# Leppington & Inner West Line

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 suburbs of Sydney, Australia. The service commences from the City Circle, heading west to Granville where the line branches; services either head northwest to Parramatta or south to Leppington. A third terminus at Homebush is also used when the part-time Parramatta branch is not operating.

## History

Branch to Leppington added (December 2015 to November 2017)

### Creation in 2013

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.
Transport for NSW developed a new rail timetable and branding, which was put into effect on 20 October 2013. 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. 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.

### Leppington extension in 2015

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.

### Split with T8 in 2017

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. This reduced T2 was recoloured light blue, harkening back to CityRail's historical colour scheme for services along this route.
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. 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.

### Renaming in 2024

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.

## Route

T2 Leppington & Inner West Line :
This diagram: viewtalkedit :
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

## Services

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 stations :
| Name | Code | Distance from Central | Opened | Railway line | Serving suburbs | Other lines |
| City Circle – Granville |||||||
| Museum | MUS | 4.99 km | 1926 | City Circle | Sydney CBD | T3T8 |
| St James | STJ | 4.4 km | 1926 | City Circle | Sydney CBD | T3T8 |
| Circular Quay | CQY | 2.97 km | 1956 | City Circle | Sydney CBD, The Rocks | T3T8 |
| Wynyard | WYN | 2.05 km | 1932 | City Circle | Sydney CBD, Barangaroo | T1T3T8T9 |
| Town Hall | TWH | 1.18 km | 1932 | City Circle | Sydney CBD | T1T3T4T8T9 |
| Central | CEN | n/a | 1906 | City Circle | Sydney CBD, Chippendale, Strawberry Hills, Ultimo, Surry Hills | T1T3T4T8T9M1 |
| Redfern | REF | 1.30 km | 1906 | Main Suburban | Redfern, Waterloo | T1T3T4T8T9 |
| Macdonaldtown | MAC | 2.48 km | 1892 | Main Suburban | Macdonaldtown | T3 |
| Newtown | NTN | 3.1 km | 1855 | Main Suburban | Newtown | T3 |
| Stanmore | SMN | 4.67 km | 1878 | Main Suburban | Stanmore | T3 |
| Petersham | PSM | 5.50 km | 1857 | Main Suburban | Petersham | T3 |
| Lewisham | LWI | 6.25 km | 1886 | Main Suburban | Lewisham | T3 |
| Summer Hill | SMH | 7.03 km | 1879 | Main Suburban | Summer Hill | T3 |
| Ashfield | AFD | 8.38 km | 1855 | Main Suburban | Ashfield | T3 |
| Croydon | CYD | 9.42 km | 1875 | Main Suburban | Croydon | T3 |
| Burwood | BWD | 10.62 km | 1855 | Main Suburban | Burwood | T3T9 |
| Strathfield | STR | 11.81 km | 1876 | Main Suburban | Strathfield | T1T3T9 |
| Homebush | HSH | 12.74 km | 1855 | Main Suburban | Homebush | T3 |
| Flemington | FMG | 14.32 km | 1924 | Main Suburban | Homebush West | T3 |
| Lidcombe | LDC | 16.61 km | 1858 | Main Suburban | Lidcombe | T1T3T6T7 |
| Auburn | AUB | 18.63 km | 1877 | Main Suburban | Auburn | T1 |
| Clyde (weekdays only) | CYE | 20.66 km | 1882 | Main Suburban | Clyde | T1 |
| Granville | GAV | 21.22 km | 1860 | Main Suburban | Granville | T1 |
| Granville – Parramatta |||||||
| Harris Park (weekdays only) | HPK | 22.53 km | c. 1800s | Main Western | Harris Park | T1T5 |
| Parramatta (weekdays only) | PAR | 23.21 km | 1860 | Main Western | Parramatta | T1T5 |
| Granville – Leppington |||||||
| Merrylands | MLN | 23.47 km | 1889 | Old Main South | Merrylands | T5 |
| Guildford | GUD | 25.72 km | 1876 | Old Main South | Guildford | T5 |
| Yennora | YNN | 27.44 km | 1927 | Old Main South | Yennora | T5 |
| Fairfield | FFL | 29 km | 1856 | Old Main South | Fairfield | T5 |
| Canley Vale | CVE | 30.98 km | 1878 | Old Main South | Canley Vale | T5 |
| Cabramatta | CAB | 28.43 km | 1870 | Main South | Cabramatta | T3T5 |
| Warwick Farm | WKF | 34.16 km | 1889 | Main South | Warwick Farm | T3T5 |
| Liverpool | LPO | 38.68 km | 1856 | Main South | Liverpool | T3T5 |
| Casula | CSL | 38.8 km | 1894 | Main South | Casula | T5 |
| Glenfield | GFD | 41.93 km | 1869 | Main South | Glenfield | T5T8 |
| Edmondson Park | EDP | 45.4 km | 2015 | South West | Edmondson Park | T5 |
| Leppington | LEP | 51.1 km | 2015 | South West | Leppington | T5 |

### Patronage

The following table shows the patronage of Sydney Trains network for the year ending 30 June 2024.
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 former route via Bankstown.
* ↑ T6 services commenced on 19 October 2024.