Central Coast & Newcastle Line

Central Coast & Newcastle Line
A New South Wales D set "Mariyung" travelling to Newcastle, running alongside the Mullet Creek, Brisbane Water National Park
Overview
Service type	Intercity rail
Locale	Central Coast Hunter (Newcastle)
Current operator(s)	Sydney Trains
Route
Termini	Sydney Central Newcastle Interchange
Stops	36
Distance travelled	165.60 km (102.90 mi)
Line(s) used	Main North railway line Newcastle railway line North Shore railway line
Technical
Rolling stock	D set Mariyung H set Oscar
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	1,500 V DC from overhead catenary
Track owner(s)	Transport Asset Manager of New South Wales
Timetable number(s)	CCN
Route map Sydney Trains intercity services Blue Mountains Central Coast & Newcastle Hunter South Coast Southern Highlands

CCN Central Coast & Newcastle Line
Routemap design based on official Transport for NSW branding
km from Central 33.9 Hornsby 35.7 Asquith 37.7 Mount Colah 40.7 Mount Kuring-gai 44.7 Berowra 48.8 Cowan 57.4 Hawkesbury River 65.2 Wondabyne 72.6 Woy Woy 74.8 Koolewong 76.9 Tascott 78.1 Point Clare 80.9 Gosford 84.6 Narara 86.2 Niagara Park 87.7 Lisarow 90.6 Ourimbah 98.5 Tuggerah 101.1 Wyong 105.9 Warnervale 114.9 Wyee 123.3 Morisset 127.2 Dora Creek 137.3 Awaba 142.3 Fassifern 146.4 Booragul 147.6 Teralba 150.6 Cockle Creek 155.1 Cardiff 158.9 Kotara 161.1 Adamstown 162.9 Broadmeadow to Brisbane and Armidale 164.6 Hamilton 165.6 Newcastle Interchange
Legend
Station Interchange station  North Shore & Western Line  Northern Line  Metro North West & Bankstown Line HUN  Hunter Line  NSW TrainLink Not all rail services shown For closed stations, wheelchair access and other features see: Template:Main North railway line, New South Wales   Template:Newcastle railway line, New South Wales RDT   Template:North Shore railway line

The Central Coast & Newcastle Line (CCN) is an intercity rail service that services the Central Coast region and Newcastle in the Hunter region. It connects the two largest cities in New South Wales, running from Central in Sydney along the Main North railway line to Broadmeadow, and to Newcastle Interchange in Newcastle on the Newcastle railway line.

Description of route

The Hawkesbury River separates Sydney and the Central Coast. The bridge over the river is one of the major engineering structures on the line.

The route traverses the Main West route until Strathfield, where it diverts north and follows the route of the Main North line until Broadmeadow, before diverting east along the route of the Newcastle branch line. The line is electrified at 1500 V DC throughout, and is primarily double track, although there are refuge loops at Hawkesbury River, Gosford, Wyong, Awaba, and Sulphide Junction (between Cockle Creek and Cardiff). Some services terminate at Gosford and Wyong.

Services primarily operate to and from Central (Sydney Terminal) via Strathfield. During morning and afternoon peak periods on weekdays, some services will operate in the peak direction from either Wyong or Gosford to Sydney Central via the North Shore Line, then continuing on as a T1 service from the Central suburban platforms to Blacktown.

Sometimes, when there is trackwork between Strathfield and Hornsby, trains will operate via the North Shore line between Central and Hornsby, then follow the Main North railway line as normal.

Route
Continues via T9 Northern Line Central (suburban) Central (intercity) Town Hall Redfern (morning peak only) Wynyard Milsons Pt Nth Sydney Strathfield Waverton Wollstonecraft St Leonards Artarmon Chatswood Epping Gordon Hornsby Asquith (afternoon school peak & late night only) Mount Colah (late night only) Mount Kuring-Gai (late night only) Berowra Cowan Hawkesbury River Wondabyne Woy Woy Koolewong Tascott Point Clare Gosford Narara Niagara Park Lisarow Ourimbah Tuggerah Wyong Warnervale Wyee Morisset Dora Creek Awaba Fassifern Booragul Teralba Cockle Creek Cardiff Kotara Adamstown Broadmeadow Hamilton Newcastle Interchange

History

Prior to electrification of the route, steam hauled passenger trains were varied. From November 1929 until April 1988, the Newcastle Flyer operated on the route. From the time the line was electrified, services to Gosford were hauled by 46 class locomotives, their sphere of operation increasing as the wires were extended. After electrification to Newcastle, services were taken over by U and V sets. Later, the U sets were replaced by K and G sets which, in turn, were replaced by H sets.

The last electric locomotives were withdrawn in March 1998 with all services operated by electric multiple unit stock.

The section of the Newcastle railway line between Hamilton and Newcastle was closed on 25 December 2014. Until the opening of Newcastle Interchange in 2017, Hamilton served as the temporary northern terminus. The closed section between Wickham and Newcastle was replaced with the Newcastle Light Rail that opened on 17 February 2019.

On 27 June 2025, V sets completed operations on the Central Coast & Newcastle Line, following the rollout of the D sets.

Services

Oscar H sets

Mariyung D sets

The rolling stock of the Central Coast & Newcastle Line

Services via Strathfield depart from Central (Sydney Terminal) and since June 2025, services consist primarily of D sets, which can run in 4, 6, 8 or 10 car formation. Peak hour services via Gordon on the North Shore Line also run on weekdays, with 8 car H sets between Gosford or Wyong and Sydney Central via the North Shore line and then continues as a T1 suburban service to Blacktown on the Western Line.

Stations

Name	Code	Distance from Central	Travel Time	Railway	Suburbs serviced	Connecting Services
Central – Redfern/Town Hall (Suburban section)
Central	CEN	0.0 km	Departure	Main North/North Shore	Sydney, Strawberry Hills, Ultimo, Surry Hills	Services T1 T2 T3 T4 T7 T8 T9 M1 Blue Mountains South Coast North Coast North Western Southern Western
Redfern – Epping (Suburban section)
Redfern (Weekday peak hour services only)	RDF	1.3 km	2 min	Main North	Redfern, Waterloo, Darlington	Services T1 T2 T3 T4 T7 T8 T9 Blue Mountains South Coast
Strathfield	STR	11.8 km	11 min		Strathfield	Services T1 T2 T3 T7 T9 Blue Mountains North Coast North Western Western
Epping	EPG	23.3 km	13 min		Epping, North Epping, Carlingford	T9 M1
Town Hall – Gordon (Suburban section)
Town Hall (Weekday peak hour services only)	THL	1.1 km	2 min	North Shore	Sydney	Services T1 T2 T3 T4 T8 T9 South Coast
Wynyard (Weekday peak hour services only)	WYD	2.1 km	3 min		Sydney	T1 T2 T3 T8 T9
Milsons Point (Weekday peak hour services only)	MPT	4.4 km	4 min		Milsons Point	T1 T9
North Sydney (Weekday peak hour services only)	NSY	4.8 km	3 min		North Sydney, Lavender Bay, Neutral Bay, Cammeray	T1 T9
Waverton (Weekday peak hour services only)	WVT	6.1 km	2 min		Waverton	T1 T9
Wollstonecraft (Weekday peak hour services only)	WSC	7.2 km	2 min		Wollstonecraft	T1 T9
St Leonards (Weekday peak hour services only)	SNL	8.4 km	3 min		St Leonards, Crows Nest	T1 T9
Artarmon (Weekday peak hour services only)	ATO	10.3 km	3 min		Artarmon, Lane Cove, Willoughby	T1 T9
Chatswood (Weekday peak hour services only)	CWD	11.7 km	4 min		Chatswood	T1 T9 M1
Gordon (Weekday peak hour services only)	GDO	17.1 km	10 min		Gordon	T1 T9
Epping/Gordon – Berowra (Suburban section)
Hornsby	HBY	33.9 km	11 min (Epping) 15 min (Gordon)	Main North/North Shore	Hornsby	T1 T9 North Coast North Western
Asquith (Limited services only)	ASQ	35.7 km	3 min		Asquith	T1
Mount Colah (Limited services only)	MOC	37.7 km	3 min		Mount Colah	T1
Mount Kuring-gai (Limited services only)	MKI	40.7 km	3 min		Mount Kuring-gai	T1
Berowra	BEW	44.7 km	4 min		Berowra, Berowra Heights, Berowra Waters	T1
Berowra – Broadmeadow
Cowan	CWN	48.8 km	5 min	Main North	Cowan
Hawkesbury River	HKR	57.4 km	9 min		Brooklyn
Wondabyne (Request stop only)	WDP	65.2 km	8 min		Wondabyne
Woy Woy	WOY	72.6 km	6 min		Woy Woy, Woy Woy Bay, Umina Beach, Ettalong Beach
Koolewong	KWG	74.3 km	3 min		Koolewong
Tascott	TSC	76.9 km	2 min		Tascott
Point Clare	PCL	78.1 km	2 min		Point Clare
Gosford	GOS	80.9 km	5 min		Gosford	North Coast North Western
Narara	NRR	84.6 km	6 min		Narara
Niagara Park	PBN	86.2 km	2 min		Niagara Park
Lisarow	LRW	87.7 km	2 min		Lisarow
Ourimbah	OUR	90.6 km	3 min		Ourimbah
Tuggerah	KGG	98.5 km	6 min		Tuggerah, Mardi, Chittaway Point, Kangy Angy
Wyong	WYG	101.1 km	3 min		Wyong, Watanobbi	North Coast North Western
Warnervale	WNV	105.9 km	4 min		Warnervale, Woongarrah, Hamlyn Terrace
Wyee	WYE	114.9 km	7 min		Wyee
Morisset	MOI	123.3 km	7 min		Morisset
Dora Creek	DRK	127.2 km	4 min		Dora Creek, Myuna Bay, Eraring
Awaba	AWB	137.3 km	9 min		Awaba
Fassifern	FSN	142.3 km	5 min		Fassifern, Blackalls Park, Fennell Bay	North Coast North Western
Booragul	BGL	146.4 km	3 min		Booragul, Marmong Point
Teralba	TBR	147.6 km	2 min		Teralba
Cockle Creek	CCK	150.6 km	3 min		Boolaroo, Argenton
Cardiff	CDF	155.1 km	5 min		Cardiff, Cardiff Heights, Glendale
Kotara	KRZ	158.9 km	4 min		Kotara, Kotara South
Adamstown	ADT	161.1 km	3 min		Adamstown, New Lambton
Broadmeadow	BMD	162.9 km	3 min		Broadmeadow	North Coast North Western
Broadmeadow – Newcastle Interchange (Newcastle Branch)
Hamilton	HAM	164.6 km	4 min	Newcastle	Hamilton, Islington	Hunter
Newcastle Interchange	NWI	165.6 km	5 min		Newcastle, Wickham	Hunter

Upgrades

Completed

The line was electrified to Gosford in January 1960, Wyong in April 1982 and Newcastle in June 1984.

As part of the Northern Sydney Freight Corridor project the following projects were completed: The projects were:

Project	Description	Start date	Completion date
North Strathfield underpass	Grade separation for southbound freight trains heading to Flemington	2013	June 2015
Epping to Pennant Hills third track	Third track for northbound trains climbing 1 in 40 grades	2013	Mid-2016
Gosford passing loops	One passing loop in each direction to allow fast trains to overtake slower trains	2013	April 2015

Proposed

Glendale station

A railway station is proposed to be constructed in Glendale as part of the Lake Macquarie Transport Interchange project. The station will be located between Cockle Creek and Cardiff railway station and will have connections to buses. An extension of Glendale Drive leading to the proposed station has been built and completed in June 2017. However, construction of the station has not commenced.

New Warnervale station

A new station is proposed for Warnervale. The draft Central Coast Transportation Strategy stated that construction of the new railway station was to be completed by 2016. In October 2014 there were some differences between Wyong Council and the State Government over how a strategic piece of land should be developed at Warnervale.

Patronage

The following table shows the patronage of each line of the NSW TrainLink Intercity network for the year ending 30 June 2024, based on Opal tap on and tap off data.

2023–24 NSW TrainLink Intercity patronage by line

Blue Mountains Line	7,152,563
Central Coast & Newcastle Line	13,189,811
Hunter Line	803,606
South Coast Line	7,132,670
Southern Highlands Line	755,919

See also

• Main Northern Line – for details of history and construction.
• Newcastle Branch line – for the branch line between Broadmeadow and Newcastle.
• Woy Woy Tunnel
• Hawkesbury River Railway Bridge

External links

• Map and timetable Transport for NSW

Further reading

• The Short North, Singleton C.C. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, May et seq, 1965