Newcastle railway station, New South Wales

Newcastle
Station in May 2012
Location	Corner Scott & Watt Streets, Newcastle Australia
Coordinates	32°55′35″S 151°47′01″E / 32.926432°S 151.783644°E / -32.926432; 151.783644Coordinates: 32°55′35″S 151°47′01″E / 32.926432°S 151.783644°E / -32.926432; 151.783644
Owned by	Transport for New South Wales
Line(s)	Newcastle
Distance	168.10 km (104.45 mi) from Central
Platforms	4 (2 side, 1 island)
Tracks	4
Construction
Structure type	Ground
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	NTL
Website	Sydney Trains
History
Opened	9 March 1858
Closed	25 December 2014
Rebuilt	1858
Electrified	Yes
Services
Preceding station   NSW TrainLink   Following station Civic towards Central Central Coast & Newcastle Line Terminus Civic towards Dungog or Scone Hunter Line Terminus

Newcastle railway station was formerly the main railway station in Newcastle, New South Wales. It was the terminus station for services to the city until it closed in December 2014.

History

Newcastle station was originally located at the site of the Honeysuckle Point Terminus. Early on in the making of the Honeysuckle Point Terminus, Newcastle residents called for an extension to the centre of town and in 1857 the parliamentary select committee recommended, that a single line for goods and passenger traffic be laid from Honeysuckle Point to the wharf at Watt Street.^[1] In November 1857 a contract for £6,347, was awarded to William Wright for the 67 chains (1.3 km; 0.84 mi) extension.^[1] The station was located on a spur line which serviced Circular Wharf and was opened on Saturday 20 March 1858.^[1] The current station opened on 9 March 1858, replacing the temporary terminus on what later became Civic station.^[2][3]

A large goods yard fanned east from the station, constructed in 1858. On 20 September 1987, the diesel multiple unit depot was relocated to Broadmeadow and later redeveloped as a bus station and park land.^[4][5]

On the 14 December 2014, hundreds travelled to the city by train to make up the over 3,500 people who gathered at Pacific Park (cnr Hunter & Pacific Streets) to protest against the proposed truncation of the rail line.^[6]

On 24 December 2014, the Save Our Rail group were granted an injunction by the Supreme Court of New South Wales preventing RailCorp from removing any part of line infrastructure after the closure of the line. RailCorp have lodged an appeal.^[7] This did not affect the suspension of services, but if the appeal is unsuccessful, will require an Act of Parliament to formally close the line before work to remove infrastructure can continue.^[8]

The last train departed Newcastle station for Gosford at 23:27 on 25 December 2014.^[9]

Platform & services

Newcastle Station consisted of four platforms, two of which were allocated for Central Coast & Newcastle Line services and two for Hunter Line services, although in practice all services could use any platform.^[10][11]

All four lines were electrified in 1984. A loop was maintained between platforms 1 and 2 until removed in 2012.

Bus terminal in July 2014

Entrance to the bus terminal in July 2013

Bus terminal in November 2011

The station was also a major bus and coach interchange.

References

• Station Names. Date of opening, closing and/or change of name. Public Transport Commission of New South Wales Administrative Branch (Archives Section) (3rd ed.). February 1979 [1965]. p. 25. 

External links

• Media related to Newcastle railway station at Wikimedia Commons
• Newcastle station details Sydney Trains