Leppington & Inner West Line

Leppington & Inner West Line
An A set at Glenfield.
Overview
Service type	Commuter rail service
Status	Operational
Locale	Sydney, New South Wales
Predecessor	South (1999–2013) Airport, Inner West & South (2013–2017) Inner West & Leppington (2017–2024)
First service	26 November 2017; 6 years ago (2017-11-26)
Current operator(s)	Sydney Trains
Route
Termini	City Circle Leppington Parramatta
Stops	37
Average journey time	1h 29m (Leppington to Museum) 59m (Parramatta to Museum) (Weekday offpeak times, journey times vary based on stopping pattern and time)
Line(s) used	City Circle Main Suburban Old Main South Main South South West Rail Link
On-board services
Disabled access	Yes
Technical
Rolling stock	K, T, M, A and B sets
Track gauge	Standard gauge
Electrification	1,500 V DC from overhead catenary[1]
Track owner(s)	Transport Asset Holding Entity
Timetable number(s)	T2
Sydney rail services Metro North West & Bankstown North Shore & Western Leppington & Inner West Liverpool & Inner West Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Cumberland Lidcombe & Bankstown Olympic Park Airport & South Northern v t e

The Leppington & Inner West Line (numbered T2, coloured light blue) is a commuter rail service operated by Sydney Trains, serving the inner west and south-western regions of Sydney, Australia. Consisting of 37 stops, the service commences from the City Circle, then heads west to Granville. The line branches at this point; services either head northwest to Parramatta or south to Leppington. A third terminus at Homebush is used when the part-time Parramatta branch is not operating. The line commenced operations on 26 November 2017, replacing the T2 Airport, Inner West & South Line.

T2 Airport, Inner West & South Line

Original route (October 2013 to December 2015)

Branch to Leppington added (December 2015 to November 2017)

Following the 2011 state election, the newly elected O'Farrell government embarked on reform of transport in New South Wales, creating a new organisation, Transport for NSW, in November of that year. This was followed up with another government reform, which saw Sydney Trains take over operation of the Sydney suburban rail network from CityRail in July 2013.^[2]

Transport for NSW developed a new rail timetable and branding, which was put into effect on 20 October 2013.^[3] This saw three former CityRail services, the Airport & East Hills Line (Macarthur - City Circle via Sydney Airport or Sydenham), the Inner West Line (Liverpool or Bankstown - City Circle via Regents Park) and the South Line (Campbelltown - City Circle via Granville), merged to form the Airport, Inner West & South Line. A new numbering system was also introduced and the new line was given the number T2.

The 2013 timetable was designed to integrate the projects of the Rail Clearways Program, a 2004 plan to divide the network's fourteen metropolitan rail lines into five independent "clearways" by installing extra tracks, passing loops, turnouts and turnbacks at pinch points around the network, such as at Homebush and Lidcombe.^[4] By 2013, the Rail Clearways Program was substantially complete. At the same time, the delivery of 78 new Waratah trains was almost complete as well.^[5]

A branch of the service along the South West railway line to Leppington commenced operating on 13 December 2015, following the new rail link's completion earlier that year. T2 services replaced an earlier temporary shuttle service between Leppington and Liverpool.^[6]

A new Sydney Trains timetable was introduced on 26 November 2017, in which the original T2 services were split in two. Existing services from Leppington to the City Circle via Granville, alongside newly extended all stops services from Parramatta that had previously terminated at Homebush, were rebranded as the T2 Inner West & Leppington Line.^[7] This reduced T2 was recoloured light blue, harkening back to CityRail's historical colour scheme for services along this route.^[8]

Meanwhile, former T2 services from Macarthur to the City Circle via East Hills were rebranded as the T8 Airport & South Line, moving to a new number but keeping the original T2's green colour, again aligning with the former CityRail colour scheme for services via East Hills.^[7][9] Despite the separation in branding, the T2 and T8 remain operationally linked, with services from one generally through-running onto the other upon reaching the City Circle.^[10]

Timetabling changes in 2024 saw the name reordered to be T2 Leppington & Inner West Line. This coincided with the redesignation of T3 services as the Liverpool & Inner West Line, following their realignment to run alongside T2 services via Strathfield rather than via Bankstown as they had previously.^[11]

v t e T2 route diagram
Legend
km North Shore line 3.0 Circular Quay 2.1 Wynyard 4.4 St James 1.2 Town Hall 5.0 Museum Central Airport line 1.3 Redfern Illawarra line 2.5 Macdonaldtown 3.1 Newtown 4.7 Stanmore 5.5 Petersham 6.3 Lewisham Inner West Light Rail 7.0 Summer Hill 8.4 Ashfield 9.4 Croydon 10.6 Burwood 11.8 Strathfield Main North line 12.7 Homebush 14.3 Flemington Metropolitan Goods line Flemington Depot Olympic Park line 16.6 Lidcombe Bankstown line 18.6 Auburn 20.7 Clyde Former Carlingford line 21.2 Granville 22.5 Harris Park 23.2 Parramatta Main Western line 23.5 Merrylands 25.7 Guildford Yennora Distribution Centre 27.4 Yennora 29.0 Fairfield 31.0 Canley Vale Bankstown line 28.4 Cabramatta 34.2 Warwick Farm 35.7 Liverpool M5 Motorway 38.8 Casula East Hills line 33.0 Glenfield Main South line M31 Hume Motorway Edmondson Park Leppington

Services on the Inner West & Leppington Line commence by taking the City Circle (generally in an anti-clockwise direction) and then the Main Suburban railway line, on the local pair of tracks. At Homebush, trains on the "inner west" stopping pattern terminate. Services that proceed further west towards Parramatta to Leppington merge onto the suburban pair of tracks. At Granville, trains can take the Main Western line a short distance to Parramatta or the Old Main South railway line to a junction north of Cabramatta, then continuing onto the Main South railway line as far as Glenfield. At a junction south of Glenfield, services switch to the South West Rail Link to reach the terminus at Leppington. The following stations are served by T2 Inner West & Leppington Line trains:

• Museum, St James, Circular Quay, Wynyard, Town Hall and Central on the City Circle
• Redfern, Macdonaldtown, Newtown, Stanmore, Petersham, Lewisham, Summer Hill, Ashfield, Croydon, Burwood, Strathfield, Homebush, Flemington, Lidcombe, Auburn and Granville on the Main Suburban line
• Harris Park and Parramatta on the Main Western line
• Merrylands, Guildford, Yennora, Fairfield, Canley Vale, Cabramatta, Warwick Farm, Liverpool, Casula and Glenfield on the Old Main South and Main South lines.
• Edmondson Park and Leppington on the South West Rail Link

The line usually runs on two stopping patterns. The first stopping pattern runs to Leppington, making limited stops between Redfern and Homebush, with the specific stopping pattern depending on the time of day. West of Homebush all trains make all stops, except for Clyde, where trains do not stop on weekends. The second stopping pattern makes all stops between Redfern and Homebush, with many weekdays trains continuing to Parramatta, making all stops. These two patterns both run at 4tph (trains per hour) during the off-peak, with additional services during the peaks. Additionally, there are express trains between Ashfield and the city during the morning peak.

T2 interactive map

The following table shows the patronage of Sydney Trains network for the year ending 30 June 2024.

Liverpool & Inner West Line