Sutherland railway station

Sutherland is a major railway station on the Illawarra railway line, serving the Sydney suburb of the same name. It is 24.64km from Central. The station consists of one side and two island platforms connected by an overhead concourse. Sutherland is serviced by Sydney Trains T4 Eastern Suburbs &amp; Illawarra Line and NSW TrainLink interurban South Coast Line services.

Sutherland is staffed 24 hours everyday.

History
Sutherland station opened on 26 December 1885 as the interim terminus of the Illawarra line when it was extended from Hurstville. The station opened for general rail traffic on 1 March 1886. It consisted of a brick station facing both the road and railway, a goods shed, and a stationmaster's residence. On 9 March 1886, the line was extended to Waterfall.

On 16 December 1939, Sutherland became a junction station with the opening of the Cronulla line. Although the electric wires continued south to Loftus and Royal National Park, until this was extended to Waterfall in 1980, Sutherland was the transfer station for services to Wollongong.

Upgrades
On 15 November 1993, an upgraded footbridge with a new ticket office and lifts was opened by the NSW Minister for Transport Bruce Baird.

A number of upgrades have taken place. In 2010, as part of the CityRail Clearways Program, the junction to the south of the station leading to the Cronulla railway line was duplicated.

A new bus interchange was completed in May 2014. A new lift to Platform 1 was completed in October 2014 making the station fully wheelchair accessible.

In August 2014, construction commenced on a new 340 vehicle multi-storey car park. It opened on 6 July 2015.

In 2018, the lift from platforms 2 and 3 were rebuilt to have the entrance be from the north end instead of the south.

Configuration
Sutherland has three platforms in an one side, one island configuration. Just south of Sutherland, the Cronulla branch line branches off the Illawara railway line in a easterly direction. The former Woronora Cemetery Line also branched off nearby. There are two refuge loops to the south, one on either side of the main line tracks. These loops are rarely used and night stabling in these loops is prohibited due to noise restrictions.

Services
The most common stopping patterns from each platform are shown below. Note that due to the configuration of the station, platform assignments can easily be changed according to platform availability and operational requirements. The station usually receives 7 trains per hour in each direction during the offpeak.