Leppington & Inner West Line

"Airport, Inner West & South Line" redirects here. For the current line between Macarthur and the city via Revesby, see Airport & South Line.

The Leppington & Inner West Line (numbered T2, coloured light blue) is a commuter rail service operated by Sydney Trains, serving the inner west and south-western regions of Sydney, Australia. Consisting of 37 stops, the service commences from the City Circle, then heads west to Granville. The line branches at this point; services either head northwest to Parramatta or south to Leppington. A third terminus at Homebush is used when the part-time Parramatta branch is not operating. The line commenced operations on 26 November 2017, replacing the T2 Airport, Inner West & South Line.

Leppington & Inner West Line
An A set at Glenfield.
Overview
Service type	Commuter rail service
Status	Operational
Locale	Sydney, New South Wales
Predecessor	South (1999–2013) Airport, Inner West & South (2013–2017) Inner West & Leppington (2017–2024)
First service	26 November 2017; 6 years ago (2017-11-26)
Current operator(s)	Sydney Trains
Route
Termini	City Circle Leppington Parramatta
Stops	37
Average journey time	1h 29m (Leppington to Museum) 59m (Parramatta to Museum) (Weekday offpeak times, journey times vary based on stopping pattern and time)
Line(s) used	City Circle Main Suburban Old Main South Main South South West Rail Link
On-board services
Disabled access	Yes
Technical
Rolling stock	K, T, M, A and B sets
Track gauge	Standard gauge
Electrification	1,500 V DC from overhead catenary[1]
Track owner(s)	Transport Asset Holding Entity
Timetable number(s)	T2
Sydney rail services Metro North West & Bankstown North Shore & Western Leppington & Inner West Liverpool & Inner West Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Cumberland Lidcombe & Bankstown Olympic Park Airport & South Northern v t e

History

Creation in 2013

Following the 2011 state election, the newly elected O'Farrell government embarked on reform of transport in New South Wales, creating a new organisation, Transport for NSW, in November of that year. This was followed up with another government reform, which saw Sydney Trains take over operation of the Sydney suburban rail network from CityRail in July 2013.^[2]

Transport for NSW developed a new rail timetable and branding, which was put into effect on 20 October 2013.^[3] This saw three former CityRail services, the Airport & East Hills Line (Macarthur - City Circle via Sydney Airport or Sydenham), the Inner West Line (Liverpool or Bankstown - City Circle via Regents Park) and the South Line (Campbelltown - City Circle via Granville), merged to form the Airport, Inner West & South Line. A new numbering system was also introduced and the new line was given the number T2.

The 2013 timetable was designed to integrate the projects of the Rail Clearways Program, a 2004 plan to divide the network's fourteen metropolitan rail lines into five independent "clearways" by installing extra tracks, passing loops, turnouts and turnbacks at pinch points around the network, such as at Homebush and Lidcombe.^[4] By 2013, the Rail Clearways Program was substantially complete. At the same time, the delivery of 78 new Waratah trains was almost complete as well.^[5]

Leppington extension in 2015

A branch of the service along the South West railway line to Leppington commenced operating on 13 December 2015, following the new rail link's completion earlier that year. T2 services replaced an earlier temporary shuttle service between Leppington and Liverpool.^[6]

Split with T8 in 2017

A new Sydney Trains timetable was introduced on 26 November 2017, in which the original T2 services were split in two. Existing services from Leppington to the City Circle via Granville, alongside newly extended all stops services from Parramatta that had previously terminated at Homebush, were rebranded as the T2 Inner West & Leppington Line.^[7] This reduced T2 was recoloured light blue, harkening back to CityRail's historical colour scheme for services along this route.^[8]

Meanwhile, former T2 services from Macarthur to the City Circle via East Hills were rebranded as the T8 Airport & South Line, moving to a new number but keeping the original T2's green colour, again aligning with the former CityRail colour scheme for services via East Hills.^[7][9] Despite the separation in branding, the T2 and T8 remain operationally linked, with services from one generally through-running onto the other upon reaching the City Circle.^[10]

Renaming in 2024

Timetabling changes in 2024 saw the name reordered to be T2 Leppington & Inner West Line. This coincided with the redesignation of T3 services as the Liverpool & Inner West Line, following their realignment to run alongside T2 services via Strathfield rather than via Bankstown as they had previously.^[11]

Route

A route diagram of the T2

T2 Leppington & Inner West Line
km continues as 5.0 Museum 4.4 St James 3.0 Circular Quay 2.0 Wynyard 1.2 Town Hall 0.0 Central 1.3 Redfern 2.5 Macdonaldtown 3.1 Newtown 4.7 Stanmore 5.5 Petersham 6.2 Lewisham 7.0 Summer Hill 8.4 Ashfield 9.4 Croydon 10.6 Burwood 11.8 Strathfield 12.7 Homebush 14.3 Flemington 16.6 Lidcombe 18.6 Auburn 20.7 Clyde 21.2 Granville 22.5 Harris Park 23.2 Parramatta 23.5 Merrylands 25.7 Guildford 27.4 Yennora 29.0 Fairfield 31.0 Canley Vale 32.0 Cabramatta 34.2 Warwick Farm 35.7 Liverpool 38.8 Casula 41.9 Glenfield 45.4 Edmondson Park 51.1 Leppington
This diagram: view talk edit

Services on the Inner West & Leppington Line commence by taking the City Circle (generally in an anti-clockwise direction) and then the Main Suburban railway line, on the local pair of tracks. At Homebush, trains on the "inner west" stopping pattern terminate. Services that proceed further west towards Parramatta to Leppington merge onto the suburban pair of tracks. At Granville, trains can take the Main Western line a short distance to Parramatta or the Old Main South railway line to a junction north of Cabramatta, then continuing onto the Main South railway line as far as Glenfield. At a junction south of Glenfield, services switch to the South West Rail Link to reach the terminus at Leppington. The following stations are served by T2 Inner West & Leppington Line trains:

• Museum, St James, Circular Quay, Wynyard, Town Hall and Central on the City Circle
• Redfern, Macdonaldtown, Newtown, Stanmore, Petersham, Lewisham, Summer Hill, Ashfield, Croydon, Burwood, Strathfield, Homebush, Flemington, Lidcombe, Auburn and Granville on the Main Suburban line
• Harris Park and Parramatta on the Main Western line
• Merrylands, Guildford, Yennora, Fairfield, Canley Vale, Cabramatta, Warwick Farm, Liverpool, Casula and Glenfield on the Old Main South and Main South lines.
• Edmondson Park and Leppington on the South West Rail Link

Services

The line usually runs on two stopping patterns. The first stopping pattern runs to Leppington, making limited stops between Redfern and Homebush, with the specific stopping pattern depending on the time of day. West of Homebush all trains make all stops, except for Clyde, where trains do not stop on weekends. The second stopping pattern makes all stops between Redfern and Homebush, with many weekdays trains continuing to Parramatta, making all stops. These two patterns both run at 4tph (trains per hour) during the off-peak, with additional services during the peaks. Additionally, there are express trains between Ashfield and the city during the morning peak.

T2 interactive map

T2 stations

Name	Code	Distance from Central [12][13][14][15][16]	Opened [12][13][14][15][16]	Railway line	Serving suburbs	Other lines
City Circle – Granville
Museum	MUS	4.99 km	1926	City Circle	Sydney CBD	T3 T8
St James	STJ	4.4 km	1926
Circular Quay	CQY	2.97 km	1956		Sydney CBD, The Rocks
Wynyard	WYN	2.05 km	1932		Sydney CBD, Barangaroo	T1 T3 T8 T9
Town Hall	TWH	1.18 km	1932		Sydney CBD	T1 T3 T4 T8 T9
Central	CEN	n/a	1906		Sydney CBD, Chippendale, Strawberry Hills, Ultimo, Surry Hills	T1 T3 T4 T8 T9 M1
Redfern	REF	1.30 km	1906	Main Suburban	Redfern, Waterloo	T1 T3 T4 T8 T9
Macdonaldtown	MAC	2.48 km	1892		Macdonaldtown	T3
Newtown	NTN	3.1 km	1855		Newtown
Stanmore	SMN	4.67 km	1878		Stanmore
Petersham	PSM	5.50 km	1857		Petersham
Lewisham	LWI	6.25 km	1886		Lewisham
Summer Hill	SMH	7.03 km	1879		Summer Hill
Ashfield	AFD	8.38 km	1855		Ashfield
Croydon	CYD	9.42 km	1875		Croydon
Burwood	BWD	10.62 km	1855		Burwood	T3 T9
Strathfield	STR	11.81 km	1876		Strathfield	T1 T3 T9
Homebush	HSH	12.74 km	1855		Homebush	T3
Flemington	FMG	14.32 km	1924		Homebush West
Lidcombe	LDC	16.61 km	1858		Lidcombe	T1 T3 T6 T7
Auburn	AUB	18.63 km	1877		Auburn	T1
Clyde (weekdays only)	CYE	20.66 km	1882		Clyde
Granville	GAV	21.22 km	1860		Granville
Granville – Parramatta
Harris Park (weekdays only)	HPK	22.53 km	c. 1800s	Main Western	Harris Park	T1 T5
Parramatta (weekdays only)	PAR	23.21 km	1860		Parramatta	T1 T5
Granville – Leppington
Merrylands	MLN	23.47 km	1889	Old Main South	Merrylands	T5
Guildford	GUD	25.72 km	1876		Guildford
Yennora	YNN	27.44 km	1927		Yennora
Fairfield	FFL	29 km	1856		Fairfield
Canley Vale	CVE	30.98 km	1878		Canley Vale
Cabramatta	CAB	28.43 km	1870	Main South	Cabramatta	T3 T5
Warwick Farm	WKF	34.16 km	1889		Warwick Farm
Liverpool	LPO	38.68 km	1856		Liverpool
Casula	CSL	38.8 km	1894		Casula	T5
Glenfield	GFD	41.93 km	1869		Glenfield	T5 T8
Edmondson Park			2015	South West	Edmondson Park	T5
Leppington					Leppington

Patronage

The following table shows the patronage of Sydney Trains network for the year ending 30 June 2024.

2023–24 Sydney Trains patronage by line^{[n.b. 1] [17]}

T1	86,736,689
T2	47,048,199
T3	20,178,194	[n.b. 2]
T4	54,802,802
T5	8,028,853
T6	–	[n.b. 3]
T7	1,345,017
T8	37,691,564
T9	22,303,028

1. Figures based on Opal tap on and tap off data
2. T3 patronage from former route via Bankstown.
3. T6 services commenced on 19 October 2024.

See also

Liverpool & Inner West Line

• Railways portal

References

1. Asset Standards Authority (19 March 2014). RailCorp electrical system general description, version 1.0 (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 June 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
2. Saulwick, Jacob (1 July 2013). "All change as RailCorp is disbanded". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
3. Transport for NSW. "October 2013 timetable changes". NSW Government. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
4. Transport for NSW (15 August 2014). "Rail Clearways Program – completed projects". NSW Government. Archived from the original on 11 July 2015.
5. Saulwick, Jacob (15 March 2013). "Commuters stuck with old trains on new rail link". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 18 March 2013.
6. Transport for NSW (15 October 2015). "South West Rail Link: Soon to head North and East, with more services". NSW Government. Archived from the original on 19 November 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
7. Transport for NSW. "Changes to Sydney's train network" (PDF). NSW Government. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
8. Rail Corporation New South Wales. "CityRail network" (PDF). NSW Government. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 May 2013.
9. Transport for NSW (27 February 2017). "More Trains, More Services for South Western Sydney" (PDF). NSW Government. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 February 2017.
10. "T2: Inner West & Leppington line timetable". Transport for NSW.
11. Transport for NSW (14 October 2024). "2024 timetable changes". transportnsw.info. NSW Government. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
12. "City Circle". NSW Rail.net. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
13. "Airport line". NSW Rail.net. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
14. "East Hills line". NSW Rail.net. Archived from the original on 10 August 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
15. "Main South line". NSW Rail.net. Archived from the original on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
16. "South West Rail Link". NSW Rail.net. Archived from the original on 3 March 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
17. "Train Patronage – Monthly Figures". Transport for NSW. Retrieved 30 October 2024.