Olympic Park railway line, Sydney
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| Olympic Park Line | |
 |
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|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Mode | Commuter rail loop |
| Area | Strathfield |
| Map colour | White/Grey |
| Owner | CityRail |
| Design | |
| Length | 5 km |
| Stations | 2 |
| Connects | Olympic Park Lidcombe Central (special events) |
| 1998 | Line opened |
| Operations | |
| Operator(s) | CityRail |
| Fleet | C, S, T & V sets |
| Depot(s) | Flemington |
| Public transport | | |
The Olympic Park Line (or the Olympic Park Sprint) is a train line in Sydney, Australia that connects the Sydney Olympic Park precinct to the rest of the CityRail metropolitan train network. It has one station, Olympic Park, which is located on a balloon loop. The original purpose of the line to Olympic Park was to convey passengers to and from venues at Sydney Olympic Park and the Sydney CBD during the 2000 Summer Olympics. Today, its main purpose is to do likewise for major events occurring within the Sydney Olympic Park precinct, particularly Sydney Royal Easter Show and events at the Stadium Australia, the former Olympic stadium now rebranded as ANZ Stadium.
[edit] History
The line was conceived in the early 1990s to serve the site of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. A balloon-loop style branch line was chosen over other options, such as a connecting line between Rhodes on the Northern Line and Flemington Junctions, where the chosen design joins the Western line.[1] The chosen route follows the former goods lines which branched from the Main West line between Flemington and Homebush, to the Abattoirs and Brickworks site at the Homebush Bay industrial precinct. The line croses over Parramatta Road and the M4 motorway using the former goods alignment. The first test train operated over the line on 24 November 1997, and the line's first major event was the Royal Easter Show in April 1998.[2]
[edit] Services
Outside of special events, trains to Olympic Park depart from a special platform at Lidcombe (technically platform 0, but referred to as the 'Olympic Park Sprint Platform' rather than its number). Originally operating with a frequency of one train every 10 minutes, it currently runs one train every 20 minutes on weekdays and every 10 minutes on weekends.[3] The trip between Lidcombe and Olympic Park takes about 6 minutes each way.
During major events at Sydney Olympic Park, train services to Olympic run direct from the intercity platforms of Central, also stopping at Redfern (sometimes) and Strathfield. A limited number of direct services also run during the weekday inter-peak period. After larger events, west-bound trains from Olympic Park are also extended beyond Lidcombe to Blacktown via the Western Line.
[edit] References
- ^ Date, K, Rogers D. Can CityRail win the Olympics? Railway Digest, September 2000. ARHS NSW Division.
- ^ Holye, J. Preparing for the Games- the first train to Olympic Park. Railway Digest, January 1998. ARHS NSW Division.
- ^ CityRail timetables Rail Corporation of NSW
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