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		Commuter 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
	Parramatta Light Rail		Light rail	TBA	1	16	12 km	TBA
	NSW TrainLink (commuter services)	Newcastle, Wollongong, Scone, Dungog, Goulburn, Bathurst, Nowra (Bomaderry)	Commuter 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		Commuter 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	Commuter rail	57,500[11]	5	66	610 km	94/km
Perth	Transperth	Mandurah	Commuter rail	168,600[12]	8	83	187 km	936/km
Brisbane	Queensland Rail Citytrain	Gold Coast, Ipswich, Sunshine Coast	Commuter rail	150,000[13]	13	152	689 km	206/km
Gold Coast	G:link		Light rail		1	19	20 km
Adelaide	Adelaide Metro		Commuter 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