NSW TrainLink

NSW TrainLink is an Australian train operator. It is owned by the Government of New South Wales as a subsidiary of Transport for New South Wales. It operates passenger intercity, intrastate and interstate services to Victoria, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory.

History
In May 2012 the Minister for Transport announced a restructure of RailCorp. NSW TrainLink commenced operations on 1 July 2013 taking over all of CountryLink's services and CityRail's intercity services.

NSW TrainLink also took responsibility from RailCorp for granting access to and maintaining the Main Northern line from Berowra to Newcastle, the Main Western line from Emu Plains to Bowenfels and the South Coast line from Waterfall to Bomaderry.

RailCorp remaining function is primarily as custodian of railway real estate, infrastructure and trains.

Regional Network
NSW TrainLink operates passenger services throughout New South Wales and interstate to Brisbane, Canberra and Melbourne.

All train services start from Sydney (Central) and mostly follow the main rail lines in the state (Main West, Main South, Main North and North Coast), with some services using small branch lines as well.

There are also many coach services operated under the NSW TrainLink brand and contracted to local coach companies. These mostly follow former railway lines, which have been closed due to lack of substantial patronage.

These train and coach services are grouped into "lines" based on which main line they run on.

Seats must be booked on all regional services. This can be done online or at a booking office at some railway stations. Train services generally have two classes: economy and first. XPT services to Brisbane and Melbourne also have sleeping berths or DaySitter rooms. Trains have dedicated storage for larger pieces of luggage and have a buffet car.

North Coast
The North Coast region covers the North Coast, Northern Rivers and South-East Queensland regions. Accordingly the Government of Queensland makes a contribution to the provision of these services. North Coast region services appear on the network map in red. Services run along the Main North and North Coast lines.

Principal stations served by trains are: Cities and towns served by NSW TrainLink coaches connecting off North Coast services include: Tea Gardens, Forster, Port Macquarie, Yamba, Moree, Alstonville, Lismore, Ballina, Byron Bay, Murwillumbah and Surfers Paradise.
 * Sydney (Central)
 * Taree
 * Kempsey
 * Coffs Harbour
 * Grafton
 * Casino
 * Brisbane (Roma St)

North Western
The North Western region covers the state's Hunter, Northern Tablelands and North West regions. North Western region services appear on the network map in orange. Services run along the Main North railway line and the Mungindi railway line.

Principal stations served by trains are:
 * Sydney (Central)
 * Singleton
 * Scone
 * Tamworth
 * Armidale
 * Gunnedah
 * Narrabri
 * Moree

Cities and towns served by NSW TrainLink coaches connecting off North Western services include: Wee Waa, Inverell, Grafton, Glen Innes and Tenterfield.

Western
The Western region covers the Central Tablelands and Western regions. Western region services appear on the network map in yellow. Services run along the Main Western line and the Broken Hill line.

Principal stations served by trains are:
 * Sydney (Central)
 * Bathurst
 * Orange
 * Dubbo
 * Parkes
 * Broken Hill

Cities and towns served by NSW TrainLink coaches connecting off Western services include: Oberon, Mudgee, Baradine, Cowra, Grenfell, Forbes, Parkes, Condobolin, Lightning Ridge, Brewarrina, Bourke, Warren and Broken Hill.

Southern
The Southern region covers the state's Illawarra, South Coast, Snowy Mountains, South West Slopes, Southern Tablelands, Riverina and Sunraysia regions plus the Australian Capital Territory and parts of Victoria. Accordingly the Government of Victoria (though not the ACT Government) makes a contribution to the provision of these services. Southern region services appear on the network map in green. Services run along the Main South from Sydney Central station to Albury before continuing on the North East line to Southern Cross Station in Melbourne, with the line to Canberra branching off south of Goulburn and the line to Griffith at Junee.

Principal stations served by trains are:
 * Sydney (Central)
 * Goulburn
 * Queanbeyan
 * Canberra
 * Cootamundra
 * Griffith
 * Wagga Wagga
 * Albury
 * Wangaratta
 * Melbourne (Southern Cross)

Cities and towns served by NSW TrainLink coaches connecting off Southern services include: Wollongong, Bombala, Eden, Tumbarumba, Bathurst, Dubbo, Condobolin, Griffith, Mildura and Echuca.

Intercity Network
NSW TrainLink also operates five intercity lines. Seats do not need to be booked and Opal is accepted on these services.

Rolling stock
NSW TrainLink operates a wide variety of rolling stock. The fleet consists of double deck EMUs for operating on electrified intercity lines and single deck DMUs for operating on unelectrified intercity/regional lines. Electric trains are maintained by Sydney Trains at their maintenance centres, with the exception of the D sets, which will be maintained at Kangy Angy Maintenance Centre. The diesel fleet is maintained at the XPT service centre at Sydenham.

Road coaches
The Public Transport Commission first introduced coaches in September 1975 when introduced to replace all train services out of Dubbo. Coaches replaced many branch line rail services over the next few years and by 1987 the State Rail Authority had 36 coaches operating throughout the state.

CountryLink adopted the model used by V/Line in Victoria and contracted out the provision of these services to private operators, with services transferring to the successful bidders between November 1989 and June 1990. CityRail also operated buses on services where the railway lines had closed.

The full list of coach operators providing services as at July 2013 are:

Realtime tracking
All NSW TrainLink services can be tracked on realtime apps. Within the area bounded by Point Clare, Newnes Junction (just north of Bell), Macarthur and Kiama, train locations are pulled from the signalling system and so all trains, including freight trains, in this area can be tracked. Train locations are pulled from the MetroNet radio system in two sections (Newnes Junction - Lithgow and Point Clare - Newcastle), so freight trains and other trains without MetroNet radios in this area cannot be tracked. All other NSW TrainLink services operating outside of these areas, including coaches, are tracked by an onboard GPS. This causes some XPT and Xplorer services to show up twice while inside the Sydney suburban area, as their locations are being reported by both the signalling system and the onboard GPS.