Commuter rail in Australia

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Commuter rail forms a vital part of public transportation in major Australian cities.

Definitions[]

The Commonwealth government Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics and industry peak body Australasian Railway Association, who jointly publish the Trainline statistical report, do not define "commuter rail" networks, and instead categorise passenger systems as "urban" or "non-urban".

Urban networks are further classified as "light rail" or "heavy rail". Light rail includes the tram networks in Melbourne and Adelaide continuously operating in various forms since the late 20th century, as well as networks in other cities newly constructed after the cessation of tram operation. Both types of light rail are described at Trams in Australia and are not included in this article. Heavy rail networks primarily describe passenger operations over parts of mixed-traffic rail systems centred on capital cities, but also include the independent Sydney Metro system.

Non-urban passenger networks are classified according to their passenger task. "Inter-city" or "regional" networks are defined to be those whose primary market "...include[s] daily commuting or day return business or leisure travel" and are thus included in this article. Other markets, such as long-distance operations between cities and regional centres, tourist-focused and heritage services, are excluded.[1]

Summary of commuter rail systems[]

Average daily patronage, where possible, is taken from the last calendar or financial year. System lengths are given in route kilometres. The largest, most extensive urban (as distinct from interurban) system is found in Melbourne, while the systems with the highest and most dense patronage are found in Sydney.

System Name Major Cities Served Average daily patronage Lines Stations Length Patronage/km
Sydney Trains Sydney 1,033,150[2] 8[3] 170 339 km[4] 3,048/km
NSW TrainLink (commuter services) Sydney, Newcastle, Scone, Dungog, Goulburn, Bathurst, Nowra (Bomaderry) 112,300[5] 5 156 977 km 114/km
Metro Trains Melbourne Melbourne 660,300[6] 17 219 405 km 1,645/km
V/Line (commuter services) Melbourne, Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Seymour, Latrobe Valley 57,500[7] 5 66 610 km 94/km
Transperth Perth, Mandurah 168,600[8] 5 71 180 km 936/km
Queensland Rail (commuter services) Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast 150,000[9] 13 152 689 km 206/km
Adelaide Metro Adelaide 42,880[10] 6 81 126 km 340/km

References[]

  1. ^ Trainline 7 (PDF). Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics. December 2019. pp. 44, 52. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  2. ^ "Sydney Trains Annual Report 2018-19" (PDF). Transport NSW. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  3. ^ Sydney Trains Network Map Transport NSW
  4. ^ Train Statistics 2014 Transport for NSW page 6
  5. ^ "Transport for New South Wales Train Patronage Monthly Figures". Bureau of Transport Statistics. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  6. ^ "PTV Annual Report 2018–19" (PDF). Public Transport Victoria. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  7. ^ "Annual Report 2018-2019". V/Line. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  8. ^ "Public Transport Authority Transport performance". Public Transport Authority. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  9. ^ "Queensland Rail 2018–2019 Annual Financial Report" (PDF). Queensland Rail Limited. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  10. ^ "Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure 2018–19 Annual Report" (PDF). Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
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