List of urban rail systems in Australia

Urban rail transport forms a vital part of 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 categorise Australian passenger systems as "urban" or "non-urban".^[1]

Urban networks are further classified as "light rail" or "heavy rail".^[1] Light rail in Australia includes established tram networks in Melbourne and Adelaide continuously operating in various forms since the 19th century, as well as networks in other cities newly constructed after the cessation of tram operation. Heavy rail networks primarily describe passenger operations over parts of mixed-traffic rail systems centred on capital cities and also includes the Sydney Metro system, which operates on its own dedicated corridor.

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" to major cities and are therefore included in this article. Other markets, such as long-distance operations between cities and regional centres, tourist-focused and heritage services, are excluded from this list.^[1]

Urban 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 system with the highest patronage is found in Sydney. Patronage figures are for 2018–19 unless otherwise stated.

Primary City	System	Other cities served	Type	Average daily boardings	Lines	Stations/ stops	Length	Average daily boardings/km
Sydney	Sydney Trains		Heavy rail	1,033,150[2]	9[3]	161	355.5 km[4]	2,799/km
	Sydney Metro		Rapid transit	74,000 (2023)[5]	1	21	52 km	2,055/km
	Sydney Light Rail		Light rail	86,444 (2023)[6]	3	42	24.7 km	3,500/km
	NSW TrainLink (commuter services)	Newcastle, Wollongong, Scone, Dungog, Goulburn, Bathurst, Nowra (Bomaderry)	Heavy rail	112,300[7]	5	156	977 km	114/km
Newcastle	Newcastle Light Rail		Light rail	3,400 (2019)[8]	1	6	2.7 km	1,259/km
Melbourne	Metro Trains Melbourne		Heavy rail	660,300[9]	17	219	405 km	1,645/km
	Yarra Trams		Tram	493,292 (2023)[10]	24	1,763	250 km	1,973/km
	V/Line (commuter services)	Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Seymour, Latrobe Valley	Heavy rail	57,500[11]	5	66	610 km	94/km
Perth	Transperth	Mandurah	Heavy rail	168,600[12]	6	75	187 km	936/km
Brisbane	Queensland Rail Citytrain	Gold Coast, Ipswich, Sunshine Coast	Heavy rail	150,000[13]	13	152	689 km	206/km
Gold Coast	G:link		Light rail		1	19	20 km
Adelaide	Adelaide Metro		Heavy rail	42,880[14]	6	81	126 km	340/km
	Glenelg trams		Tram		3	33	15 km
Canberra	Canberra Light Rail		Light rail		1	14	12 km

See also

• Rail transport in Australia
• History of rail transport in Australia

References

1. Trainline 7 (PDF). Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics. December 2019. pp. 44, 52. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 March 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
2. "Sydney Trains Annual Report 2018-19" (PDF). Transport NSW. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
3. Sydney Trains Network Map Archived 14 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine Transport NSW
4. Train Statistics 2014 Archived 28 February 2020 at the Wayback Machine Transport for NSW page 6
5. NSW, Transport for (4 December 2023). "Metro Patronage Monthly Comparison". Archived from the original on 2 September 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
6. "Light rail: Sydney finally embraces CBD tram line as patronage surges". amp.smh.com.au. 7 April 2023. Archived from the original on 21 October 2023. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
7. "Transport for New South Wales Train Patronage Monthly Figures". Bureau of Transport Statistics. Archived from the original on 30 July 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
8. "ONE YEAR OF THE NEWCASTLE LIGHT RAIL". NBN News. Archived from the original on 21 October 2023. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
9. "PTV Annual Report 2018–19" (PDF). Public Transport Victoria. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
10. Planning, Department of Transport and. "Patronage". dtp.vic.gov.au. Archived from the original on 22 September 2023. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
11. "Annual Report 2018-2019". V/Line. Archived from the original on 18 June 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
12. "Public Transport Authority Transport performance". Public Transport Authority. Archived from the original on 15 July 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
13. "Queensland Rail 2018–2019 Annual Financial Report" (PDF). Queensland Rail Limited. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 March 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
14. "Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure 2018–19 Annual Report" (PDF). Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure. Retrieved 12 September 2019.