Coonamble railway line

The Coonamble railway line is a railway line in New South Wales. The line branches from the Main West Line at Dubbo. It opened on 18 February 1903. Intrastate trains originating or terminating on this line have the number 8 in the run number, while interstate trains have the character 'F'.

Services
900/950 class (DEB) railmotors were used to provide a passenger service between Dubbo and Coonamble. This ended in the 1970s. As with many other branch lines, the low patronage meant it was unfeasible to continue running a passenger service. The train was replaced with a daily coach service, which is now run by NSW TrainLink and contracted out to BusBiz, stopping at some of the former stations on the line and extending further north to Lightning Ridge.

It continues to carry seasonal goods traffic, predominantly grain. The disused historic Coonamble railway station is currently at risk of demolition due to vandalism and high maintenance costs. The line is owned by the Rail Infrastructure Corporation of New South Wales, however operations over the line are managed by the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) under a 60-year agreement.

Condition of track
To properly handle heavy wheat traffic, the track needs to be upgraded from Class 5 (30 kg/m rail) to Class 3 (40kg/m rail).