Bathurst railway station, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Bathurst Railway Station is a regional railway station on Main Western Line
. It serves the city of Bathurst
and its surrounding area in the Central West
region of New South Wales
, Australia
. The station is served by CountryLink
trains for its Western Region, and is also the most westerly point of the ticketed CityRail
network, being served by a regional bus route that connects to CityRail's Blue Mountains Line.
(relocated from Rydal in 1879), enginemens depot (1879), engine shed (1881) and the West signal box (1885)
During the 1880s the Railway Commission in New South Wales built workshops on the land adjoining the station. This started a large railway workers' community and a Rail Institute, which made many jobs available and drew thousands of workers to Bathurst. In the early years of the 20th century, Ben Chifley
, later Prime Minister of Australia
, attended night school and extension classes there. Union meetings Chifley attended at the Institute helped to shape his Labour convictions.
Many changes and additions were made to the Bathurst rail yards in the late 19th century and 20th century, examples of which include the original stockyards (c1900), a wagon repair shed (1891), a new turntable (1897), platform lengthened (1897), waiting shed erected on the Down platform (1902), Down platform extended and widened (1911), line duplicated (1915) elevated coal storage (1916), refreshment room (1917), new T6 trucking yards (1927), and an additional signal box (East Box) in 1944.
Following WWII (between 1945 and 1960) there were as many as 500 railway workers working at Bathurst station and yard. By the 1970s, changes in freight transportation trends and the move from steam to diesel locomotives resulted in the redundancy of many buildings and former functions on site and the rationalisation of many structures. The refreshment room closed in 1968 and The Railway Institute in 1975.
The station is wheelchair accessible, and also has an indoor waiting room and a CountryLink Travel Centre, which is open weekdays from 8am to 5pm. There are seats on the platform, and at the front of the station opposite the bus bay. The station has a small parking area with about twenty parking spaces, and a taxi rank.
The station is usually only serviced by CountryLink trains. CountryLink's Dubbo XPT stops daily at Bathurst, heading to Dubbo in the morning, and to Sydney in the late afternoon. The Dubbo XPT travels from Sydney
to Dubbo via Katoomba
, Lithgow
, Orange
and stations in between. The Broken Hill Explorer stops at Bathurst weekly, on Monday morning when travelling to Broken Hill
and Tuesday evening when travelling to Sydney. The Indian Pacific train services the station twice a week - heading to Adelaide on Wednesday and Saturday evenings, and heading to Sydney on Wednesday and Saturday mornings.
Platform 1
and Bathurst, to provide a reliable link for the lack of rail services. There are six bus services on weekdays, three bus services on Saturdays and two bus services on Sundays in both directions. Most of these bus services connect with CityRail's interurban rail services to Sydney on the Blue Mountains line. CountryLink buses pick up and set down in a marked bus bay outside Bathurst station.
A place must be booked on CountryLink bus services, at the cost of a CityRail fare. Tickets can be purchased from CityRail stations. Some bus services also stop at Wallerawang
, Mount Lambie, Meadow Flats, Yetholme, Raglan and Kelso
. Some of these bus services require notification that a passenger needs to stop between Lithgow and Bathurst, or it will not stop.
Main Western railway line, New South Wales
The Main Western Railway is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs through the Blue Mountains, Central West, North West Slopes and the Far West regions.- Description of route :...
. It serves the city of Bathurst
Bathurst, New South Wales
-CBD and suburbs:Bathurst's CBD is located on William, George, Howick, Russell, and Durham Streets. The CBD is approximately 25 hectares and surrounds two city blocks. Within this block layout is banking, government services, shopping centres, retail shops, a park* and monuments...
and its surrounding area in the Central West
Central West, New South Wales
The Central West region refers to the area west of the Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia. It has an area of 63,262 square kilometers....
region of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The station is served by CountryLink
CountryLink
CountryLink is the operator of passenger rail services in country New South Wales, Australia and into Queensland and Victoria. It is an operating brand of the Rail Corporation New South Wales, a government-owned entity...
trains for its Western Region, and is also the most westerly point of the ticketed CityRail
CityRail
CityRail is an operating brand of RailCorp, a corporation owned by the state government of New South Wales, Australia. It is responsible for providing commuter rail services, and some coach services, in and around Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong, the three largest cities of New South Wales. It is...
network, being served by a regional bus route that connects to CityRail's Blue Mountains Line.
History
The Great Western Railway (now the Main Western Line) was opened as far as Bathurst on April 4, 1876 by the then Governor of New South Wales, Sir Hercules Robinson. Tenders for the Railway Station buildings were called in 1875, and the Victorian Tudor style building in Keppel Street opened on the day the railway line arrived. Along with the station building a goods shed, Divisional Engineers office, and a grand two story Station Masters residence were also completed in 1876. Gas lighting was installed to the station and the adjoining Station Master's residence in 1882. Other early buildings and structures included a Stores office (c1876), coal stage (relocated from Raglan in 1877), new coal stage (1878), blacksmith’s shop (1878-1879), turntableTurntable
A turntable is generally a rotating platform, and may refer to:-Music:* Turntable, a motor-driven platform that normally rotates a gramophone record at a constant rotational velocity as part of a phonograph....
(relocated from Rydal in 1879), enginemens depot (1879), engine shed (1881) and the West signal box (1885)
During the 1880s the Railway Commission in New South Wales built workshops on the land adjoining the station. This started a large railway workers' community and a Rail Institute, which made many jobs available and drew thousands of workers to Bathurst. In the early years of the 20th century, Ben Chifley
Ben Chifley
Joseph Benedict Chifley , Australian politician, was the 16th Prime Minister of Australia. He took over the Australian Labor Party leadership and Prime Ministership after the death of John Curtin in 1945, and went on to retain government at the 1946 election, before being defeated at the 1949...
, later Prime Minister of Australia
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
, attended night school and extension classes there. Union meetings Chifley attended at the Institute helped to shape his Labour convictions.
Many changes and additions were made to the Bathurst rail yards in the late 19th century and 20th century, examples of which include the original stockyards (c1900), a wagon repair shed (1891), a new turntable (1897), platform lengthened (1897), waiting shed erected on the Down platform (1902), Down platform extended and widened (1911), line duplicated (1915) elevated coal storage (1916), refreshment room (1917), new T6 trucking yards (1927), and an additional signal box (East Box) in 1944.
Following WWII (between 1945 and 1960) there were as many as 500 railway workers working at Bathurst station and yard. By the 1970s, changes in freight transportation trends and the move from steam to diesel locomotives resulted in the redundancy of many buildings and former functions on site and the rationalisation of many structures. The refreshment room closed in 1968 and The Railway Institute in 1975.
Station Configuration
The station has two tracks, but only one operating platform. CountryLink trains stop on the same track at Bathurst station, which is the closest to the station entrance. Another now disused platform, sits on the other side of the tracks, connected by an underground subway which is not open to the public.The station is wheelchair accessible, and also has an indoor waiting room and a CountryLink Travel Centre, which is open weekdays from 8am to 5pm. There are seats on the platform, and at the front of the station opposite the bus bay. The station has a small parking area with about twenty parking spaces, and a taxi rank.
Train Services
Central railway station, Sydney
Central Railway Station, the largest railway station in Australia, is at the southern end of the Sydney CBD. It services almost all the lines on the CityRail network, and is the major terminus for interurban and interstate rail services...
to Dubbo via Katoomba
Katoomba railway station, New South Wales
-Transport links:Blue Mountains Bus Company runs ten routes to and from Katoomba railway station:*Route 685 - to Wentworth Falls and North Wentworth Falls*Route 685H - to Hazelbrook and North Hazelbrook*Route 686 - to Katoomba Golf Glub...
, Lithgow
Lithgow railway station, New South Wales
-Transport links:Jones Bros Bus Company runs ten routes to and from Lithgow railway station:*Route 100 - to Strathlone Estate.*Route 101 - to Strathlone Estate.*Route 200 - to Lithgow Hospital.*Route 201 - to Lithgow Hospital.*Route 300 - to Oakey Park....
, Orange
Orange, New South Wales
Orange is a city in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is west of the state capital, Sydney, at an altitude of . Orange has an estimated population of 39,329 and the city is a major provincial centre....
and stations in between. The Broken Hill Explorer stops at Bathurst weekly, on Monday morning when travelling to Broken Hill
Broken Hill, New South Wales
-Geology:Broken Hill's massive orebody, which formed about 1,800 million years ago, has proved to be among the world's largest silver-lead-zinc mineral deposits. The orebody is shaped like a boomerang plunging into the earth at its ends and outcropping in the centre. The protruding tip of the...
and Tuesday evening when travelling to Sydney. The Indian Pacific train services the station twice a week - heading to Adelaide on Wednesday and Saturday evenings, and heading to Sydney on Wednesday and Saturday mornings.
Platform 1
- CountryLink WesternCountryLinkCountryLink is the operator of passenger rail services in country New South Wales, Australia and into Queensland and Victoria. It is an operating brand of the Rail Corporation New South Wales, a government-owned entity...
- country services to Dubbo (1 per day) and Broken Hill (1 per week); country services to Sydney (1 per day). - Great Southern RailwayGreat Southern Railway (Australia)Great Southern Railway , owned by Serco Asia Pacific, is a tourism business and rail transport operator in Australia.GSR operates interstate passenger trains aimed at the tourist market:* The Indian Pacific...
- the Indian Pacific service to Perth via Broken Hill, Adelaide, and Kalgoorlie (2 per week); the Indian Pacific service to Sydney (2 per week).
Bus Services
CountryLink bus services run daily between LithgowLithgow, New South Wales
Lithgow is a city in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia and is the centre of the local political division City of Lithgow. It is located in a mountain valley named Lithgow's Valley by John Oxley in honour of William Lithgow, the first Auditor-General of New South Wales.Lithgow is...
and Bathurst, to provide a reliable link for the lack of rail services. There are six bus services on weekdays, three bus services on Saturdays and two bus services on Sundays in both directions. Most of these bus services connect with CityRail's interurban rail services to Sydney on the Blue Mountains line. CountryLink buses pick up and set down in a marked bus bay outside Bathurst station.
A place must be booked on CountryLink bus services, at the cost of a CityRail fare. Tickets can be purchased from CityRail stations. Some bus services also stop at Wallerawang
Wallerawang, New South Wales
Wallerawang is a small township in the Central West of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately 14 km northwest of Lithgow on the Main Western railway line at the junction of the Gwabegar line. A now closed railway station opened in 1870. Wallerawang Power Station opened in...
, Mount Lambie, Meadow Flats, Yetholme, Raglan and Kelso
Kelso, New South Wales
Kelso is a suburb of Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia, in the Bathurst Regional Council area.-History:Kelso was the original European settlement in the area. In 1816, the initial settlement of Bathurst was established on the eastern banks of the Macquarie River, in current-day Kelso...
. Some of these bus services require notification that a passenger needs to stop between Lithgow and Bathurst, or it will not stop.