Canterbury railway station

Canterbury is a minor station on the T3 Bankstown Line of the Sydney Trains network, serving the Sydney suburb of the same name. Station entry is through stairs from an overpass at the corner of Canterbury Road and Broughton Street.

Canterbury is staffed 24 hours everyday. 

History
Canterbury station, on the Bankstown line, opened in 1895. It was then a developing industrial suburb. The Metropolitan Goods Line opened in 1916, running to the north of the Bankstown in the same corridor. There was formerly sidings near Canterbury station, which connected to the freight line. The sidings were used by passenger trains to carry people to the nearby Canterbury Racecourse on race days. These sidings were removed the in 1980s and are now built over by an apartment complex.

Sydney Metro conversion
Canterbury will cease operation of Sydney Trains heavy rail services by the end of 2023 as the Sydenham to Bankstown bracket of the Bankstown Line will undergo conversion to serve the Sydney Metro City & Southwest single-deck driverless rapid-transit rail network. The station will close for 6-7 months in late 2023 in order to undergo work while it reopens as a metro station in 2024.

The original plan called for extensive work at the station. The existing concourse would be demolished and replaced with a new one further west, with the platforms straightened. With the release of the station design in March 2021, this was changed. The current concourse will be kept, with new lifts attached to the structure and the platform 1 stairs moved slightly north.

Work started on the station conversion in June 2021.

Configuration
Canterbury has two platforms. One island platform sits between the Down Goods line and the Up Bankstown line. The side facing the Goods line is partially fenced off and unused. The side facing the Bankstown line is numbered 1. There is another side platform, numbered 2, which faces the Down Bankstown line. There was originally another platform facing the Up Goods line used on race days, which has now been removed.

The station has an overhead concourse and ticket office at the eastern end, which allows passengers to enter from Canterbury Road and Broughton Street. The concourse has stairs to platform 1 and a non-disability compliant ramp onto platform 2. The toilets are always closed at this station, with customers directed to use the public toilet on Broughton St.

Note that platform 1 curves away from the goods line at the western end. This is because the goods line was formerly three tracks wide at that point, with one track being part of the racecourse sidings. When the sidings were removed, the goods line was straightened and so the platform no longer follows the track.

Services
Canterbury station is served by selected trains on the Bankstown line. Express trains pass through without stopping. At most times, the station has a service frequency of 4tph (trains per hour) in both directions.