corridor between Port Botany and Macarthur. The line is managed by the Australian Rail Track Corporation.

Route

The SSFL runs from Chullora to Macarthur. It is an unelectrified, bi-directional single track with 1,800 metre long passing loops at Leightonfield and Glenfield.[1] Apart from its end points, the SSFL has no interface with the Transport Asset Holding Entity network.

The line commences at Chullora connecting with the Metropolitan Goods line from Port Botany, passing beneath the Bankstown line from where it parallels the Main South line. Just to the north of Glenfield, the line crosses to the west of the Main South line via a flyover. It joins the Main South line to the south of Macarthur station.[2]

History

Minto station looking north in December 2012 during the final stages of construction
A Pacific National train on the line passing through Sefton

Delays to freight services operating to and from Sydney via the Main South line had long been a problem, but it wasn't until the formation of the National Rail Corporation that any plan was devised to resolve it.[3]

In February 1992, the Federal Government allocated $71 million for the construction of a dedicated freight line from Chullora to Macarthur as part of the One Nation infrastructure project. It soon became apparent that to complete the project would cost in the region of $250 million. Instead the funding was used to complete a number of smaller projects, including building a 6.6 kilometre relief line between Glenfield and Ingleburn. This single, non-electrified line was used by both CountryLink passenger and freight services.[3]

Construction

In May 2006, the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) revived the project.[4][5] Approval was obtained in October 2008 and construction commenced in early 2009, focusing on the section between Sefton and Cabramatta.[1] By August 2009 construction was under way along the whole corridor. In November 2009, poor planning led to the ARTC suspending the project for 10 months while it relocated utilities.[6][7]

In September 2010, the ARTC announced the resumption of the project.[8][9] On 24 June 2012, the Chullora to Leightonfield section opened allowing the connection from the BHP yard at the latter to the RailCorp network to be severed.[10][11] The rest of the line opened on 21 January 2013.[12][13]

In 2019, a triangular junction to the Moorebank Intermodal Terminal opened.[14][15][16]

Station works

The construction of the new line required modifications to several stations along the route. Sefton, Warwick Farm, Casula and Minto received upgrades. A new concourse was constructed at Cabramatta and the footbridge was extended at Leumeah.[1]

Services

The line is normally only used by freight services, but during engineering possessions on the adjacent Transport Asset Holding Entity tracks, NSW TrainLink XPT services have travelled on it. Freight trains travelling to the Minto Intermodal Terminal continue to travel on Transport Asset Holding Entity tracks.

Future

A further passing loop between Cabramatta and Warwick Farm stations is scheduled to open in 2023.[17][18]

See also

Zoomable map

References

  1. ^ a b c Tackling Congestion on the Sydney Rail Freight Network Archived 27 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine Minister for Infrastructure and Transport 5 February 2009
  2. ^ Corridor Description Archived 16 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine Australian Rail Track Corporation
  3. ^ a b The Glenfield - Ingleburn Passing Loop Project Railway Digest August 1994 Page 8
  4. ^ Southern Sydney Freight Line Parsons Brinckerhoff April 2006
  5. ^ Southern Sydney Freight Line Submissions Report Parsons Brinckerhoff August 2006
  6. ^ Planning snags halt rail project Sydney Morning Herald 3 November 2009
  7. ^ Southern Sydney Freight Line cost blowout[dead link] Rail Express 30 March 2011
  8. ^ Southern Sydney Freight Line Back on Track Archived 18 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine Australian Rail Track Corporation 14 September 2010.
  9. ^ "SSFL Program of Works" (PDF). ARTC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
  10. ^ SAFE Notice 2-1707[permanent dead link] Australian Rail Track Corporation June 2012
  11. ^ Southern Sydney Freight Line and Metropolitan Freight Network Shared Rail Corridor Network Rules & Procedures Australian Rail Track Corporation 2 July 2012
  12. ^ Jacob Saulwick (21 January 2013). "'We wanted to make sure we got it right': new rail line opens ... three years late". Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 23 January 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
  13. ^ New Line to Reduce Congestion on Sydney Rail Network Opens Archived 18 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine Australian Rail Track Corporation 21 January 2013
  14. ^ Qube's Moorebank intermodal hub a major infrastructure boost ABC News 12 June 2015
  15. ^ Moorebank construction finally begins Archived 16 June 2017 at the Wayback Machine Sky News Australia 6 April 2017
  16. ^ Construction begins on Moorebank Logistics Park Archived 13 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine Minister for Infrastructure & Transport 6 April 2017
  17. ^ Cabramatta Loop Project Australian Rail Track Corporation
  18. ^ Botany duplication and Cabramatta loop approved Rail Express 13 August 2020

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