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 v t e

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
This diagram: view talk edit

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.

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 volts 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.^{[original research?]}

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.^[1]

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.^{[original research?]}

Prior to electrification of the route, steam hauled passenger trains were varied.^[2] 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.^{[citation needed]}

The last electric locomotives were withdrawn in March 1998^[3] 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.^[4] The closed section between Wickham and Newcastle was replaced with the Newcastle Light Rail that opened on 17 February 2019.^[5][6]

On 27 June 2025, V sets completed operations on the Central Coast & Newcastle Line, following the rollout of the D sets.^[7]

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.^[8][9] 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.

The line was electrified to Gosford in January 1960, Wyong in April 1982^[10] and Newcastle in June 1984.^[11]

As part of the Northern Sydney Freight Corridor project the following projects were completed:^[12] The projects were:^[13][14]

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.

A new station is proposed for Warnervale.^[15][16] The draft Central Coast Transportation Strategy stated that construction of the new railway station was to be completed by 2016.^[17] 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.^[18]

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.^[19]

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

• Map and timetable Transport for NSW

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