Inner West Light Rail
The Inner West Light Rail is a light rail line in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, running from Central railway station through the Inner West to Dulwich Hill and serving 23 stops. It was the original line of the Sydney light rail network. Services on the line are branded as the L1 Dulwich Hill Line since 2014.
Most of the Inner West Light Rail is built on the path of a former goods line. The first section of light rail opened on 11 August 1997, and the line was extended in 2000 and 2014 along the former goods corridor.
Operation and maintenance of the line is contracted to the ALTRAC Light Rail consortium by the New South Wales Government's transport authority, Transport for NSW. Services are operated by Transdev Sydney as a member of ALTRAC Light Rail.
Background
Most of the alignment of the Dulwich Hill Line had its origins as the Rozelle–Darling Harbour Goods Line. From the time when the Sydney Railway Company was formed in 1848, it had been the intention of the company to build a freight terminal at Darling Harbour. To this end, a railway line was constructed between the Sydney railway station and Darling Harbour, which opened on 26 September 1855. This line was extended to Dulwich Hill via the John Street tunnel, the Glebe tunnel, and Lilyfield in 1922. A short branch from Lilyfield to Rozelle served another freight terminal.With widespread use as a freight line throughout the early 20th century, the use of containers and the decentralisation of freight terminals in Sydney to places such as Port Botany and Chullora, Darling Harbour traffic was reduced considerably. The port closed and the area was redeveloped in the 1980s.
Construction
Construction and conversion of the first section of line from Central station to Wentworth Park started on 25 January 1996 and took 16 months to complete. The line reused the former Darling Harbour goods railway line and the tram loop at Central station originally built for Sydney's former tram network, with a new section of track built along Hay Street to connect the two.The original route opened for public operation with a limited 09:00 to 17:00 service on 11 August 1997 with three weeks of testing. The official public opening was conducted by State Premier Bob Carr on 31 August 1997.
Buoyed by the success of the original line, a, four stop extension of the route opened on 13 August 2000. This saw the light rail reach Lilyfield, which was then the limit of the closed section of the goods line.
Extension to Dulwich Hill
In 2009, goods traffic on the line between Rozelle and Dulwich Hill ceased and in February 2010, the Keneally Government announced a extension of the light rail from Lilyfield to Dulwich Hill.Work to upgrade the track and remove the overhead wiring began in August 2010. The project received planning approval in February 2011. The extension was originally scheduled to open in 2012, but in September 2011 the newly elected O'Farrell Government announced that it would not open until 2014, and that the cost had risen from $120 million to $176 million.
The GreenWay walking and cycling path which was to run alongside much of the route was deferred. The new government blamed hasty planning by their predecessor for the delay and cost overruns, and the lack of an active transport masterplan for the deferral of the Greenway.
The Greenway was revived in 2016 under the Baird Government with Federal funding support. A Masterplan was developed and at the end of 2023 construction was continuing, with a major link under Parramatta Road commencing.
John Holland Group was announced as the successful tenderer for the infrastructure works on 31 May 2012, covering the design and construction of the nine stops, bridge works, signalling and power supply. The extension opened on 27 March 2014.
Connection to the CBD and South East Light Rail
The line was closed between Central and Convention in January 2017 to allow for construction work at the George and Hay Street intersection as part of the CBD and South East Light Rail project. A further closure was required in January 2018 to install a junction between the two lines. The connection is used by trams of the CBD and South East line to access the maintenance facility at Lilyfield.Ownership and operation
The line was owned by the Sydney Light Rail Company when it opened in 1997. The company was formed in March 1994 was awarded a 30-year concession to operate the light rail system until February 2028 when ownership would pass to the New South Wales Government. The service was initially operated by TNT Transit Systems.In August 1998, SLRC formed a joint venture with CGEA Transport named CGEA Transport Sydney to purchase TNT Transit Systems, who also owned the Sydney Monorail. This resulted in CGEA Transport taking charge of light rail operations. SLRC later combined with CGEA Transport Sydney to become Metro Transport Sydney in 2001, after Connex sold its share in CGEA Transport Sydney. Connex continued to operate the light rail network. Connex eventually came to be known as Veolia Transport globally in 2005, then became part of Veolia Transdev in 2011.
Metro Transport Sydney was purchased by the Government of New South Wales in March 2012. Veolia Transdev remained the operator, operating as Transdev Sydney.
In February 2014, three consortia were short listed to build and operate the CBD and South East Light Rail. The contract also included the right to the operate the Dulwich Hill Line. The three short listed operators were Keolis, Serco and Transdev. In December 2014, the Connecting Sydney consortium was awarded the contract, meaning Transdev retains the right to operate the Dulwich Hill Line. The new contract began in July 2015 and runs until 2034.
Ticketing
When it first opened, the line used its own paper-based ticketing system that was separate from the semi-integrated ticketing systems used by the government owned operators. The light rail operated on a proof-of-payment system, with ticket vending machines provided at all stops. By the time the Lilyfield extension opened, the machines had been switched off and replaced with onboard conductors. Paper tickets were available in single or return with fares based on two zones. Other products available included flat fare day and weekly tickets, some of which also included travel on the monorail prior to that system's closure.Several tickets were recognised on the light rail but were not sold on board. A "TramLink" ticket which allowed travel on Greater Sydney train services and the light rail was available from railway stations. From 27 June 2011, all MyMultis, the Pensioner Excursion Ticket and Family Funday Sunday were also recognised. This improved integration with the broader Sydney ticketing system led to a 30% to 40% increase in patronage on the line in the first months after introduction. In 2012–13 these products comprised just over half of all tickets used on light rail services.
The smartcard-based Opal ticketing system was introduced to the line on 1 December 2014. Patronage increased in the months following the introduction of Opal. Most paper tickets sold or recognised on light rail services were discontinued on 1 January 2016. The only tickets still available were single and return tickets. These last remaining tickets were replaced by Opal-based single trip tickets on 1 August of that year.
Patronage
A transport plan released by the New South Wales Government in 1998 reported that the line carried an average of 5,000 passengers on weekdays. 2.8 million journeys were made in 2009–10, increasing to 4.2 million in 2012–13. The partial integration of the line into the broader Sydney ticketing system was a major driver of the increase. In the 12 months to June 2015, the line carried 6.1 million passengers, compared to 3.9 million passengers in the prior year. The increase in the 2014–15 figure was influenced by the opening of the extension to Dulwich Hill in March 2014, while the 2013–14 figure was affected by the suspension of services for much of October 2013 and closures for maintenance works. In the period from 2015 to 2016, 9.7 million journeys were made, followed by 9.1 million in 2016–2017. The 2016–2017 statistic was affected by a partial closure of the line in December 2016/January 2017 for construction works on the CBD and South East Light Rail.Incidents
The line operated without serious incident until 7 October 2013, when two trams derailed within the space of 20 minutes. Sections of track were replaced in September and it is thought the new track damaged the wheels of the vehicles. All services were suspended and replaced by buses. Services resumed between The Star and Lilyfield on 18 October, and along the full length of the line on 30 October. These incidents occurred in close proximity to Glebe, and 2106 was the only tram to be reported. The front car of it had come off the tracks, and its bogie was destroyed. After loading it onto a pony truck, it was driven under its own power to the depot. It would later be deemed damaged beyond repair and scrapped.Following the incident temporary speed restrictions of were imposed at all crossovers along the line. In July 2020, in response to a question about improving capacity on the line, the New South Wales Minister for Transport and Roads said the removal of 18 crossings would "permit the removal of temporary speed restrictions associated with these crossings and improve journey time performance." The government was also investigating the purchase of four new vehicles to permit service at six minute frequencies, increasing capacity by 1,000 passengers per hour.