Sydney's Quietest Stations Part 2: East Hills, Casula & Leightonfield

[@BuildingBeautifully]

Yeah...I know I need a new hat 😭

[@tingyingyue]

Get a French beret

[@haynick8887]

Whats wrong with wallabies?

[@Khamzat391]

3rd

[@Santi-is-him]

I’m going to Sydney because of you I love you go to Melbourne you can stay at our house if you want

[@converserook7655]

@@haynick8887 it looks dammaged maybe he can get a new wallabies hat

[@tazzer9]

East hills is still a very useful turnback station when there is trackwork either on the airport section, or on the bankstown line

[@brittenmusic6923]

Casula originally served the Australian Army with soldiers stationed at Casula barracks across the Georges River. There used to be a timber bridge connecting.

[@arokh72]

I'm old. I remember when East Hills was the terminating station, and when the line to Glenfield was built. I was in my mid teens at the time, and thought it quite exciting, living in Revesby at the time. I also recall when East Hills was a reasonably busy station, at least when uni was in session, as it was the station where the public bus for UWS Bankstown (now WSU) served the students, before there was a uni bus at Revesby. I caught that bus more than a few times as an adult there in the mid 00s, travelling from Campbelltown.

[@ray2208aus]

Yes before revesby became the turnback the main 922 bus connection for Milperra residential, university and industrial area was to East Hills station which was also served by the Campbelltown express trains.

[@MordorsMalts]

When I was working at ICI Villawood (which changed names to Orica & then Crop Care Australasia), I was a daily commuter to Leightonfield station for almost 15 years - a blast from the past! The site has since been closed & demolished in 2000. I was always surprised if there was someone else on the platform besides me 🙂

[@alexandersmith7777]

you should do this for all the intercity lines. Hell even for fun do it for the trainlink lines

[@rileyeyeyy]

Video for darnick ‘station’ when

[@AuroraDashPteriforever]

My guesses: CCN: Awaba HUN: Wallarobba SCO: Lysaghts SHL: Penrose BMT: Zig Zag North Coast: Eungai North West: Bellata Western: Darnick Southern: Coolamon

[@BuildingBeautifully]

That's not a bad idea! Maybe I will...👀

[@bvq330]

@@AuroraDashPteriforever Rydal would be the BMT's, I think it's the least used station all over NSW TrainLink

[@007i1]

Re: east hills P1, the movement is called a points clean. If a train does not pass over a section of track for more than 48 hours the rail vehicle detection system is no longer certified and there's a whole process to it. By running one service every weekday they can avoid this. Almost every weird location like this has a points clean, we just do them in the early hours of the morning.

[@Voyagerthe2nd]

Finally Mt Colah and Mt Ku-ring-gai stations getting the recognition they deserve

[@mark123655]

Is anything north of Hornsby in Sydney though? And without the private schoolboys (Knox), Warrawee would be way lower (albeit lots of schools bump up all the numbers on the North shore line)

[@BuildingBeautifully]

It's not who I am. I was in a dark place. I'm the real victim.

[@listohan]

@@mark123655 Independent schools are better located than state schools

[@ilovemaths2]

He really needs to visit Mount Ku-ring-gai, Mt Ku-ring-gai has even less around it than Denistone

[@patrickmitchell9068]

As a guy who works across Sydney, these less used stations are life savers

[@BigBlueMan118]

We have to be honest about the tradeoffs though - the Sydney rail network is already much too slow both due to our lumbering double-deck trains and poor operating practices (Melbourne and Perth non-express services are significantly faster), and due to hanging on to stations like these that slow down hundreds of thousands of journeys from major areas for a few hunded passengers.

[@listohan]

@@BigBlueMan118 standby as they fill up with new apartments nearby

[@markcaritas3073]

@@BigBlueMan118What poor operating practices make Sydney trains run services slower compared to Melbourne and Perth?

[@BigBlueMan118]

@@markcaritas3073 Perth and Melbourne have significantly less dwell times at stations; in Perth especially but Melbourne too trains accelerate much faster out of stations; Perth Melbourne Adelaide and Brisbane have passenger operated doors with a button so doors only open where needed (better for aircon too); level boarding is generally better in Perth especially but Melbourne too with less of a gap between platform and train; and finally Perth, Melbourne and Adelaide don't have train guards (a job that hasn't been needed since early last century and most countries got rid of decades ago) so the driver is in control of the whole operation and doesn't need to wait for someone to blow a whistle and flick a switch - or some dude on the platform with a flag out of the 19th century.

[@markcaritas3073]

@@BigBlueMan118I actually think train guards are necessary as living in sydney and using the trains here weekly there’s always someone running towards the doors and holding them open or getting jammed in between as they were about to close or even i had someone sick on my train once and the guard came over and gave first aid. But regarding the people holding flags in other cities, how come there’s none of that? How do drivers know it’s safe to close doors if there’s no one holding a flag?

[@marcospaccavento5567]

When Casula first got its footbridge in 1993, it was actually second hand from another station. The steps even had ads on them from whatever station the bridge was from. I can’t recall where now but it was nowhere near Casula! (The current bridge is a complete replacement of it, not just an extension).

[@matthewroelens1550]

The footbridge came from Guildford.

[@BuildingBeautifully]

Didn't know that. Thanks for letting us know :))

[@andrewwebb17]

I used to hang out at Leightonfield station in the 1980s as a kid. we would explore the drainage system and what remained of the Old army stores and underground bunkers

[@tsetstransport]

There’s something about watching a new video from Sharath on a Friday afternoon, it honestly refreshes you. As a T8 local, I seem to always see or catch the East Hills train to get to places, I’m not sure how lol 😜 Awesome video Sharath!

[@BuildingBeautifully]

Thanks Elliot!

[@247Coby]

2 of those Mt Colah taps in that time period would have been me. I've twice caught the train back from there to Central when I visited a friend who lives in Mt Colah.

[@snowyalice]

As someone who lived in Glenfield (before the major station upgrade), I never saw a single person at the Casula station platform. From the nearby Casula Mall, it's actually easier to get to Liverpool station (particularly by public transport).

[@peterelvery]

I made many trips to and from Casula station in 2017. Climbing up all those stairs was character building. Descending them and waiting for my train alone on the platform after 11:00pm was eerily quiet.

[@jimkourtesis2589]

I propose that Beverly Hills in Hollywood be called Dumbleton. It has a nice ring to it

[@georgestevenson2621]

As a local, Woodbrook road underpass opening up is a gamechanger. Previously, the only road access from the suburb of Casula TO the Casula Parklands was actually via Liverpool CBD and then onto Powerhouse road! Casula residents mostly opt to park at Glenfield, Holsworthy, or at Warwick Farm as they possess big parking towers - just depends where you're headed.

[@methoxy66]

I'd lived in Sydney for decades and had never heard of Leightonfield.. until I joined Australia Post. "Leightonfield" is a huge facility that does induction and training. Google maps shows how you can walk directly from the station to the facility. I got the feeling that the station exists purely for Australia Post.. (which it no doubt doesn't)

[@bernadetteP9999]

Growing up in MacArthur Casula is an absolute joke of a station. In the 90s as a kid if I was headed to the city and took the wrong line Dad always said change at Liverpool, casula is so unsafe, just from a lack of staffing perspective I did end up using it once. Saw Keating The Musical at that Powerhouse place. It felt so bizarre actually using the station....

[@fivesquared7822]

I noticed the East Hills termimating train one day on my commute back from UNSW... Such a fun quirk and a train I really want to take for funsies lol

[@gamermuffinn1600]

can you do a video on your light rail prediction thing like the metro video

[@AlphaGeekgirl]

As someone who has lived there for 60+ years recently said… Casula is NOT pronounced CaZ-yoola. It’s Ca-soola. Several years ago, transport, for New South Wales did a pole on their Facebook page, and the pronunciation was divided between the two. Everybody who lived there, pronounced it, one way, and everybody who didn’t live there (and had never lived there) pronounced it Sharath’s way. The locals at the time were lobbying for TfNSW to change the PA announcement pronunciation.

[@gavreynolds2689]

Casula station I think may have originally been set up to give access to the Holsworthy Army camp. Back in the early 1900's the General of the Camp lived in a property on the hill overlooking the camp to the west of the station and senior officers lived in some houses up the locally known road called "The Windies". There use to be a bridge that crossed the river from the station which the General would drive over to enter the camp. Also the Georges river becomes freshwater at the back of near by Liverpool station where there is a weir to this day. People use to ride the train or drive early motor vehicles to Casula station to picnic and swim in the Georges river (probably when it was illegal to swim in the ocean?) just south of the station at a long sandy beach . Some of the Light Horse Brigade apparently practiced horse charges on the grassy hills just to the North West of the station. South west of the station and on the right of the windy road is now a Nation Park called Leakock Park I think. Another not so fun fact about Casula station is that because it has been un-manned for so long it was known to backpackers who were in Sydney that they could ride the train for free to Casula walk up the stairs leading up the hill and take a 2min walk to The Hume HWY and could hitch hike to Melbourne. Ivan Milat apparently picked up some of his victims from this location?

[@DanielHowarth00]

Good to see my local (casula) getting a shout out. Casula has a redeeming feature in that it has a peaceful national park next to it. Funnily enough you will see station staff appear once a week by train to change the trackwork posters. It's use by local high school students was banned when i attended the neighbouring catholic high school as a student was attacked at the station. I believe to this day its still banned and teachers wait there to hand out punishments to students😂

[@gavreynolds2689]

Do you remember "Old Don" the homeless guy who live in the bushes between the station and river, near where the Army foot bridge use to be before it was washed out by a flood.

[@adaumfitzawitt1869]

6:31 Wirrigulla station, near Dungog has a seat next to the platform!

[@peepeetrain8755]

wirragulla is the most bizarre location haha, atleast small stations serve a village or a couple of houses and Wondabyne has a national park and hiking nearby, Wirragulla is just in a paddock, surrounded by farms, no houses, no shops nothing,.

[@KaathKilo]

Casula is everyone's favourite station

[@ghotifish1838]

i would also like to think yennorra is a pretty quiet station. Everytime i pass it, all isee are just industrial buildings and it really doesn't seem like a place where its convenit for people to board

[@krystleklearcentral]

I believe that East Hills station used to be a crew depot, that may be why it is so large.

[@matthewroelens1550]

It also had a signal box

[@skitzo12]

Just some info for East Hills: I used to attend UWS/WSU Milperra in the early 2010s, a lot of the traffic to the station used to be students going to the campus via bus. The campus is closed now (i think?) and that might have dropped traffic. They were also pushing traffic to reveseby.

[@CityConnectionsMedia]

Yeah to both. I was one of the final students at that campus and the shuttle went via Revesby. All for nought now since the campus is now in Bankstown proper.

[@iris4547]

@@CityConnectionsMedia oh thats disappointing. im a student of another campus but lived in the area. shame to see a leafy campus closed in favour of a glass tower. both have their place, but shame one closed in favour of the other.

[@m31tdown]

Melbourne has something similar to Leightonfield with tram route 82. It was diverted off the main road to service a munitions factory also. The stop is called Waterford Ave and is easily one of the quietest stops on the 82

[@tacitdionysus3220]

I remember when there was some discussion about East Hills (or "Stills" as they called it) on the Railpage Forum several years ago. One poster described it as the "Paris Hilton" of Sydney rail stations, because (like her) it was only ever "famous for being famous". It has nothing remotely notable about it, except being 'once a terminus' and giving its name to the whole line. BTW, I also recall forum posters asking why it had just that one terminating service. One of the more informed contributors (obviously a Rail Authority dude, but in disguise) noted that it was a 'track cleaning' service, apparently to keep that bit of track just bright enough to be operational - pretty much what your source indicated. I spotted something else of note too. It shows that 'Beverly Hills' station was once called 'Dumbleton'. What a wizard name for a locality! - Perhaps there is scope for a clip on stations that have had a change of name.

[@iris4547]

used to live in padstow and passed through east hills many a time. always wanted to jump off one day and take a stroll around, visit the pub, but after 8 years never found the time.

[@lindsaybaker9480]

For a while someone did some creative work on the platform seats where they changed it to Fast Hills.

[@johnhamilton6003]

Casula Parklands is home to Casula Parkrun, without which, patronage at Casula would drop even further without Saturday morning visitors

[@krystleklearcentral]

5:00 - Zac was right, Points and tracks need to be used at least once every 24 hours to remain certified.

[@iris4547]

is this why the siding at waverton station is also used? often see trains parked on platform 3 at north sydney with 7 hours on the clock until it departs, yet you still see trains pulling into the siding at waverton.

[@theaussiebackflipboy]

It's actually every 72 hours - we have a job at Blacktown that is rostered to do a point clean every night but usually only does it every 2nd or 3rd night depending on which signaller is on duty.

[@DeepThought9999]

@@iris4547That Waverton siding allows trains to be sent down to Lavender Bay (alongside Luna Park) for additional train storage off-peak. The line down to Lavender Bay was the original (pre-1932) North Shore Line alignment, running as it did down to the terminus at the original Milsons Point Station. That original Milsons Point station was located where parts of Luna Park and the North Sydney Olympic Pool are located now. Commuters had to disembark from the trains and wait at the wharf to catch a ferry to Circular Quay. No Sydney Harbour Bridge back then. If there is a train in the Waverton siding, no trains can access or leave Lavender Bay.

[@krystleklearcentral]

@@iris4547 They use the siding at Waverton to get the train into the yard at Lavender bay. It's just a place they store the trains during the day.

[@kevinford1856]

What happens when the East Hills mystery train arrives at 13:20? Does it run special back to Revesby, then run an all stops to the city?

[@ironcheater1012]

Casula is normally quiet but gets veryyyyy busy around 3:00pm due to the nearby high school and is probably where the majority of taps come from.

[@diversions5693]

East hills too I'd say, I once did an academics comp there when I was in yr 6 and they smoked us lmao it's a big school

[@sachinchaubal5699]

Best youtuber apology yet

[@paulmcgregor6411]

At Casua did you take note of the old ticket machine on platform 1? When they switched to Opal, they just wacked a metal sheet on the front, as they couldn’t be bothered with removing it.

[@hincksman]

Tillies represent Brah!!! Edit: And just some trivia to add - having grown up there - the next station east is called Panania, which means 'Hills in the East' in the Dharug language (I think). I remember when they built the current station in the mid-80s. It was very modern and the bridge across to Holsworthy took a fair while to build. The irony of East Hills is that to build the bridge and extend the line required the demolition of quite a number of shops and buildings - which reduced its usefulness and made it subservient to Panania, Revesby and Padstow for supermarkets etc. So the fancy new station slowly died as there was a determined effort by the local council and Transport dept. to kill it. AS others have pointed out - they UWS campus was a major attraction for the trainline - as well as the aviation businesses at Bankstown Airport. They are all gone now (WSU still there but doubtful to not be flats in a couple years)

[@joalchin]

WSU (old UWS Macarthur, Milperra) has closed. All have moved to a new Bankstown City campus. Yeah, the redevelopment lots like it's gonna be a housing estate with no public transport at this stage. Yikes.

[@DanielHowarth00]

Fun fact - logos have just redevloped an old toll intermodal warehouse at Leightonfield into a brand new industrial park. So there is hope for passengers yet

[@calebsam05]

I used to live in East Hills when I was in Year 7 in 2018. There were two trains in the morning 15 mins apart that would terminate at East Hills and do a City circle via Airport. Stopping at Panania, Padstow, Riverwood, Wolli and then onwards. This was awesome because I had to get to Padstow to get to school. And the express was a city circle via Sydenham. On the way home I had to catch two trains. I like East Hills.

[@BeyondNegativeOfficial]

Hey Sharath! For what i know im pretty sure that when T8 has trackwork between East Hills and Glenfield there are actually trains that terminate at platform 1 during T8 trackwork weeks!

[@jaysemitchells497]

I really like Casula station! One day I walked from Ingleburn (where I lived), to Liverpool, and took the train back from Casula, I love the museum and the water, so nice

[@haynick8887]

At Casula The Hume Hwy is the A28 😉

[@BuildingBeautifully]

Oh no...I got confused! :((( what a tragedy...

[@killbot86]

I used to live in Cabramatta and caught the train through a Leighton field every morning and evening….This video makes me nostalgic 😢😢😢

[@AB-uf5tj]

6:27 There's this one house near where I live where someone has one of the old Marrickville train station blue benches in their front garden lol, I've always thought that is pretty cool and confusing.

[@douglachman7330]

Love your work and the passion. You will enjoy the history of rail when you investigate FIDDENS WHARF ROAD the where, why and how?

[@aerime]

I once overslept on the train and went to Leightonfield by accident. Bad mistake, because not all the trains stopped there. So, I ended up walking back to Chester Hill.

[@paulmcgregor6411]

Leightonfield use to have an electrified passing loop (before the freight line) which they would run a service through once a night. It caught out a few people who through it was an all stops service!

[@bismuththebi]

3:30 Holsworthy is across the Georges River from East Hills

[@RobloxTransportStuff]

I’ve waited for this for… a while

[@commodorenut]

I used to travel through Casula in the early 2000s in peak hour. You’d normally get a handful of people getting on there, and the same in the afternoon. One of my colleagues built a house in the Leacocks estate, and would walk down to the station every morning, but made his wife pick him up in the evenings! Many services back then skipped Casula, and if I got an earlier train in the morning I’d often see him standing on the platform, waiting for the next one. You know how they say you always remember where you were when big events happen? I was waiting at the Casula level crossing when we heard Diana died. We were looking for my mate’s token walkinshaw (Group A Commodore) which we’d heard rumours about, suggesting it was near the powerhouse. Sadly, the only clue was the rear seat. Nothing else there. The shell got dragged out of the Georges River only a bit further north, dumped via Helles Park. Years ago the old Glenfield road ran down near Casula station. The main entry to it was relocated when the F5 interchange was built at the Crossroads. Then it underwent all the crazy loop-the-loop rubbish when they built the bridge to enable them to remove the level crossing (as part of the East Hills line extension). Wally Mellish (made famous in the Colin Friels movie “Mr Reliable”) put Glenfield on the map - it’s where the siege depicted in the movie occurred. He later moved to Campbelltown. RIP young’s wrecking yard. It was a long walk, but if you needed a part you could get a train to Casula and walk there.

[@DimensionalIO]

I find it fun when my train stops at East Hills because the sharp curve of the station means the train becomes noticeably tilted. Definitely not great for accessibility on Platform 3 though

[@aussiejohn5835]

Excellent video and Leightonfield is used by visitors to the nearby immigration detention centre as well as some of the employees. The occasional released inmate can also use the station and maybe even an escapee or two 🤔 😅

[@NSWTrainLinkVlogs]

Gotta visit Wirrigulla For one, it’s got a seat with a sign outside the station!

[@htra0497]

Leightonfield and Clyde both have an Australia Post sort facility within walking distance ….. also a few brothels being mostly industrial

[@maryannlogan3771]

Casula also used to have access George's river "beach". Presumably prior to it turning green.😂

[@Jack-kz4nb]

Nice video but no metro line?

[@ForTheBirbs]

Nicely done! Cheers

[@blakesims793]

Come to Menangle for the next one. We have one 'station', but two platforms separated by like 3kms.

[@lesklower7281]

I have known about these three quiet train stations for many years

[@krystleklearcentral]

If you were to actually count the people using these stations each day you would find that they actually have much more patrons then taps, because they are so small, nobody checks the tickets/opal card, so if people are travelling to another station where tickets are not checked, they just don't pay. Obviously, this is not advisable as you can get checked on the train by police or transport officers, but many people take that risk.

[@Cadcare]

Although the Feds would have silently whisked you away to Guantanamo Bay, you should have taken a photo of the 'fence' around Villawood Immigration Detention Centre. It makes Long Bay Correctional Complex look like a sports club. It makes me think: Why are there no prisons or immigration detention centers on Sydney's northern beaches? Monday, I'll have Friday on my mind. That is, if I have a mind left.

[@commodorenut]

I don’t know if many people will get your joke, or dance to easy beats these days. Not many “Young” family AC/DC fans in villawood anymore either.😅

[@nomadMik]

14:44 You said the same thing about that line in Wollongong. I don't understand why you're surprised people use the train to get to work! Before the pandemic, a million people in Sydney did every day, and a lot of them do it again now. I'm sure even more people would, if there were more stations like Leightonfield. I'm not sure stations like Clyburn, or the Sandown line, would've closed if they'd actually gotten more regular service.

[@nswtrains3153]

Do more of these vids pls

[@nevetsgg]

In the early days of Opal cards I used to artificially inflate leightonfield's tap's by riding my push bike back and forth to Chester Hill station. 8 off peek trips on Monday = free travel for the rest of the week.

[@shawnd-v1660]

I'm so surprised Macquarie Fields isn't the quietest on the T8

[@scottietheshark]

Very fascinating!

[@ChampionIslandSpeedruning]

Could you do a video on the rest of the least used stations in Sydney. There are stations on the suburban lines that have very little ridership, like Zig Zag

[@tomasdionnet812]

In a way it seems helpful to know that my fellow southern hemisphere comrade in the other side of the world is suffering the sweltering hot such as much as we do here in argentina. 5 AM and it is already 32 celsius in buenos aires. Excellent video by the way as you always do!

[@glynnmoat5165]

Where is the link in the top right to the patronage stats please?

[@exray1]

My perspective is that in the longer term, metro conversion aside if it even eventuates, all SWRL services and any extension, should run direct to the CBD as a branch of T8 for a more direct and faster journey, rather than the much slower T2 route. This would avoid an interchange at Glenfield, giving commuters a faster one seat journey to the CBD. The proposed digital signalling upgrades will allow for higher frequencies to the CBD via T8.. The lower demand on the T5 Cumberland Line services should be reinstated to start/terminate at Campbelltown/Macarthur with a higher all day frequency of 4tph.. Depending on whether it's feasible to construct a turnback at Glenfield on the SWRL overpass, T2 services via Granville and Regents Park could start/terminate there. The alternative is to start/terminate T2 at Liverpool, which would leave Casula with only the T5 Cumberland Line service, requiring interchange to reach the CBD. With so little patronage, is that likely to cause any NIMBY uprising? On the East Hills Line, it would also be sensible to extend the quad track to at least East Hills, which would become the terminus and interchange station for the inner all stations T8 services instead of Revesby. Ideally, the quad track should be extended to Glenfield as the terminus and interchange station, with only Holsworthy in between, to allow Campbelltown/Macarthur and SWRL diverted services to have a clear run on the express tracks overtaking the all stations services until they merge at the Airport Line. However, that would depend on the cost/benefit of extending the quad track over the Georges River and the feasibility of providing terminating capacity at Glenfield along with T2. With Holsworthy being the only intermediate station between East Hills and Glenfield and the need to stop there without the quad, that is a constraint in allowing clear express running from Glenfield to the Airport Line.

[@ray2208aus]

Why not just let T2 terminate at leppington which has 4 platforms and allows crew to have toilet breaks/crew changes as well as delay recovery times for trains..Turning back in a siding after Glenfield requires significant infrastructure and losses the above operational benefits. Quading to East Hills only would be expensive due to bridge and viaduct required on country side of station. In order to terminate services on the centre tracks to avoid conflicts they would need to build new structure on the country side to connect back to the existing and would require additional land take... Hence they stopped at revesby which has enough flat space for 4 platforms (apart from rebuild of the river road underbridge.

[@exray1]

Fair call, but my thinking is that T2 then unnecessarily mixes with SWRL services which could potentially become a branch of T8, assuming that the metro conversion doesn't proceed. If it's not feasible to construct a turnback at Glenfield, then that leaves the options open for T2 to start/terminate at either Liverpool, which denies Casula of a direct service to the CBD, or Leppington. With so little patronage, is Casula worth keeping, although I acknowledge that closing an existing station would have political consequences without an acceptable alternative? I can't see why it wouldn't be feasible to extend the quad to at least East Hills, when it appears that there is adequate space within the existing rail corridor from Revesby. Sure, there is a constraint for track and platform expansion at East Hills, but I don't see that as being a major impediment, which some property resumption couldn't resolve. My reasoning for this is that where practicable, express and all stations services should be separated, otherwise it restricts the potential frequency. In an ideal world, the quad on the East Hills Line should be extended to just before the Glenfield Junction, where all trains apart from Regional services, are likely to stop there. In the absence of a turnback at Glenfield, Leppington would be a more appropriate terminus for the all stations T8 services instead of either Revesby or East Hills, potentially allowing a clear unimpeded express path from Glenfield to Wolli Creek on the Airport Line.

[@ray2208aus]

@@exray1 re:turning back at Glenfield. You could add a scissor cross-over on the connecting track between the 'inner' platforms and the connection towards Campbelltown (in between the viaduct) but I don't think there would be a 'congestion issue' have the trains run through to Leppington and mixing with T8. In terms of quad Revesby-East Hills - Glenfield (and actually also turnback Glenfield), we should remember that all this extra infrastructure (and associated $$$) is only providing a marginal benefit for the busiest 1 hour in the morning peak and approx. 2 hours in the afternoon peak... and we are still constrained by city circle capacity (but we could run trains into Sydney Terminal but to add capacity that needs remodelling of Redfern). So it's quite an expensive upgrade that would only be used for a few peak hour trains (and in one direction only) when outside of the peak the existing 4tph slow + 4tph fast is sufficient. If it were me, I would consider spending the money in creating a grade separated triangle junction at Glenfield to allow trains from Holsworthy to run to Liverpool (and onto Parramatta). This could then be used ALL day to provide a fast 15 in service to the city (either via airport or Sydenham). This would be much cheaper than any Metro extension from Bankstown to Liverpool. This could be a 4tph off-peak service with an additional 4tph peak into central terminal. This will also give Parramatta a direction train to Syd airport (or with a same platform change at Revesby). It would improve transport to employment centres of Liverpool and Parra from East Hills line without going via city.

[@exray1]

Some good points. My thinking was for a single track turnback at Glenfield between the flyover SWRL tracks., but you could also have a scissors crossover between the inner Main tracks south of Glenfield Station as you suggested, or both. Your suggestion for a grade separated triangle between the East Hills Line and the South Line to Liverpool was originally a project as part of the Clearways program, but was dropped by the previous Labor government. It's still a project worth considering. It opens up the potential for the expansion of Cumberland Line services to Parramatta.

[@ray2208aus]

@@exray1 I just hope that after a 1 year shut down of Bankstown line no government is going to push for conversion of anymore heavy rail lines to metro (eg leppington to Glenfield/Liverpool ). The money is better spent elsewhere. I think at 30min+ journey times ppl prefer a seat.

[@sydt9]

Hey Sharath, great video as always! Do you happen to have the specific link to the spreadsheet that gives you the Opal patronage numbers? I'm interested in making a series about the busiest railway stations in Sydney (Outside the City, excluding Martin Place and Milsons Point). Thanks!

[@zaarpoool]

Does Cowan no longer qualify? Certainly used to be able to get normal suburban trains, not interurbans, to there where they would terminate. I would go there to walk down to Jerusalem Bay and was almost always the only person on the platform.

[@himi399]

To my knowledge Cowan is only served by CCN trains now I live in hornsby and all the suburbans Ive ever seen terminate at Berowra but Ive only been here since 2012 😮

[@jodij2366]

Cowan hasn't been suburban since 1992!

[@tld8102]

East hill can help add turn around trains and add capacity to the T8 Local services.

[@DarrylAdams]

When will you release the Sharath sound board so everyone can get the excellent Sharath Yuck and Sharath Cheer vocal emoji?

[@bazhousecat]

OMG, Leightonfield sounds exactly like Bindha station in Brisbane, which I’m pretty sure only exists because it stops at the SPC cannery 😩

[@yianniathanasopoulos]

Casula station was built because of the powerhouse next to the station

[@enzoscarp]

I think that service terminates at East Hills because there's a train that terminates at Revesby 2 minutes after it, and although Revesby has the space to accommodate 2 terminating trains, I don't think it's ideal. East Hills is the next station with a turnaround. Panania gets skipped because the train just needs to get to a turnaround that isn't Revesby. What I found interesting too is that the following shift run by the East Hills train doesn't pick up from East Hills or Panania, and instead travels to Revesby empty and begins an all stations city service from there. Whether those services are close together because extra capacity is needed, or the East Hills one is just an extra so platform 1 gets used, I don't think we'll ever know

[@rollercoastertycoon2]

guys wake up building beautifully posted!!!

[@TheMinecraftPro0000]

1:52 flemington is not on the T1

[@FogartyAvenue]

Great vid.

[@BigBlueMan118]

9:59 worst bit about this is that the footpath pops out of nowhere and doesn't continue - how the hell are you meant to get around? And if the station is going to be that badly located, there should be a looped shuttle bus service running every 10mins.

[@PanTorcha]

pt3?

[@JDTrain]

In the last video I guessed that the stations would be Casula, Leightonfield, and Panania without looking anything up. They where complete guesses. I was so close! 2/3 and one only one station off. By the way, I feel like mentioning that I have known about Leightonfield's existance since I memorized the Sydney Train network a few years ago.

[@bigdude101ohyeah]

I assume Mt Kuring-gai is only at the bottom because UTS closed the Kuring-gai campus and therefore the train station lost its prank victim patronage.

[@himi399]

UTS Kuring-gai is actually in Lindfield. Mt Kuring gai is just low patronage cuz frankly anything north of asquith should be central coast line if it werent for Berowra

[@bigdude101ohyeah]

@@himi399 that's the joke. Supposedly it was common for new students to catch the train to the wrong station, either by accident, or because someone deliberately gave them the wrong directions.

[@himi399]

@@bigdude101ohyeah Ah, fascinating, and pretty funny 😅

[@cooloolabydrone]

Man thinks he is Geoff Marshall 😅 All jokes love this channel 👍

[@Agent44996]

I visited Casula station recently, and it appeared the most patronage it receives are druggos off their face yelling at people.

[@jim22512251]

I think the numbers for mt kuringai and mt colah are artificially low because at least some people will choose not to tap on and off at the unmanned stations.

[@FastFoodFeast]

Mt Kuringai isn’t a very big suburb. Mt Colah on the other hand seems pretty busy at peak times and has a decent population including units.

[@shaheerali6921]

As a guy who lives in casula I just use Glenfield station it’s so much more convenient

[@jack2453]

Mistake no.1. East Hills line was 2 track as far a Riverwood from very early days.

[@krystleklearcentral]

7:50 Casula - pronounced wrong... I think every way you tried! Kass (rhyms with Mass) - oula (rhymes with Doula, or hoola - like hoola hoop)

[@marcospaccavento5567]

As someone who grew up in the area, even the local pronunciation varies. Cass-yu-la or even cash-yu-la are heard.

[@Banana_Split_Cream_Buns]

It doesn't matter enough to be pronounced correctly.

[@Voyagerthe2nd]

@@Banana_Split_Cream_Buns No the passenger announcements at the station dictate how Casula is pronounced

[@tacitdionysus3220]

Yeah, I'm not far from that area. I recall locals always pronounced it as Kass-ula, but the train announcements said it differently when they were introduced???? Years ago used part of what is now the arts centre for hot structural fire training with the RFS. Thanks to all the passing 'Freighties' for the waves and toots!

[@nomadMik]

14:20 That sign is definitely not from WWII. I remember when those J stem signs were first put in, some time in the late 1980s. I thought they were brilliant, much clearer than the tiny 'B' signs the previous government replaced most of them with. I've never been a fan of the circled letters for different modes; the internationally recognised symbols made a lot more sense. Remember when people thought 'T' meant 'toilet' or 'telephone'? The orange T is still a pretty similar colour to Testa's original trademark colour, to be fair.

[@jodij2366]

Mt Ku-ring-gai has a very Lord of the Rings sound to it! Maybe the orcs need to take the train more!

[@dopeMike_]

Ekim Brewing were ya at?!

[@johnhutchinson9714]

The railway line between River Wood and East Hills was duplicated in 1985 The line between Kingsgrove and Riverwood, then called Herne Bay, was duplicated in 1948.

[@listohan]

The number of people using individual stations is a topic you revisit occasionally. How do you account for travellers who are passing through (i.e., not tapping on or off) e.g., from T9 to a metro at Epping? Comparisons between stations are meaningless otherwise.

[@17H-W]

i have heard of Leightonfeild station

[@Pine_Gap_Island]

If you look on a map, you will see that Casula station is very far from its nearest neighbours, Liverpool and Glenfield stations. Yet it is halfway between them. (Is this why it is positioned there?) I seem to remember someone blowing up the ticket machine at that station, but it could have been Minto or Ingleburn. With Leightonfield, there is go-karting and a really good brothel nearby. Yeah... my uhh... Dad told me that. Also, why has Google Maps decided that the Bankstown Line no longer exists? Does it know something that we don't know? Are they closing down the lines between Bankstown, Lidcombe and Cabramatta? How will I... uhh... my Dad get to Leightonfield?

[@peterelvery]

No problem with T3 on Google Maps atm Shared route From Campsie Station, Campsie NSW 2194 to Leightonfield, Villawood NSW 2163, departs from Campsie Station. 24 min For the best route leaving now visit maps.app.goo.gl/XGQV5LiqQNYN5ovA8

[@carisi2k11]

You can't keep shutting industry down Shareth. Otherwise how are you going to get product to the shops so you can buy it.

[@sydneylightrailfan290]

Like this comment for a intercity line version including the Hunter line , south coast line, CCN line , BMT line and the SHL line.