Coniston railway station, New South Wales

Coniston
Coniston
	Platforms in 2008
General information
Location	Gladstone Avenue, Coniston; New South Wales; Australia
Coordinates	34°26′17″S 150°53′06″E / 34.4380°S 150.8850°E
Elevation	19 metres (62 ft)
Owned by	Transport Asset Holding Entity
Operated by	NSW TrainLink
Line(s)	South Coast
Distance	84.097 km (53 miles)from Central
Platforms	2 (side), 132 and 139 metres
Train operators	NSW TrainLink
Bus operators	Premier Illawarra
Construction
Structure type	At-grade
Parking	68 spaces
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Architectural style	Inter-war functionalism
Other information
Status	Weekdays:; Staffed: 5.35am to 9.35am, 2pm to 6pm Weekends and public holidays:; Staffed: Unstaffed
Website	Transport for NSW
History
Opened	1 April 1916; 108 years ago
Rebuilt	20 May 1941; 83 years ago
Electrified	4 February 1986; 38 years ago
Previous names	Mount Drummond (1916-1923)
Passengers
2023	113,660 (year); 311 (daily) (Sydney Trains, NSW TrainLink);
Services
	Lysaghts towards Port Kembla

Coniston railway station is a heritage-listed railway station located in Coniston, New South Wales, Australia, on the South Coast railway line. The station serves NSW TrainLink trains travelling south to Port Kembla or Kiama and north to Wollongong and Sydney.^[6]

History

The district south of central Wollongong began to develop as an industrial area at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1916, the NSW Government Railways opened a branch line from the main South Coast line south of Wollongong to the new wharves at Port Kembla. The branch's sole passenger station was Mount Drummond, but it closed in 1923, reopening as Coniston in 1925. A "Coniston Station Estate" surrounding the station, consisting of industrial and residential allotments, was subdivided in 1939. The branch line assumed increased significance with Australia's entry into World War II, with a dramatic increase in steel production prompting the Railways to duplicate the line from Wollongong to Cringila. The original Coniston station was demolished in 1941 and replaced with a new two-platform station at its present-day, main line location.^[7]

The new station included three single-storey buildings: a ticket office at street level on Gladstone Avenue, and two identical platform buildings containing a waiting room and toilets. The buildings were constructed in the functionalist style from dichromatic brick using iron oxide and clinker bricks with soldier courses. The platform buildings feature distinctive Art Deco style vertical "fins" extending above the awnings at both ends. While all three buildings remain today, the exteriors have been painted over and the original internal fit-outs removed. The station is deemed to have local heritage significance.^[7]

Platforms and services

Coniston has two side platforms. It is serviced by NSW TrainLink South Coast line services travelling between Sydney Central, Bondi Junction and Kiama, as well as local services from Waterfall and Thirroul to Port Kembla.^[6]

Platform	Line	Stopping pattern	Notes
1	SCO	services to Thirroul, Waterfall, Sydney Central & Bondi Junction	^[6]
2	SCO	services to Port Kembla & Kiama	^[6]

Transport links

Premier Illawarra operates one bus route via Coniston station, under contract to Transport for NSW:

11: Wollongong to University of Wollongong^[8]

Gallery

The functionalist 1941 platform buildings feature Art Deco-influenced "fins" on each end, January 2008
Northbound view of the station platforms from Bridge Street, January 2008

References

^ ^a ^b Asset Standards Authority (30 April 2015). "Train Operating Conditions (TOC) Manual – Track Diagrams (version 3.0)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
^ Bozier, Rolfe. "NSWrail.net: Coniston Station".
^ Office of Environment & Heritage (9 October 2009). "Wollongong Railway Station Group".
^ This figure is the number of entries and exits of a year combined averaged to a day.
^ "Train Station Monthly Usage". Open Data. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "South Coast line timetable". Transport for NSW.
^ ^a ^b Office of Environment & Heritage (29 May 2009). "Coniston Railway Station Group".
^ "Premier Illawarra route 11". Transport for NSW.