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Petersham is a station on the Main Suburban line of the Sydney Trains network, serving the inner west Sydney suburb of the same name. Station entry is from a footbridge between Trafalgar Street and Terminus Street.
Petersham is staffed from 6:00am to 7:00pm on weekdays, and 8:00am to 4:00pm on weekends and public holidays.[1]
History[]
Petersham Station was opened on 6 January 1857 as a halt. A goods yard was established in 1882 and soon afterwards plans were prepared to quadruplicate the main line from Sydney to Homebush. This resulted in a further reorganisation of the Petersham yard so that the main station building was sited "up" on the platform and a new iron footbridge was built to cross the new railway and connect up with a new island platform where the earlier building was demolished and replaced by an elegantly designed curved roof structure.
The new station building and footbridge were all designed by George Cowdery who was also responsible for the design of several other large and elaborate station buildings, including Newcastle (1876), Werris Creek (1883) and Cootamundra (1887). The plan of the station was based on the standard developed by John Whitton but the design and detailing of the station buildings and footbridge were much more elaborate than most station designs used elsewhere.
In 1891 the present subway was built and another island platform building constructed to serve the slow tracks. Access to the platforms from this subway closed after 1988.
A turn-back siding previously located between the local tracks has now been removed. This turn back siding was located on land now used for the training college west of the station.
The Main Suburban line through Petersham was quadruplicated in 1892. A pedestrian subway was provided in 1892 at the western end of the station, connecting Trafalgar and Terminus Streets. Access to the platforms from this subway closed after 1988.
Additional land was purchased in 1911 for a large goods yard and, with a new goods shed built in 1913, made Petersham a major suburban station serving passengers and freight.
In 1926, the addition of a further two tracks and electrification as part of a second stage of sextuplication and electrification of the Main Suburban line resulted in a major change to the way the station operated. The 1885 station building was closed and eventually became the offices of the District Signal Engineer. The other platform buildings were demolished and replaced by a brick building. The goods yard was gradually phased out and closed shortly after the second world war.
In 1954 the north wing of the 1885 building was taken over by the Railways and Tramways Hospital Fund, and the present eastern wing was added.
Upgrades to the station took place in the late 1990s, with the wooden steps on the footbridge being replaced due to their slipperiness in wet weather, a small but high-roofed shed at the east end of the platform being removed for security reasons, and the area under the lower part of the platform stairs also being fenced-off for similar concerns.
As part of the Transport Access Program, Petersham received an accessibility upgrade. Works included lifts to the platforms, new toilets, and a kiss-and-ride area near Terminus Street, north of the station. New stairs and ramps were installed connecting Trafalgar Street and the pedestrian footbridge, which was also be upgraded. A new parking space was also made available on the Terminus Street side of the station.[2] Construction began in June 2020 and finished in September 2021.[3]
Platforms and Services[]
The station is served all-stations services on the T2 Inner West line, at a frequency of 4 trains per hour during the offpeak. More trains, including some to/from Leppington, stop during peak hours.
| Platform | Line | Stopping Pattern | Notes |
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Services to the City Circle | |
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Services to Homebush and Parramatta (weekdays only) |
Map[]
| T2 Inner West and Leppington Line |
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City Circle Main Suburban Main South Parramatta Branch South West Fleet |