Australia's Most Impressive Rail Network? | Sydney Trains Explained

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Sydney is a world class city, but what's rarely appreciated is its world class suburban rail network, which stretches across hundreds of kilometres of track and nearly 200 stations, and is truly a model for other cities to emulate. Learn more about the system in this video!
Special thanks to Taitset, Transport Vlog, & Under the Clocks for providing footage used in this video!
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Ever wondered why your city's transit just doesn't seem quite up to snuff? RMTransit is here to answer that, and help you open your eyes to all of the different public transportation systems around the world!
Reece Martin (the RM in RMTransit) is an urbanist and public transport critic residing in Toronto, Canada, with the goal of helping the world become more connected through metros, trams, buses, high-speed trains, and all other transport modes.

[@RMTransit]

Check out our latest video on Brisbane's amazing transit right here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n4DInp1-f92qiKc

[@olly1oo6]

As a Sydneysider who uses the rail network regularly, it is fascinating to hear it being described from an outside perspective. But the network has some big issues that aren't obvious to the occasional traveler, but infamous to the regular commuter. When it rains, it is common for large parts of the network to malfuction and shut down - particularly during peak hour. It is not uncommon for Sydney trains to shut down entire CBD stations from overcrowding because of a 'signal failure' that causes the entire network to implode. I kid you not - one of the announcers suggested that passengers walk across the harbour bridge instead because it would probably be faster (it's quite a big bridge). The trains are usually on time, but not 100% reliable in the way a NY, Japanese or European rail network is (speaking from my experience). Also, they often don't operate on weekends. Yes. They often DON'T OPERATE ON WEEKENDS because they are desperately trying to repair something on the network. They run a small and frankly futile network of buses instead, which often make a 30 minute journey take over two hours. Finally, believe it or not they shut down the entire T1 line for a full WEEK to conduct repairs. A week! Need to get to work in the CBD? Good luck with that. Imagine a city of 5 million people shutting down its major train line in to the city for a whole week. Only in Sydney. But on a sunny day, where there's no scheduled track work - and you don't need to get to work on time - yes - they run great!

[@crazyduckthing1210]

The ongoing battle between the Rail, Tram and Bus union isn't great either. Regardless of whose side you're on, it was pretty annoying when they started shutting down trains at peak hour.

[@user-zu1pe1di4r]

you forgot to mention when transport workers go on regular strikes which affects all commuters…

[@davem3325]

@@user-zu1pe1di4r not to mention governments buying imported trains that dont work, instead of buying local!

[@AussieTrucking]

@@user-zu1pe1di4r we should do what Japan bus services did. Still operated but didnt collect fares.

[@purplegrapiest]

Works on a sunny day provided that sunny day isn't above 28 degrees

[@davidreichert9392]

In Canada we tend to look towards Europe and Asia for guidance on improving our transit, but we really should spend more time looking to Australia, which for the purposes of transportation among other things, is much more like Canada. They've also had their challenges, and, like Canada, are a very car centric society, but they're still a good model for us to follow.

[@RMTransit]

I actually think the lessons are quite complementary, Canada does better local transit, Aus does better suburban rail

[@neolithictransitrevolution427]

I absolutely agree, Australia looks like North American cities if they started to try. Excellent examples of running suburban rail on frieght ways, along highways, and using trolleys in suburban areas. I'm also looking forward to the trackless trolley. Maybe it's just a glorified bus, but it's about time buses deserve that glory. And if it works, it will make high quality systems as easy to install as a BRT.

[@ghostofdre]

Our intercity rail network is quite slow. Take Newcastle to Sydney as an example, a car trip on the M1 can be done in under 2 hours where as the train trip will take you about 2 hours 45 minutes. We have no high speed rail or even what you would call fast rail. The fastest trains we have are technically the XPT which is based off an old British design, although the diesel units used on the Newcastle line can hit nearly 160k on certain sections, if my GPS is accurate.

[@archontiverius]

While on paper true that the train from Newcastle to Sydney is slower, Sydney is so riddled with traffic and in the city so limited in regards to parking you're honestly only looking at a 15 minute time saving driving what really isn't worth it after parking fees, petrol and if you take them, tolls. Real inconvenience is frequency, especially if you don't live at Gosford, Woy Woy or Wyong.

[@davidreichert9392]

@@RMTransit Very true. The Sydney Metro is in its infancy and while Melbourne's tram system is pretty awesome it still runs short of the effectiveness of a full on Metro system. Between the two countries I would set Vancouver as the gold standard right now, in relation to city size of course. I'm really looking forward to seeing how the Sydney Metro evolves, looks like it's going to be pretty impressive.

[@varno]

One thing most people don't realise is that the reason for all the rail construction in Australia is that population is expected to double in most places by the 2060s due to migration. This means that huge expansion is required to keep the system from being conjested. This is also the reason for the massive road projects and the multiple cities plan. In regards to Wolli Creek station, until the airport link was created the area around there was an industrial area, and the government deliberately set up the apartments there, inspired by developments in Japan. This is also true for Mascot station. The Bondi Junction termination was very much caused by wealthy nimbies trying to keep poor and immigrant people away from the beaches on the Easter suburbs.

[@Jakeio-w9j]

ooh yeha i saw 20 18 million Melboune 17 million Sysney and 2 million adeliade lol

[@iamlinda100]

@@Jakeio-w9j Melbourne has overtaken Sydney as the most populous city in Australia is only due to a technicality, Melbourne recently merged with another nearby city, so the combined population of the new merged city automatically increased Melbourne's total population to exceed Sydney's. But Melbourne's ORIGINAL population before the merge was smaller than Sydney's.

[@Jakeio-w9j]

@@iamlinda100 it merged with a town that became a suburb that's how it works

[@iamlinda100]

@@Jakeio-w9j whether it was a town or city it doesn't matter, it still merged with Melbourne and that's the only reason Melbourne's population overtook Sydney's. If it hadn't merged with another place then Melbourne's population still would've been smaller than Sydney's.

[@Jakeio-w9j]

@@iamlinda100 do you not understand how citys grow? New development on the outskirts that then merges yes there is also just population growth in the existing area but it sounds like your salty Sydney isn't #1 anymore lol

[@Mick_Unfiltered]

As a Sydneysider who uses the T1 in my daily life I just wanted to say this video is well done, your analysis of this system is fantastic especially for someone not from Sydney, even your pronunciations of the suburbs was great!

[@AlphaGeekgirl]

Except for Kogarah ("Cog-rah") ;)

[@you_are_soul]

Looks like you missed his pronunciation of "Kogarah". But it was pretty well done I have to admit.

[@RelaxNChillOut]

As a Sydneysider, i love our trains but hate the Goverment and Unions running it, it's total garbage right now.

[@CYC_JP]

@@RelaxNChillOut It's either the Government (or the Liberal Government) or the Unions, they don't run together. Labor Party and Unions run things together. In Sydney Trains scenario, the current Liberal Government design, schedule and implement the railway network service plans, and the railway workers, in theory, should do their job and execute the Government's plan. However, unfortunately the Unions have control over the railway workers and ordered the railway workers to work against the Government.

[@Mick_Unfiltered]

@@RelaxNChillOut the unions aren’t the problem imo but yes, agreed.

[@Tottenham44]

I live in rural Australia and as absurd as it sounds, I’d never taken Sydney trains until a week ago and I was so blown away with how good it was!

[@user-kc1tf7zm3b]

Unless you live in NSW, most people living in rural areas in other states and territories would have no need to use the Sydney trains. Especially those from Western Australia.

[@Dreamer10888]

Oh really .. I have been taking it for granted then. I just wish they would invest more money into the network rather than roads and tunnels

[@Dreamer10888]

@@user-kc1tf7zm3b ah ha.. if you come to sydney you would take the train, it’s like part of the experience which is what I do everywhere I go

[@user-kc1tf7zm3b]

@@Dreamer10888 As is often the case, for those who live in regional areas outside of NSW, they would seldom take Sydney trains as they would naturally have to be in Sydney to use the train system to begin with. You would be surprised how many Australians have not visited Sydney. Just like many Sydneysiders, perhaps most, have never visited Perth. Australia is a bloody big country.

[@memeboy8207]

lucky you, you missed all the cancelations and delays

[@Taitset]

Great work Reece, always good to see an international perspective on Australian systems! Glad I could make a few small contributions to this one too. 🙂

[@RMTransit]

Haha, the flyovers video was a stroke of genius so I knew I had to reach out! Thanks so much for your help! 🎉

[@Detrabot]

@GuNSh0Tzz Nahh we don’t talk about it

[@70sVRsignalman]

@GuNSh0Tzz Melbourne's Suburban Electric railway system ( and the rest of the VR for that matter ) was deliberately underfunded for over 40 years, and "Town Planning" ensured that new industrial zones were NOT rail connected, deliberate political decisions that favoured the private motor vehicle over any form of public transport, so bearing that in mind, Melbourne's public transport has done pretty well, all things considered. The other feature of public transport, especially rail, is that, compared to Europe, and especially Britain, public transport, and railway fares in particular, both historically, and currently, are very cheap. I understand your frustration, but this is a case of not appreciating the wood for the trees.

[@roballen3281]

great work Taitset, i think your accent is Collingwood? lol you should be sending your work to the Sydney Training Centre at Petersham. I trained thru "that' system of antiquainted railway system since 1889 to 2015 when I become a guard for 3 fantastic, years since retired .

[@Taitset]

@@roballen3281 Haha thanks, I have had a few Sydney Trains employees say they've found the videos useful! Nobody's ever suggested I have a Collingwood accent before, but I do spend a bit of time in that area so you might be onto something!

[@malcolmmccaskill2311]

Two other features of the Sydney system are its high ridership, and the polycentric nature of the city. In 2018/19 the Sydney Trains system alone had 377 million trips (not including buses and light rail), which exceeds all US systems except New York. Secondly, Sydney achieves high public transport modal share in a large number of secondary CBD's - Parramatta, North Sydney, Bondi Junction, North Ryde, and Chatswood. While flying over Chatswood today I counted 20 tall buildings, which is about the same number as in the Los Angeles CBD. These secondary CBD's have little parking, contributing to a high modal share for the rail network.

[@user-kc1tf7zm3b]

The public parking available at Chatswood is mostly meant for shoppers patronising the shopping centres, especially Westfields.

[@albusdumbledore5875]

@@user-kc1tf7zm3b he said "little parking"

[@user-kc1tf7zm3b]

@@albusdumbledore5875 Exactly. The parking is meant for retail shoppers, or, those visiting for other services.

[@thotmorrison2649]

To be fair, high ridership doesn't necessarily indicate a high quality rail network. It actually tells you that Sydney traffic is unbelievably horrible, and it's impossible to get a park 🤷‍♂️

[@peepeetrain8755]

the only problem with Sydneys polycentric model is that it doesn't treat the other 'cbd's as actual ones. All trains go to central but Parramatta is not as connected as it should be, SE connections to Parramatta is through Buses etc. there's no direct service to Chatswood and Parramatta, you must go to the actual cbd.

[@benparks7008]

As Sydneysider, I’m very impressed with the pronunciation of some typically difficult place names. Well done. Slightly off on Kogarah, but otherwise impressively spot on!

[@xpynuker]

Koehgarah

[@robman2095]

@@xpynuker yes, for those wondering it is pronounced COG-ra

[@recursion.]

@@robman2095 naah its coog rayyy

[@josedasilva4433]

@@recursion. nah mate

[@luciusverus7697]

I think often our friends in North America and Europe often forget that, although our over all population is quite modest, our two major cities Melbourne and Sydney are both around the 5m mark and our infrastructure is commensurate.

[@inbox_au]

In Nth America, only NY would be bigger in population size. In Europe, only Istanbul, Moscow & London would be bigger.

[@peepeetrain8755]

@@inbox_au ehh technically yes but realistically no. N. America and Europe have different cities together, where the proper city is not the entire metro area, some suburbs are independent towns and not counted with the total city population. There are many city metro areas with 5 mill+ in Europe and N America, just it is all not just one city.

[@Corvusnoire]

As a Sydney resident this was a really interesting video. I've found the best way to deal with the train system is to use one of the many transport apps available. Most of the trains have real time tracking so with the many cross overs on the different lines you can often work out a quicker route than just taking the next train to your destination.

[@MIZZCTM89]

I visited Sydney in 2019 and was very impressed by the trains coming from Massachusetts in the US. The trains are so spacious I never had to sit next to someone while on the train. And the quiet cars at the ends are great. I stayed at an Airbnb in Epping, so I rode the T9 daily to Central.

[@michaelrmurphy2734]

A train ALL the way from Boston to Sydney, NSW?!! WOW!!! "Trains coming from Massachusetts in the US"!

[@kc3302]

Just a slight correction - T9 (or any suburban line) trains don't have quiet carriages. You would have ridden the Intercity Newcastle and Central Coast Line which stops at Epping, Strathfield and Central.

[@gerjaison]

I guessed you didn't catch the train in peak hours.

[@Phil124]

That's so cool to hear an international perspective, I live in Beecroft, the suburb right near Epping. I wonder how your experience compares to a local.

[@shaunmckenzie5509]

Yes, Australian systems are light years ahead of the US. NY might be a huge system, but it's so run down and tried. And you can say that about most other US cities. Systems in Australia are much more better maintained, funded, cleaner and safer.

[@TransportVlog]

Brilliant Video Reece! - A wonderful introduction to Sydney's Rail System!

[@RMTransit]

Thanks for all the great content you make showing how the city and network is changing! It’s amazing stuff!

[@SydneyCityTransportVlogs]

You know you've made it when your footage and images end up in RM Transit video! How good!

[@michaelrmurphy2734]

HAHAHA!!! Resse is the transport man in TO! Where my sister lives.

[@RMTransit]

Thank you so much!

[@biosparkles9442]

Sadly, despite this rail network, it is still quite necessary to own a car and drive if you live anywhere outside of the city or immediately surrounding suburbs in Sydney, especially if you want to go anywhere that isn't the city. If you live in the north, travelling east to west or vice versa on public transport is so inconvenient that it's nearly impossible. For example, I live in the north (not the northern beaches, just the north) and wanted to go to Taronga Zoo, if I were to drive it would take me about 20 - 25 minutes to travel east from where I am to the zoo. However, on public transit, it is a 1.5hr+ journey that takes me into the city, across the harbour, to catch a ferry from Circular Quay back across the harbour to the zoo. There isn't even 1 bus I could take to do most of the journey, I would have to take 3 different buses as many of the bus routes in the area function on the assumption that you want to go to the city. Sydney also has notoriously terrible traffic, so the buses are often extremely unreliable and slow. Imo, a public transit system is not functioning correctly (or impressive) if it is that much slower, and less convenient, than driving. I've never actually checked what the average speed of the network is, but I've heard a lot of people complain that the trains themselves travel really slowly, so that could be part of the issue too. Sydney also has really terrible (aka nearly non-existent) cycling and pedestrian infrastructure outside of the eastern suburbs and parts of the inner west, so if you don't live in those areas then you need to drive to get to transit in the first place. This is, in part, because the state government (which has far more control over roads than makes any logical sense) is quite conservative & takes large amounts of money from the car lobby. Drivers are super hostile to cyclists and pedestrians as well, Sydney was even dubbed the "city that hates cyclists" in 2010. It's really disappointing because it's clear just how amazing this system *could* be if it weren't for the car-centric infrastructure surrounding it. Even Chatswood (which is celebrated for being transit focused) has bizarrely hostile infrastructure for pedestrians as soon as you leave the immediate area around the train station & shopping centre. Tourist locations are typically extremely well serviced (and mostly on the south side of the harbour), so unless you live here for a decent amount of time and have to travel to less central locations (see: anywhere in the north), you won't experience the breakdowns of the system and won't realise just how much it isn't functioning as it should.

[@Rabbitthateats]

that's the point - the areas with no transit connections or hubs are wealthy suburbs that don't want other people coming into them easily. New York had the same when it was built

[@biosparkles9442]

@@Rabbitthateats I don't live in a wealthy suburb, the north west is pretty middle class

[@mightyknight]

Also note that our public transport is increasingly expensive. The Sydney Metro system is completely privately owned.

[@GL-nu7rx]

Great points, we also have the same exact issues in Auckland, NZ, maybe to a lesser extent RE our smaller population size.

[@JayJayGamerOfficial]

The problem with the cyclists is not always the drivers, it's the cyclists that think taking up 1 whole lane and causing traffic just because they want to go for a joyride that makes it so bad. A law here is that if a car comes within 0.5m of a bike, they can get a fine if caught. Cyclists take advantage of this and ride into cars and force them to go off the road where they belong

[@t.bfisher5855]

Man I seriously got to give you props I live in Sydney and you have made a VERY ACCURATE video from saying names correctly to beening accurate about usages of each line with all the little nuggets of information from a network that is over 170 years old Seriously thanks man this video has completely made my day there ain't many videos about Sydney trains so seeing this is really great to see 👍 thank man P.S I noticed how u didn't mention the Southern highlands line nice touch considering they are the last endeavour two car units to be used on the system 🤔

[@MrToryhere]

He only got Kogarah wrong, which is quite brilliant for someone who doesn’t live in Sydney.

[@sarahferraro4641]

@@MrToryhere And Penshurst, he missed the s

[@MrToryhere]

@@sarahferraro4641 only two small errors when talking about a foreign city’s place names is quite brilliant.

[@kyletopfer7818]

Once the Bankstown line is removed from the Sydenham-Redfern corridor into the city underground and moved onto the Metro, they are planning to swap the express tracks on the Illawarra line so that express trains from Sutherland run on the western track pair and under the Western lines into Sydney Terminal. What this means is that there is also more capacity to run more express trains from beyond Campbelltown on the South Line into Central including in the peak, and since we are also getting new trains that can run both on overhead but also have diesel engines, we may see more Southern Highlands express trains running all the way from Goulburn and Moss Vale or even to extend the wires further onto the South line corridor (the original plan in the 1930s was to electrify all the way to Goulburn but given how windy the corridor is I would prefer they did it properly and built a faster alignment bypassing the steam-era curves than electrify it as this would be more useful to more trains).

[@videowilliams]

The Southern Highlands line is my lifeline from Goulburn (the last country town on the network out this way) all the way into Central and back whenever I go there, so I'm glad you mentioned it! It's apparently the least used of those intercity lines but quite the bargain considering it's nearly 3 hour journey time and the 200km+ distance that it covers.

[@backtothegrid3531]

It's interesting to see an international perspective on our rail network. To me these are just stations, lines and trains i wouldn't think twice about. Seeing these videos and hearing you talk about these things I use everyday but from a different perspective really makes me see it differently.

[@jakegargiulo5101]

Yeah I know right

[@justinsimmonds5674]

This is an awesome video. As someone who uses this network regularly, I think this video describes Sydney’s rail transport in a simple and informative way for those who don’t know it very much. I could point out a bunch of little caveats regarding the existing network not covered on here but it would make my comment WAY too long. Good job to you RMTransit!

[@RMTransit]

Thanks for watching! They’d make the video too long too😂

[@justinsimmonds5674]

@@RMTransit If I was to point out the caveats, the video would probably be over an hour long lol. Although trains aren’t something I would call myself an enthusiast over, If I had to pick a favourite suburban electric double decker vehicle, I think I would say the Tangara (T set) although I don’t get to catch them very often as they don’t usually operate on my line. I know this won’t count as a suburban train but I like the NSW TrainLink Intercity network Endeavour Railcar (single deck 2-car diesel rolling stock. I catch these often as I live near one of the points where electrification ends) and also the NSW TrainLink Regional Xplorer railcar for trips to outside of Greater Sydney.

[@naturallyherb]

I feel like if you want to compare Sydney to any North American city, I feel it resembles Boston the most, given both have a complex harbour and coast line, and a lack of a citywide street grid, along with a legacy rail network. While Melbourne is the Australian city that resembles Toronto the most given both have a citywide grid with lots of streetcars/trams which also makes their streets look a lot alike.

[@DJ_BROBOT]

No, I would say the Bay Area before Boston

[@crowmob-yo6ry]

@DJ_Brobot Agreed. I think Sydney's transit is most similar to the San Francisco area, and Melbourne most similar to Philadelphia.

[@tdb7992]

I’ve not been to Toronto, but a few friends told me it reminds them a lot of Melbourne with its Victorian architecture. I have been to Chicago and it really reminded me of Melbourne with its rail loop and grid pattern.

[@XtotheK]

Although I haven't ever personally been to America, if you look at a map, Sydney's geography is indeed strikingly similar to Boston. And indeed, being the two nations oldest cities, they (as I have been lead to understand) both have a lot of legacy (outdated) infrastructure that makes planning and building anything new for the city both difficult and costly.

[@barrieshepherd7694]

Worth mentioning that the passenger reluctance to inter-change trains means that, apart from the T4 route, most trains have to go through the City Circle two track sausage machine. This means that any disruption or delay impacts on virtually all routes.

[@Finnchie_Di]

Man those older Blue Mountains trains are too good to remove, so comfy, so quiet, feels great to travel on everytime

[@japanesetrainandtravel6168]

Love this coverage on Sydney and to be honest, I have had an affinity for their double decker emus - one of the few types of double decker trains in the world that have level boarding - that and their yellow/warm grey livery and slanted cab look cool

[@RMTransit]

Yep, just an all time classic! I love them too!

[@neolithictransitrevolution427]

Do most EMUs not have level boarding? I also like the bilevels.

[@japanesetrainandtravel6168]

@@neolithictransitrevolution427 whoops, meant to say double decker trains.

[@cam4007]

I live in Redfern, and cheered out loud when you referenced it. So awesome watching you talk about my home city’s rail system.

[@completingsydney]

This was great. One down side about the way the network is set up in Sydney is that for getting from just about anywhere to the CBD, it works well, but getting from anywhere to anywhere else that isn't the city isn't much of a thing, unless it happens to be on the same train line. Frustrating omissions like the lack of botthering to connect Schofields to Tallawong and the abandoning of a once-planned rail link from Parramatta to Epping has shown that the Sydney transport planners don't seem to be a problem. As a heavy user of transport, I chose to get around this problem by living by Central station, meaning that the network has direct trains home.

[@RMTransit]

Yes, but it’s still much better than it could be!

[@tonyhworks]

One purpose of the metro is to overcome that by changing the overall Sydney train network to a grid, The metro lines you see are just the start. You need to look at the overall plan.

[@HenryMidfields]

Hahahaha lol I also live right next to Central!

[@AndoCommando1000]

Yep, unless you're travelling super-locally on the same train line, or magically happen to live near lots of buses or the light rail by pure chance, getting anywhere laterally within Sydney is super inconvenient. Almost everything goes to, from or through the central business district. We haven't got the efficient European "spiderweb of trains and trams everywhere" layouts that we really need. We're a bit like a 'halfway house' between Europe and American cities. Our cities are big and low density with lots of "hubs' like American cities, but although we are quite car centric, we aren't nearly as public-transport-phobic as America and actually quite like the idea of rail systems and always try. But because our aforementioned America-lite cities are spread out, we half-arse our train and tram coverage because we can never built enough. Only now are we really putting in an effort to reverse years of 'why bother?' when it comes to trains, trams and metros.

[@user-kc1tf7zm3b]

@@AndoCommando1000 Sydney is just not Tokyo, no matter which way you cut it.

[@timeimp]

I’ve never clicked on a notice so fast. What a great video! Thanks for being so fair to my home city!

[@RMTransit]

Thanks for watching 😂

[@MicBain]

I'm from Sydney originally, in the northern part of the city (near Chatswood). My father worked for SRA (the government train department) so I love the trains and I remember the debut of the Tangara. Man I miss it so bad.

[@neolithictransitrevolution427]

I really do enjoy the number of connections the line provides, opposed to the spoke and hub approach in Toronto. Also the areas that share track outside the downtown; suburban areas generally have lower service, so using that free track to add additional services to other tracks is awsome. I've never understood why some systems keep a single line name for lines that branch at both ends. It would be so much easier to refer to these as seperate services. And shuttle services I prefer to be named "Line 3A" if its the first shuttle on line 3, for example.

[@RMTransit]

I agree, using the infrastructure well and providing good service should be standard! And non radial networks too!

[@neolithictransitrevolution427]

@@RMTransit Thanks for the great coverage, look forward to seeing you on Nebula.

[@frogdoctor9148]

Sadly, despite the number of connections, Sydney Trains is still very much a hub and spoke system and many people find themselves commuting via the city circle daily even if they live far from the city and close to their destination. One of the main issues about the Sydney train network is travelling between lines in the suburbs without having to wait 30 minutes for a bus or get a 30 minute train to central just to get another one back out in a similar direction. It's still a great system and there is definitely work being done to connect the lines and avoid this issue (for example the existing Sydney Metro line)

[@sydnorth5868]

The interconnectivity of the Sydney Trains network is largely brought about by Sydney's unique geography. The harbour and Parramatta River form a major barrier between the Northern and Southern suburbs. Add that the CBD is relatively close to the coast compared to the majority of the suburbs. Of the 170 stations on the network, only eight of them are east of "Central", five of those eight being less than a quarter of a mile so. The two massive gaps in the network are to the Eastern Beaches area (Bondi et al) and the Northern Beaches (everywhere from Manly to Palm Beach and as far inland as French's Forest). The latter area is also only served by three roads, despite being home to 300,000+ population!

[@sydnorth5868]

@@frogdoctor9148 A line from Miranda to Castle Hill connecting at Hurstville, Bankstown and Parramatta would go a long way to resolving the perception of it being a hub and spoke system.

[@cammym693]

Went for a 2 day trip to Sydney earlier this year. Was super impressed with the transit and how easy it is to get from the city to the airport etc

[@lachd2261]

Nice video, thanks for covering my home town! Australia's suburban trains in all of our cities are generally really good, and I think North America could learn a lot from us given our urban geography is much more similar to you than Europe is

[@thisfudgingdork]

Nice video! Always fun to see my city get some rep. Though something I think is cool that you missed is that the T8 line is technically 2 different train lines. The 'Revesby All Stops' line and the 'Campbelltown Express/Macarthur Line'. They even run on seperate tracks for large parts of the line (from Wolli Creek to Revesby). The Revesby line stops at Revesby, whist the Campbelltown express Follows the Revesby line but skips all the stops between Wolli Creek and Revesby (Where it connects to the Revesby Line) and then goes through to Holsworthy, Glenfield, and eventually Campbelltown and Macarthur where it connects with intercity southern highlands trains. This means the express goes much faster than it would otherwise, but also means that if you don't get a seat you're gonna be standing for much longer, and you have to wait longer for your train then otherwise since they share platforms at central

[@michaelcobbin]

TfNSW/Sydney Trains should use different numbers for the two lines; it makes it easier for the commuter to understand which one they should catch.

[@Floods-uy6tl]

As a Sydney-Sider this was an excellent production From the trains to the geography and planning challenges Really well done mate

[@tonyhworks]

Parramatta and North Sydney metro stations are located in the centre of those cities, overcoming an historical deficiency of the old suburban stations which are on the edge of the CBDs. There are good pedestrian links between both stations in both CBDs. The top speed of the first metro line is appropriate for the station spacing. The metro has very high average speeds which is far more important to journey time in a metropolitan area than maximum speed.

[@tomtom-jx3vy]

And to add - it's pointless and would be too expensive/troublesome to create 'cross platform' transfers for the City and Southwest Metro at Hunter Street. Town Hall is literally a box under buildings that cannot really be modified (hence, why it's continued to get more and more overcrowded). The whole point is to serve new catchments and direct people away from existing city circle stations. Most of those specifically wanting those stations could utilise existing T1 trains anyways as Metro West isn't designed to take the full 100 percent of Western line passengers, but to offer a faster journeys to most places in the CBD near Hunter St and Pyrmont, even with transfer penalty at Westmead (which should be minimal!) On your second excellent point - I'd advise people to not see the Metro as a 'metro' with 1km spacing to serve local areas - see it as the new Crossrail and Sydney Trains as the old tube lines that tries to serve both local areas and further afield and fails at both. An all stop Sydney Metro from the Northwest runs a faster average speed with more stops than an express from Parramatta. Yes, more work can be done to improve all of this, but you have entrenched union views around how the trains should be run, and 'gunzels' who love the double deckers so much they oppose line rationalisation and replacement with more suitable single deck, 3/4 doors per carriage trains. For god's sake, one of the reasons they opposed the new intercity trains was that they didnt like that the guard couldn't open their door while the train was moving.

[@bartondsmith]

I don’t know how KZbin knew I wanted this, but after randomly spending an hour on Apple Maps the other day studying Sydney’s train lines, I loved absorbing all these extra details. Thanks!

[@annat8599]

I’m so excited you did a Sydney video!! Ive use the network nearly every day for my entire life. Some things that I don’t like about the network as a regular commuter: - If you don’t live near a major station (e.g. Strathfield, Parramatta, Blacktown) you often just end up driving to one of these stations and neglecting your local station because the services are faster and more frequent - getting from one suburb to another suburb is an absolute pain! You usually have to get in closer to the CBD then back out again rather than a more direct route. - there are some parts of city that are just completely neglected and are about 30-40 bus ride from the closest station - stopping at all stations takes so long. I wish there were more frequent express services and then commuters could use the all station services to get to the express services Some things I love about the network: - you can almost always get anywhere in the greater sydney area with trains (and then supplement it with busses) - the stations are located in the middle of busy areas like shopping centres (not in the middle of kilometres of parking) - it usually always feels safe at all times of day - travelling between carriages is easy - services around the CBD are frequent

[@sarahferraro4641]

"getting from one suburb to another suburb is an absolute pain! You usually have to get in closer to the CBD then back out again rather than a more direct route" I feel this. Getting from sutherland to revesby should be a quick little 15 minute jaunt across a light rail or metro or something, but instead you either have to queue at peak hour through poorly designed roads in a car, or trek 2 hours via central.

[@phuocluong7974]

@@sarahferraro4641 there is a system called Metro Buses that linked most lines vertically. For your specific issue, the M92 connects Sutherland with Parramatta via Padstow and Bankstown.

[@sarahferraro4641]

@@phuocluong7974 If you've ever caught the m92 it takes forever. The whole point of using public transport is to avoid having to drive but the bus is so slow you might as well walk

[@franciszhang3210]

@@sarahferraro4641 same here!! Wish there was a direct way north and south suburbs betweenTallawong and Sutherland. Would save me taking the M7

[@MrKlonam]

Love the shout out for Paul from Transport Vlogs, genuinely amazing channel! Taitset has also been great for explainers on the Melbourne loop and the mess of tracks at Central.

[@isobellesutherland9782]

One thing to remember with Sydney CBD trains is that there are a LOT of tunnels to and from the stations that also connect to underground shopping centres like The Galeries. E.G you can get from Town Hall like a block from Pitt Street Mall through the Town Hall tunnels, the QVB tunnels and The Galleries tunnels. This is to say that they would probably put a tunnel from the Hunter St station to other surrounding Metro and train stations.

[@exploringsydneysrailways]

Great video! I don't want to sound too critical, but I don't think looking at the network line-by-line is the best way to do it. The modern line numbers were only introduced in 2013 (before then the lines were named), and are kind of meaningless in some way because trains often switch which line they're on mid-service (in such a way that passengers don't notice). A more helpful way to understand the network is the 3 sectors it operates with, which run mostly independently. The T1 and T9 lines make up one sector, as they share a lot of track and trains often switch between them (for example, the T9 officially goes to Gordon but what actually happens is that its trains become T1 trains and go further to Hornsby or Berowra). The T2, T3, and T8 lines make up another sector, as they all use the City Circle and usually switch which route they're on while on that loop, and have a lot of branches outside the CBD to form all kinds of service patterns, not all of which are expressed on the map. The T4 is its own sector since it doesn't interact with the other lines much. The T5 crosses between less-used parts of the first 2 sectors, while the T7 is mostly a shuttle except in the unusual cases that it goes much further.

[@neolithictransitrevolution427]

Great stuff.

[@AlphaGeekgirl]

Totally agree! I was about to explain it, but you beat me to it (and I am glad you did - you did a good job!) I think the line numbers only help international tourists. The average commuter would not have a clue about the numbers.

[@JayJayGamerOfficial]

The only time the train will switch mid route is after it leaves central and goes in to the city circle

[@WilliamChan]

This video singlehandedly made me want to go to Sydney

[@RMTransit]

I’m touched!

[@apxdrv]

Great video mate, always happy to see your coverage of systems here in Australia. Kind of related to the point you made towards the end of the video, and a point I've heard you make in other videos of yours regarding Sydney Metro acting as a Sydney Trains 2.0, the North West section of the Metro had been floating around for several decades (since at least the 90s, possibly earlier) as an addition to the existing heavy rail network. I have an old UBD street directory from 2003 lying around at home that shows the route as as a proposed line actually, with all the same stops in more or less the same locations, but some with different names and terminating at Rouse Hill instead of Tallawong. To that end, when the ECRL (Epping to Chatswood Rail Link) was constructed, stub tunnels were built slightly past Epping to allow the construction of this line and/or an alternative that would've instead turned south from Epping to connect to the former Carlingford Line at Carlingford, reused and duplicated it to Camelia, and continued on to Parramatta, without shutting down the already built ECRL, though in 2013 the state government switched the mode of the line to Metro and began construction, so the line had to be shut down anyways for 9 months to convert it. Also a minor nitpick, at around 3:00 the point you placed to show the second airport's location is slightly wrong, it is actually a little further to the north and west. You can see the rough shape of the airport running SW-NE where the purple road (A9 Northern Road) makes a weird bend towards the west. Keep up the great work!

[@RMTransit]

Thanks for watching and the insightful comment!!

[@monketok141]

I'm really intrigued by the 2003 map you have. Any chance you could upload a pic of it somewhere and link it here?

[@AntTonyLOLKID]

I think the Metro being Sydney Trains v.2.0 is even more so with the current strikes happening, with the government being more and more inclinded to open more (driverless) Metro lines to get rid of the current trains staff.

[@AShadowinthedark]

There is so much going on with sydney's rail network its hard to fit it into one video. The interconnectivity of the intercity trains is a big point and means you dont have to travel into the CBD to catch an intercity train. Strathfield is worth a mention as it is a really important hub as it marks the start of the express corridor, has intercity trains stopping at it and is one of the few places to change lines that isnt central.

[@Coastal603]

Excellent video, thanks for sharing your thoughts about My hometown’s rail network. It’s nice to see a different perspective of Sydney’s network. Keep up the good educational content as always 👍 :)

[@RMTransit]

Thanks for watching!

[@shaunmckenzie5509]

When I first started watching your channel, I was worried you would quickly run out of content. But so much work is going on on so many systems that you could do multiple videos on each city and still not have covered everything. It's practically endless.

[@RMTransit]

It really is, and that’s why it’s important, it’s hard to keep track of everything!

[@tld8102]

this video seem to have a significant level of more detail than others

[@Rheilffordd]

Watching this video now, and yet again a very valued international perspective on an Australian railway network!

[@RMTransit]

Thanks for watching! ❤

[@nmuzza1]

Great video! It was always exciting travelling from Wollongong on the Illawarra line to Central for a day out in Sydney. Can’t wait to get back there to experience the metro too! 👍

[@henreereeman8529]

Brilliant video!!! Since you’re doing videos about regional/suburban rail now, would you consider doing an explainer on London’s regional rail network?

[@RMTransit]

Oh absolutely it’s in the list!

[@RS-pb2se]

That’s a future video I’m looking forward to the most. As he mentions TFL a lot but never Southeastern and South West Trains etc.

[@tigerking8413]

Hi Reece, I've lived in Sydney for over 25 years and frequently use Sydney Trains. I just want to thank you for showcasing my city despite my complete disagreement with the quality of Sydney Trains aka Transport for NSW. There are major operational issues such as political, social, technological and legal which affect us in major ways. Without going into it, there's been material disagreements between the unions and state government which have resulted in the doubling of transport times during peak hours. I personally side with the transport union and think the state government is doing a very inefficient job but that's not an argument for this video.

[@sleepyfox7671]

I love Sydney's rail network. They have frequent trains with a simple "tap on, tap off" system for payment which can be done with your debit/credit card, so no need for paper tickets or a metro card. The ride is quiet, smooth and quite comfortable as well.

[@stevenalexander403]

G'day its Steven from Down Under I work for Sydney Trains and I must say you've done a great job reporting the facts in detailed information, the people at Sydney Trains are a professional and dedicated team overall and we deal with many challenges on a daily basis which comes with the territory. Certainly better decisions could've been made in some areas and it would be great to see a Metro Trains line added from the new upcoming airport heading east through Liverpool ( Sydney's third CBD ) towards Sydney City, fingers crossed that eventuates in the future, we're a fast growing city and it's always a challenge to keep up. Good intentions and good planning will prevail. All are welcome to visit our beautiful harbour city of Sydney, the gateway to Australia.

[@jamesfrench7299]

A gateway only to some. It's a different country outside Sydney.

[@AsherWolfson]

On the inter-station gaps that "shouldn't have existed in the first place," you might want to do a video on the fiasco that was the Epping-Chatswood rail link since it was originally supposed to go through to Parramatta including partly using the Carlingford-Clyde line... and having an extra station at UTS Ku-Rin-Gai (now Lindfield Learning Village) which never happened. Basically, the whole project took twice as long as it should have, exceeded twice it's original budget and ended up going half the distance... AND couldn't handle the trains it was designed for due to the climb to Chatswood being too steep.

[@iwenttobunnings7868]

I remember for roughly two years from 2009-2011, the line was exclusively served by K sets and H sets. I also remember there was a photo that circulated of a K set door window completely popped out while in the tunnel.

[@sleeper_TV]

Great video! The new metro from Bankstown would really help by starting at Liverpool. Luverpool is the 3rd largest CBD and it still takes over 1hour to Central, due to multiple of stops, with no genuine express service. The Leppington to Parramatta line is still only 4 cars, despite increased usage, again no genuine express service either.

[@fuzzyhair321]

the rail network of Sydney is something im very grateful for and after traveling missed it so much. how you can go from one area of Sydney to another section is huge. Westmead is a big station as it connects to one of the biggest hospitals of Sydney. its how i get to work everyday from redfern. all stations go to westmead

[@PhilipSalen]

Sydney looks like such an amazingly 🤩 beautiful city with an extensive and clean mass transit system. Fantastic video thanks for posting.

[@robertryan7204]

Too bad the City is pretty sad place to live in these days

[@robertryan7204]

@lwf51 There are other cities and regional places where people are migrating too from Sydney. Sydney has a considerable number of people moving from the City to other places in Australia

[@user-kc1tf7zm3b]

@@robertryan7204 Only due to higher property prices. In the 2000s and earlier, moving to the regions was not a proposition most Sydneysiders would dare consider. _Nothing_ compares to Sydney.

[@robertryan7204]

@@user-kc1tf7zm3b They are moving out in droves now

[@user-kc1tf7zm3b]

@@robertryan7204 Only due to circumstances, not by real desire and choice. For the most part.

[@Gryphonau]

Great video :) and as a Sydney person (who also works for the railway), thank you for placing well deserved scepticism on the Sydney metro network. I’ve always seen it as the govt trying to privatise the existing rail network in a stealthy way. And also the NIF sets are very flashy, but are plagued with issues even before they have started revenue services. They were too wide for large portions of track, a 10 car set barely matching seating capacity of the current 8 car H set fleets, seats are not reversible, doors can only be opened remotely if there is a balise on the platform to match it (and not all stations will have them)….. it’s a bit of an expensive disaster so far and the government would have saved money by producing the train locally in Australia and meeting the standards of the current tracks…. But some of this is my own opinion too :) love your work Reece!

[@flygonbreloom]

As a Melbournian, please don't let the network get Jeffed. It's going to be so hard to fix what's already been done.

[@roxxybabee]

Just curious, are these issues with the NIF set some of the reasons for the extensive ongoing industrial action? If so, it makes a whole lot more sense to me now that I've actually heard it explained, it sounds like some fairly serious mismanagement of the rail network, and some genuine safety concerns. For some reason, I had never really heard of understood the reason for the strikes, and kind of (admittedly ignorantly on my part) assumed the "safety concerns for foreign built trains" was a slightly weird, almost racist "stealing our jobs" kind of thing, but it seems I was way off the mark.

[@RMTransit]

Thanks for watching, I feel like bugs for new trains aren’t THAT uncommon (I do know about the loading gauge issues tho) at least they’re pretty! It’s important for winning riders!

[@flygonbreloom]

@@RMTransit It's a shame KZbin has made DMs impossible. There's a multiple-years long shitstorm going on behind the scenes that's really difficult to fully flesh out. The workers involved are fairly open for what the other safety issues are, and their concerns about the design of the trains as an openly transparent measures to try and knock off the role of the Train Guard - much like what happened to Melbourne (hence the Jeffed comment - this stuff in Australia has a long history). Nevermind the genuine design problems with the train's outdoor cameras... But, there's only so much one can really confidently say in a KZbin comment. You might find more helpful statements from actual workers about both the history (including Melbourne's) and current situation on the Sydney subreddit. Sorry for the long-winded going nowhere comment. It's just... an exhausting situation to feel and witness. Also, yes, this is extremely politically driven. That's all I'll say on that.

[@Gryphonau]

@@roxxybabee appreciate the message :) yeah you’re right. I am in favour of what the union is fighting for but it’s really gotten long in the tooth now and I wish it would get resolved. My area deals with changes to the standard timetable issued by the state govt and all these last minute strike actions greatly impacts my area - severely! Yeah the main issue that is being pushed by the union about the NIF is that it is designed for driver only operation and the unsafe part related to that, is that on the intercity network where some locations are hard to get to or remote (eg wondabyne, or even taking the waterfall disaster into account), the lack of an active train guard would cause issues if the train were to have any problems in the middle of a trip. There’s definitely not an issue with where the sets were built, given the suburban Waratah (A and B sets) were not built locally. Rather the research and development of these sets was not done properly, thus these issues were created in the process. I hope that all makes sense!! :) thanks again!

[@roballen3281]

as an ex guard on Sydney trains, and an avid fan of RM Transit, i am astonished I miss this from 2 months ago, I have now caught up, I digress, so wonderful your openings 30 Seconds, yes Sydney is large and Yes it's similar but more humanly relaxed than the Swiss SSB! which I recently road for 4 days straight... I digress wonderful scenery yes but opening scene with Tangara Class on the Illawara line to probably Cronulla or Waterfall it was just fabulous that you finally pulled into my home station Redfern, Sydney. So satisfying for you to cover this.

[@pb7199]

this was a cool video! i live in sydney's eastern suburbs so i get around mostly by bus and light rail so i dont catch trains often and it was interesting to hear it explained! i've travelled in cities like Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo and really liked their train systems but there's nothing quite like sydney's double decker trains and flippy seats

[@markleon411]

Thank you for this. It's nice to get a more overall view rather than the little updates to each project. I have to agree with your criticisms about the lack of integration. I was dumbfounded when they first announced the Sydney Metro would be an entirely new system separate from the existing network. It makes no sense that a Metro line wouldn't link with the network such as Metro West Hunter Street Station when there is already going to be a station at Martin Place for the north-south line which is only a few blocks away or the Parramatta Metro Station not even near the existing heavy rail station. I'm impressed that you got most of the pronunciations correct. The only exceptions being Kogarah and Penshurst.

[@timor64]

The initial airport plan was to extend the rail from Leppington. This would have enabled a direct train journey between the two airports. The NSW government is ideologically committed to metro because there are no guards or drivers, with whom they get involved in interminable industrial disputes.

[@pwhnckexstflajizdryvombqug9042]

The good thing is they can still extend the line from leppington in the future and are probably quite likely to

[@GarethWalton2]

I live in Sydney and have used the trains countless times over the many years. I can say you did a great job with this video 🤙🏻 well done mate.

[@marcelinecosmos9030]

One of the perks of the intercity trains is that they often serve as “super express” trains within the city, coming fairly infrequently but giving you much faster service if you can get to one of the bigger stations they serve.

[@pcwarehouse8606]

We always call it "Shittyrail" as a spin on the old name CityRail, so it's a pleasant surprise to find out that it's actually considered a pretty good system.

[@Maunico0809]

One day I hope to visit Sydney.

[@user-kc1tf7zm3b]

You can. The Australian borders have been fully open, with no restrictions, since July 2022. 🦘🇦🇺

[@nenadcubric2663]

@@user-kc1tf7zm3b and just like that, Corona has gone, thanks Putin😂

[@user-kc1tf7zm3b]

@@nenadcubric2663 With the reported tragic Covid death toll being 397,000 for Russia, which is a massive underestimate, what the hell do Russians ought to be grateful to Putin for? 🤔

[@AdiSenthil]

Watching this as you are on a train going to town hits different

[@eggygenc6621]

All Australian cities are like 20 Years behind in Metro and public transportation

[@wkapri]

shoutout from cheltenham @ 12:45

[@DMack6464]

Used to live at pennant hills long ago myself

[@RMTransit]

Indeed!

[@powdermonkey7697]

Ahh the old V and K sets. Lots of memories of holiday day trips to Sydney and long rides home after TAFE, sitting on the floor by the door because there wasn't any seating (and I was too tired to stand for a hour) until the last of the Sydneysiders got off. Trains really are cool.

[@kuyans3889]

I can't believe that in their multiple renovations in their long life span, the awful coconut husk doormats were never swapped out. They are absolutely foul. When you're on a V set on the T1 line out of sydney, it's really just a wait until Blacktown when everyone gets off and the train becomes much, much quieter.

[@ayanjayasekara1546]

Your knowledge of the Sydney train system is impressive. Even though I use it daily, I lack the amount of knowledge that you have shown in the video 😅.

[@Wortho1264]

Hi, as someone who lived in Sydney (but now iust north of Brisbane) up to 1996... I found this most interesting and informative. Thanks and cheers from Australia 🇦🇺.

[@wavecentral]

Great video. Just a comment re the new Hunter St station - there actually will be an interchange - an underground pedestrian walkway will link Wynyard, Hunter St and Martin Place to allow for transfers between all three stations, as they're quite close to each other (about 300m between each station). The idea is to reduce overcrowding at Wynyard.

[@pwhnckexstflajizdryvombqug9042]

They should make it act like one big station complex (like Barbican and Farringdon on the Elisabeth Line in London), so you can cross between them all without exiting gate lines.

[@mark123655]

@@pwhnckexstflajizdryvombqug9042 Reportedly will be able to between Hunter St and Martin Place, but not to Wynyard due to the design of the recently redeveloped Wynyard. Compared to many overseas cities most Sydney stations have a fairly small paid area and the area outside doubles as a place for shops and often pedestrian access allowing them to cross the rail lines either above or below. It's not that difficult to tap out then back in.

[@RS-pb2se]

I loved Sydney Trains when I went there back in 2015. I only used the T1 for two weeks on the stretch from Town Hall to Hornsby, but network was easily navigable. However, I found there was a lack of coverage to Manly and the Northern Beaches. Ferries link Manly, but the rest of the area is highly reliant on buses and cars

[@archontiverius]

Yeah those areas were historically serviced by Sydney's once extensive streetcar network what was ripped up and out by the 60's, hence why there's no rail connection these days. Occasionally talk comes up of light rail or metro to the Northern Beaches or Eastern Suburbs but the area is far more affluent than it was when the streetcars were ripped out 70 years ago so the NIMBY's throw a fit whenever it's floated. Though an extension of the L2 and L3 Light Rail lines through the eastern suburbs seem somewhat more likely in the coming decades.

[@ajegs2082]

The people in the northern beaches will probably kill anyone trying to build a train line up there

[@jarradcust3472]

As a Sydney train driver, I appreciate the T-Set shout out. They are my favourite too!

[@holrobinson]

i love seeing my city in a way different to how i ever would have. really great video! i take the t4-eastern subs line every day and i love it.

[@MrAljosav]

Sydney Trains and NSW Trainlink were previously the same operator (CityRail), so it's no surprise they share similarities. They appear on each other's train maps, and you can interchangeably use both services within the suburban network unlike here in Melbourne, where VLine (the regional train operator) is restricted to regional passengers only, so suburban passengers must use Metro Trains (the suburban rail operator) for lines that are shared between the two.

[@TheProfProfessor]

Getting the intercity train from Blacktown or Parramatta is always great if your schedule lines up

[@JayJayGamerOfficial]

I feel this! I'm surprised to hear about the situation in Melbourne's network but there are multiple lines here where if lined up correctly, can save you 10 or more minutes by catching an intercity train. Whenever there is a train going to central from Wollongong, I tend to catch the from Sutherland as it skips most stops unlike other services

[@fefdi2715]

Great Video, could you cover the Ubahn and Sbahn system in Dortmund, Germany in one of your videos? It used to be a much larger tram system but was transformed into a subway, with tram characteristics left. You can still see some rails in the city centre as a remnant.

[@attilavidacs24]

As a Melbournian who visited Sydney a few months ago I can confirm the public transport system was the best I've seen. I can't say the same for the roads though, they were in very bad condition with pot holes everywhere and just neglected, they don't even compare to Melbourne roads.

[@noobbrainsredyoshi]

the arrival of the metro in chatswood is perfectly timed with the train that leads to town hall

[@KannikCat]

Congrats on being on Nebula! Will go and subscribe to you there right now. :)

[@FishyAltFishy]

I liked riding across the harbour bridge when i visited there. Lol i wish my city can hopefully get its subway project nice like when i rode in sydney. (Pretty please look at manila and its weird proposals?)

[@RMTransit]

I will, eventually!

[@Rintaro88]

impressive video! It's rare that an international channel gets things like pronunciation so right. You can tell there was a lot of effort and attention to detail. In saying that, the pronunciation of Kog in Kogarah should be cog (as in a gear), not coag(?). Funnily enough, wikipedia says this about the name: "Kogarah is derived from an Aboriginal word meaning rushes or place of reeds.[2] It had also been written as 'Coggera', 'Cogerah' and 'Kuggerah' but the current spelling was settled when the railway line came through the area in the 1880s."

[@TravelSignal]

Back when I was living in Sydney (2002) I was living in Glebe and working in Mascot. The airport line still had the surcharge, and I would usually work 2-10pm, so I'd get the bus to work, and on the way back, the station barriers were open, so my regular pass would work without paying the supplement.

[@penskepc2374]

Those seats are absolute genius.

[@robertryan7204]

They are great. Metro does not have them or any middle seating🙄

[@gold4leaf]

@@robertryan7204 and the new NIFS (D sets) don't have them either. Also the V sets which the NIFS are replacing have the most confortable seats of the entire fleet, suburban and interurban

[@robertryan7204]

@@gold4leaf agree. Even the old leather seats on the innercity trains were superb

[@jamesfrench7299]

Vinyl you mean in the sweat sets. The old U set seating in the single decker interurbans were the best ever.

[@gold4leaf]

@@jamesfrench7299 I remember some of the U boats where hard as , but the soft ones... they where good.... and the open windows on a hot day 😃 ... your stretching the old memory here , been commuting from Central Coast to the city since Jan 1980, wow 43 years !!!!!!!

[@hyperspeed1313]

Welcome to Nebula, man!

[@YaBoiJJames]

As someone who uses the T8, change at Central to T1 daily, this video was really well done. Good job mate. Keep it up

[@kierenash6704]

Great video. Impressive knowledge of Sydney's geography and infrastructure! The Airport line still does have an access fee but only for the airport stations - the fee was taken off the non-airport stations on the Airport Line (Green Square and Mascot) in 2011, which led to the explosion in patronage (coupled with intense urban renewal around those stations).

[@GojiMet86]

The Sydney Harbour Bridge was heavily inspired by the Hell Gate bridge in Queens, New York City, only a 10 minute walk from where I live. It is much wider, as it was built with 4 tracks (2 on each side) and the road in between, although they removed one set of tracks decades ago.

[@michaelrmurphy2734]

Both of them arch bridges? I was watching a video about shipping in and out of New York harbor last night. A lot of change given the huge new container ships on the world's oceans. Just massive! Like the Ever Given.

[@aussiebloke51]

The tracks on the eastern side of the bridge were for trams not trains. There was an underground tram depot at Wynyard Station and the tracks went up onto the bridge with trams running to Chatswood and Mosman etc. If you cross the Bridge on the eastern footpath you can still see the tunnel entrance.

[@jamesfrench7299]

The eastern tracks used by the trams were put there with the intention to use them for trains one day to a future northern beaches line that never happened. When the trams were permanently shut down, the tracks were converted into two road lanes as part of the Cahill Expressway project to the south and the Warringah freeway to the north.

[@petitkruger2175]

Recce is on Nebula! 🎉 Also the Tangara or T train set is probably one of my favourite train designs.

[@RMTransit]

Yea I am, and yes it is!!

[@user-kc1tf7zm3b]

While over 30 years old, the Tangaras are fun trains to ride. I have many happy memories with the Tangaras. 🦘🇦🇺

[@lance-biggums]

It's interesting how they use such big heavy trains both as a suburban/commuter rail system and also for getting around within the city.

[@user-kc1tf7zm3b]

The current large double deck trains are remote descendants of the original double decker trains of the 1960s, with the Sydney first train lines dating back to the 1850s. This explains why they look cumbersome compared to modern and sleek single deck metros. But, the new metro trains are running on their own purpose built tracks and stations, with the first phase opening only recently in 2019. The metros are very frequent and driverless. If you look at the 1939 Sydney rail network map on Wikipedia you will recognise how the overall structure was quite similar as to how it exists today, the better part of a 100 years later.

[@amywu2017]

The T9 does a loop from Hornsby up shore to Central and the down on the main Western and Northern lines to go back to Hornsby.

[@samab7891]

Sydney went on one of the most unprecdented infrastructure spree's probably any city has ever seen. In addition to 50 Bn worth of the the metro upgrades and upgrades to the sydney train lines and stock. Around 30-40 Bn was spend on upgrading the highways all around sydney not ivnluding several smaller few hundred million dollar projects to improve traffic flow on road net works. Then you have the new Airport and Lighrail etc.

[@user-kc1tf7zm3b]

Everything started with the Sydney Harbour Tunnel in 1992, and, has not stopped since.

[@jamesfrench7299]

Financed by selling of public assets that are not theirs to sell and can't be sold a second time. Liberals.

[@thomasalbert8665]

It's nice to hear and learn how Sydney Trains work without the lockouts, strikes, cancellations, disruptions, threats and general open-warfare with the Government.

[@michaelcobbin]

Transport for London is having similar issues at the moment as well. In the last year, the London Underground was shut down for a whole day as well. Sydney is unique in this regard.

[@RMTransit]

The network is great and while these types of disputes aren’t great for riders ultimately they aren’t exclusive to Sydney

[@thomasalbert8665]

​@@RMTransit Absolutely, the timing of this video is great for anyone down on Sydney Trains because of what's currently happening. Too much negativity out there so thank you.

[@northislandguy]

Great Video RM!! I wager that many living in Sydney would not know any of this 👍

[@nicekneecaps]

as an aussie train fan more on the younger side of this topic, i do love taking the trains to school everyday (although t set is pretty noisy)

[@chongjunxiang3002]

First time hear your Nebula promotion. Congrats on getting into exclusive contents.

[@commanderzawm6004]

Do Brisbane Next!

[@ads086]

Having been a user of it, it's about the same usefulness as a commuter as those in Brisbane and Melbourne. I will say though, that having the Airport stations as just part of another line, and not as endpoints of a spur, I think makes a big difference - you never get to a platform and find a train sitting there, board it and then have to wait 10 minutes before it leaves. Also the fact that Sydney have managed to get contactless bank card/Apple Pay compatible is a big win from an infrequent traveller perspective!

[@mjcats2011]

You're joking aren't you? Sydney's system is far more useful then Melbourne's.

[@BlackGateofMordor]

@@mjcats2011 They're about as useful as each other. Sydney has better orbital travel (but also has more suburban hubs to get to in the first place) and all lines have 15m or better service, but Melbourne lines tend to have more consistent stopping patterns and a significantly better inner city network with trams. By 2050 they'll be pretty equivalent as they fix their shortcomings.

[@oldskoolmusicnostalgia]

@@mjcats2011 Neither of them are great, in both cases the inhabitants tend to overestimate how great their legacy infrastructure (trains for Sydney, tramways for Melbourne) is. Probably more so in the case of Melbourne, the streetcars are a nightmare.

[@IIGrayfoxII]

I am a south coaster and I remember those V sets we use to have for a long time. We get the hand me downs from the Sydney lines.

[@Fan652w]

Thank you from Roger Sexton for this great video. I can see the analogies to (smaller) Zurich. I like the coordination between local and inter-city services. Presumably local Sydney tickets are valid on inter-city trains. However I strongly disagree with the surcharge to the Sydney airport stations mentioned at 11m 40s. Such surcharges exist in Europe; a bad example is Stockholm Arlanda. This penalizes airport workers and makes the airport useless as an interchange between surface modes. Zurich airport is a key interchange between S-Bahn, IC-trains, buses and trams! Amsterdam Schiphol is a very important bus/IC train/local train interchange. Arlanda OUGHT to be a similar bus/ICrail/local rail interchange, but the surcharge prevents that.

[@RMTransit]

I agree Roger! Thanks for watching!

[@archontiverius]

With the exception of some rural towns bus networks, coach services and the XPT/Explorer trains almost the entire state of NSW's public transit uses the same ticketing system, Opal. Ferries, buses, suburban trains, intercity, trams and metro are all integrated into the same network and benefit from transfer discounts and the daily, weekly and weekend fare caps (16.80, 50.00 and 8.40 AUD respectively for a full fee paying adult. Pensioners, students, children under 16 and the unemployed are charged different fares and subject to different caps)

[@Fan652w]

@@archontiverius Many thanks Archon for such a comprehensive reply. On the question of ticketing NSW is, EXCEPT FOR THE AIRPORTS SURCHARGE, comparable to Switzerland. For this resident of Nottingham England, Switzerland is public transport PARADISE. HELL is everywhere in Britain EXCEPT LONDON. In Britain outside London each operator has its own ticketing system. In Nottingham we do have a joint ticketing system covering the trams and the three main bus operators, but this 'Robin Hood' system is IN ADDITION to the operators' own ticket systems. Very confusing for newcomers to the city. (This week is 'freshers week' at both of Nottingham's Universities!)

[@archontiverius]

@@Fan652w Yeah it's pretty handy that for the most part you can just tap your oyster equivalent and go in most places even between all the operators and organisations. There's a few outliers but if you're within 4 or 5 hours of Sydney it's basically guaranteed that the service is on the Opal network unless you're taking the XPT or an intercity coach.

[@mark123655]

I don't disagree, but at the time the stations wouldn't have been built without the private money (and the line will revert to full government control in 2030). For airport workers there is a weekly cap, which does mean after a daily return, you pretty much won't have any more surcharge for the week (it's still an added expense though). The position of Sydney Airport doesn't really make it useful as an interchange either.

[@locomotiveproductions]

thank you for pronouncing Emu as Emu. A lot of people in North America say Emoo and it drives me nuts

[@RMTransit]

I’ve never heard that and I live hear!

[@locomotiveproductions]

@@RMTransit I live here too. i hear it aaaall the time lmao. in Aussie tho

[@MrJColtrane68]

Great Video. I use the Metro almost daily. A great service. I believe the #1 objective of the Metro West link was 20 min commute from Sydney CBD to Parramatta. Adding extra stops will defeat this plus I heard each of the stations on the NW metro cost $500M to build

[@cvv9545]

I work at Parramatta, that walk from the metro to the existing station is max 3 mins. Unless you have movement issues its not an issue.