# Bankstown Line (Sydney Trains)

The Bankstown Line (formerly numbered T3, coloured orange) was a commuter rail line operated by Sydney Trains in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It previously served Bankstown, Lidcombe and Liverpool. The Main Suburban railway line was the physical railway line which carried the section of the Inner West & Liverpool Line between Redfern and Lidcombe, followed by the Main South railway line between Lidcombe and Liverpool. On 30 September 2024, a significant portion of the line closed between Bankstown and Sydenham as part of conversion works to facilitate the extension of the Sydney Metro's North West & Bankstown Line along the existing rail corridor to Bankstown. The Bankstown-Sydenham section of the line will thus operate under the Sydney Metro network upon its re-opening in 2025.
The closure of the Bankstown-to-Sydenham section of the line resulted in a reclassification of services along the rest of the remaining line. The section of the line between Liverpool and Lidcombe (which runs on the Main South Line) was reclassified as the Liverpool & Inner West Line, retaining the T3 numbering. The part of the line between Bankstown and Lidcombe continues to operate as a short shuttle line, known as the Lidcombe & Bankstown Line, numbered T6.
Prior to September 2024, the Bankstown Line operated between the City Circle and Lidcombe or Liverpool via Bankstown and Sydenham, using the physical Bankstown railway line.

## History
### Railway line history

The Bankstown railway line opened between Sydenham on the Illawarra railway line and Belmore in 1895. This was the second solely suburban line to open in Sydney, following the North Shore railway line in 1890–all other rail lines were mainlines carrying traffic into and out of Sydney. In 1909, the line was extended to Bankstown, with intermediate stations at Lakemba and Punchbowl. In 1916, the Metropolitan Goods Line was constructed, running parallel to the Bankstown Line between Marrickville and Campsie. A second extension, from Bankstown to Birrong, opened in 1928. This provided connections to the main suburban railway at Lidcombe and the main south line to Liverpool. A new station between Lakemba and Punchbowl at Wiley Park opened in 1938.
In 1926, the Bankstown Line became the second line in Sydney to be electrified and a maintenance depot was constructed at Punchbowl. Electrification was extended from Bankstown to Regents Park in 1939. The Punchbowl Maintenance Depot closed in 1994.
In January 2006, a four-year project to upgrade the line was completed. The work included the resleepering of the entire line, replacing the former wooden sleepers with the more durable concrete ones, replacement and upgrade of the signalling, and also replacement of the ageing catenary, mostly with the more modern double contact wire variety. The lengthy upgrade process was noted for its "January Closedowns", in which the entire line was closed in January for the bulk of the upgrade work to take place.

### Commuter line history

Electric passenger services operated along the Bankstown Line to Wynyard station until the 1956 opening of Circular Quay station and the completion of the City Circle. In 1979, with the opening of the Eastern Suburbs line, the direction around the City Circle reversed with trips from Bankstown going to St James first and vice versa.
Operation of the Bankstown Line had been tied to the operation of all stations services on the Main Suburban railway line between Lidcombe and the city (marketed as the Inner West Line). Services consisted of a mixture of "Bankstown loop" trains (City - Sydenham - Bankstown - Lidcombe - Strathfield - City) and trains from both sides of the loop (Birrong or Regents Park) heading to Sefton and then further west. Until the early 2000s, a number of Bankstown trains continued via the Western Line to Blacktown via Granville and Parramatta.
A new timetable released in October 2013 broke the loop between the two lines. As part of the Rail Clearways Program, new turnbacks were constructed at Lidcombe and Homebush to allow the separation of both lines and increase their reliability and frequency. Services were also changed to operate mostly around the City Circle via Town Hall on weekdays (rather than via Museum). As part of the timetable change, a new numbering system was also introduced and the line was given the number T3. A sextuplication project between Erskineville and Sydenham was also proposed as part of the Rail Clearways Program, but was cancelled in 2011. It was intended to separate Bankstown line services from those operating towards East Hills. The 2013 timetable sees most East Hills line trains using the Airport line to access the city.
The line was depicted in a brown colour in the early 1990s before being changed to a purple colour around 2000, before it became the orange colour.

### Closure

As part of the Sydney Metro City & Southwest construction project, conversion of the Sydenham to Bankstown section of the line is expected to be complete by 2025. A tunnel was constructed between Sydenham and Chatswood, for access to the city, which opened in 2024. The stations of St Peters and Erskineville will be served by the Airport & South Line instead, and the stations west of Bankstown towards Lidcombe and Liverpool will not be converted under this project. The NSW Legislative Council Inquiry into the Sydenham-Bankstown line conversion recommended that the direct train to City via Lidcombe be restored for commuters west of Bankstown. The NSW Government rejected most recommendations from this report.
In December 2020, Transport for NSW announced it was considering when the Bankstown Line closes for conversion to metro in 2024, the Liverpool to city service via Regents Park and Lidcombe will be reinstated and a shuttle branch service will run between Lidcombe and Bankstown. Regents Park will be the main interchange point between both lines as the direct train between Bankstown and Liverpool will be withdrawn.
In November 2022, Transport for NSW released plans to consider closing Birrong, Yagoona, and other stations in the West of Bankstown after the opening of Sydney Metro City & Southwest. Buses would replace trains in the West of Bankstown towards Lidcombe and Liverpool, however this no longer appears part of revised planning for opening of Sydney Metro City & Southwest.
In April 2023, the NSW Government announced an independent review into the Sydney Metro project.
In August 2023, the NSW Government in response to the recommendation of the Sydney Metro Review Interim Report, announced the continuation of the Sydney Metro Southwest project between Sydenham and Bankstown including a 12-month temporary closure from September 2024 onwards. The proposal will see Bankstown line services replaced with Southwest Link bus replacement services with the section between Lidcombe and Bankstown to be re-numbered as the T6 Lidcombe & Bankstown Line. Southwest Link bus services will be free and run on three separate routes along the former Bankstown Line service.
On 30 September 2024, the original T3 Bankstown Line was closed between Sydenham and Bankstown permanently to allow for the line to be converted to Sydney Metro services. As a result of that, the line was renamed from the T3 Bankstown Line to the T3 Liverpool & Inner West Line, with trains now operating via the Inner West Line.

## Commuter line route

Passenger services began at Town Hall station on the City Circle. Most services operate around the City Circle in a clockwise direction to Central, then through Redfern. However both inbound and outbound trains can also travel in the counterclockwise direction around the City Circle from 2017. After Central, trains entered the Illawara railway line, using the local (western pair) tracks, stopping at St Peters and Erskineville stations. Just south of Sydenham, all trains took the turnout onto the Bankstown railway line. At Sefton Park Junction (west of Birrong), trains were able to turn onto both directions of the Main Southern railway line, running to Liverpool or Lidcombe.
The line served two major centres in Western Sydney, namely Bankstown and Liverpool.
T3 stations :
| Name | Distance from Central | Opened | Railway line | Serving suburbs | Other lines |
| Town Hall – Birrong ||||||
| Town Hall | 1.2 km | 1932 | City Circle | Sydney, Darling Harbour | T1T2T4T8T9 |
| Wynyard | 2.1 km | 1932 | City Circle | Sydney, The Rocks, Millers Point | T1T2T8T9 |
| Circular Quay | 3.0 km | 1956 | City Circle | Circular Quay, Sydney The Rocks, Millers Point | T2T8 |
| St James | 4.3 km (dist via Town Hall) | 1926 | City Circle | Sydney | T2T8 |
| Museum | 5 km (dist via Town Hall) | 1926 | City Circle | Sydney | T2T8 |
| Central | 0 km | 1855 | City Circle | Central, Strawberry Hills Ultimo, Surrey Hills | T1T2T4T8T9 |
| Redfern | 1.3 km | 1878 | Illawarra | Redfern, Waterloo, Darlington The University of Sydney | T1T2T4T8T9 (T8 peak hours only) |
| Erskineville | 2.9 km | 1884 | Illawarra | Erskineville, Macdonaldtown, Newtown | none |
| St Peters | 3.8 km | 1884 | Illawarra | St Peters, Alexandria, Erskineville, Newtown | T8 (T8 peak hours only) |
| Sydenham | 5.3 km | 1884 | Illawarra | Sydenham, Marrickville, St Peters | T4T8 (T8 peak hours only) |
| Marrickville | 6.6 km | 1895 | Bankstown | Marrickville, Marrickville South | none |
| Dulwich Hill | 7.9 km | 1895 | Bankstown | Dulwich Hill, Marrickville, Hurlstone Park | none |
| Hurlstone Park | 8.8 km | 1895 | Bankstown | Hurlstone Park, Canterbury | none |
| Canterbury | 10.2 km | 1895 | Bankstown | Canterbury | none |
| Campsie | 11.7 km | 1895 | Bankstown | Campsie | none |
| Belmore | 13.3 km | 1895 | Bankstown | Belmore | none |
| Lakemba | 14.5 km | 1909 | Bankstown | Lakemba | none |
| Wiley Park | 15.4 km | 1938 | Bankstown | Wiley Park, Lakemba, Punchbowl | none |
| Punchbowl | 16.5 km | 1909 | Bankstown | Punchbowl | none |
| Bankstown | 18.7 km | 1909 | Bankstown | Bankstown | none |
| Yagoona | 20.6 km | 1928 | Bankstown | Yagoona | none |
| Birrong | 22.1 km | 1928 | Bankstown | Birrong | none |
| Birrong – Lidcombe ||||||
| Regents Park | 19.9 km | 1912 | Main South | Regents Park | none |
| Berala | 18.4 km | 1912 | Main South | Berala | none |
| Lidcombe | 16.6 km | 1858 | Main South | Lidcombe | T1T2T7 |
| Birrong – Liverpool ||||||
| Sefton | 21.2 km | 1924 | Main South | Sefton | none |
| Chester Hill | 22.3 km | 1924 | Main South | Chester Hill | none |
| Leightonfield | 23.7 km | 1942 | Main South | Villawood | none |
| Villawood | 24.5 km | 1924 | Main South | Villawood | none |
| Carramar | 25.9 km | 1924 | Main South | Carramar | none |
| Cabramatta | 28.4 km | 1870 | Main South | Cabramatta | T2T5 |
| Warwick Farm | 34.2 km | 1889 | Main South | Warwick Farm | T2T5 |
| Liverpool | 35.7 km | 1856 | Main South | Liverpool | T2T5 |

### Patronage

The following table shows the patronage of Sydney Trains network for the year ending 30 June 2022.
2023–24 Sydney Trains patronage by line :
| T1 | 86,736,689 |
| T2 | 47,048,199 |
| T3 | 20,178,194 |
| T4 | 54,802,802 |
| T5 | 8,028,853 |
| T6 | – |
| T7 | 1,345,017 |
| T8 | 37,691,564 |
| T9 | 22,303,028 |
* ↑ Figures based on Opal tap on and tap off data
* ↑ T3 patronage from Bankstown Line services.
* ↑ T6 services commenced on 19 October 2024.