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Waterfall railway station, Sydney

Coordinates: 34°08′04″S 150°59′40″E / 34.134395°S 150.994506°E / -34.134395; 150.994506
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Waterfall
Northbound view of the station platforms, November 2011
General information
LocationKooraban Street, Waterfall
Australia
Coordinates34°08′04″S 150°59′40″E / 34.134395°S 150.994506°E / -34.134395; 150.994506
Elevation228 metres (748 ft)
Owned byTransport Asset Holding Entity
Operated bySydney Trains
Line(s)Illawarra
Distance38.74 kilometres (24.07 mi) from Central
Platforms2 (1 island)
Tracks4
Construction
Structure typeGround
AccessibleYes
Other information
StatusStaffed
Station codeWFL
WebsiteTransport for NSW
History
Opened9 March 1886
Rebuilt4 May 1905
ElectrifiedYes
Previous namesWaterfalls (1886)
Passengers
2023[2]
  • 201,620 (year)
  • 552 (daily)[1] (Sydney Trains, NSW TrainLink)
Services
Preceding station Sydney Trains Following station
Terminus Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line Heathcote
Preceding station NSW TrainLink Following station
Helensburgh
towards Kiama or Port Kembla
South Coast Line Heathcote
Limited weekday morning peak services
Helensburgh
towards Kiama
Sutherland

Waterfall railway station is located on the Illawarra line, serving the Sydney suburb of Waterfall. It is served by Sydney Trains' T4 Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line services and NSW TrainLink's South Coast Line services.

History

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The station opened on 9 March 1886 as Waterfalls, being renamed later in the year. It served as the line's terminus until it was extended to Scarborough in 1887. When the line was duplicated from Hurstville on 12 December 1890, the station was relocated northwards. In 1897 a locomotive depot opened.[3][4]

On 4 May 1905 the station moved 600 metres north to its present location.[4]

On 20 December 1994, a shunting accident involving two empty S sets saw one train jack-knife onto the platform, demolishing the concrete pedestrian bridge.[5]

The original weatherboard building was demolished in 1995 and replaced by a rendered brick building.[6]

South of Waterfall railway station is the site of the Waterfall train disaster, a rail accident that claimed the lives of the driver and six passengers on 31 January 2003.

Work commenced in late 2013 to make the station fully wheelchair accessible.[7]

Sidings

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Waterfall has sidings for staging freight trains in either direction and a bypass track for goods trains on either side of the platforms. There are also three sidings for the stabling of suburban electric trains to the east of the station. If both platforms at Waterfall station are occupied, then trains that do not stop at Waterfall will also pass by on the bypass tracks.

Platforms and services

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Platform Line Stopping pattern Notes
1 terminating services to & from Bondi Junction [8]
services to Sydney Central, Bondi Junction & Port Kembla[9]
2 terminating services to & from Bondi Junction [8]
services to Port Kembla & Kiama[9]

Trackplan

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Track layout

References

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  1. ^ This figure is the number of entries and exits of a year combined averaged to a day.
  2. ^ "Train Station Monthly Usage". Open Data. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  3. ^ Waterfall Station NSWrail.net
  4. ^ a b Waterfall Railway Residences & Yard NSW Environment
  5. ^ "Waterfall Collision Puts Focus on Procedures" Railway Digest February 1995 page 6
  6. ^ "IMRA - Waterfall Layout Construction".
  7. ^ Waterfall station upgrade Transport for NSW Retrieved 13 July 2015
  8. ^ a b "T4: Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra line timetable". Transport for NSW.
  9. ^ a b "South Coast line timetable". Transport for NSW.

Further reading

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"Waterfall and its Three Stations" Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin October 1961

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