The Woronora Cemetery branch was a short branch line extending from the Illawara Line just to the south of Sutherland Station. It crossed over East Parade near the junction of Linden Street, and continued curving around to the north west where it finished. It opened on 30 June 1900, to allow trains conveying mourners and coffins to access the cemetery.
The line as seen from 1943 aerial imagery. The cemetery platform is at the top left, while the junction with the Illawara Line can be seen at the bottom right.
The line consisted of just one station: Woronora Cemetery. It had a 134m side platform with a wooden shelter, along with a locomotive run-around loop. The ring road around the station still exists today, but the station itself has been replaced by the cemetery office.
Funeral trains to Woronora left from Central (Sydney Terminal), and picked up coffins along the Illawarra line. Coffins would be left on trestles along the line and were picked up where required. In 1927, the trains departed Sydney at 1:52pm (Monday to Friday), 2:15pm (Saturday) and 2:37pm (Sunday).
With the rise of the motor car, funeral trains declined and were eventually ended. The line was never electrified, and in its final years service was provided by a CPH rail motor. The line was closed on 24 May 1947, however by then the line had already been disused for some time, with the last train running on 20 Aug 1944.
No trace remains today of the branch.