Introduction A Sydney to Gosford route would offer roughly 110km of unique, interesting and fun railway encompassing metro-style, suburban commuter, intercity and regional passenger operations as well as heavy freight. Route The line I propose includes 12km of the Main Suburban Railway between Central and Strathfield, 68km of the Main North Railway between Strathfield and Gosford, all 25km of the North Shore Railway and all 6km of the City Circle. Intercity Map | Sydney Trains Map (Central - Berowra/Gosford via Chatswood and Epping) Starting at Central Terminal, the main intercity and regional rail hub for NSW, the line heads west to join the Main Suburban Railway, a six-track mainline catering for stopping, semi-fast and express trains to all corners of Sydney and beyond. Shortly after Strathfield Station, a major flyover junction marks the start of the Main Northern Railway, a 781km main line stretching from here all the way to far northern NSW. This main line features extensive quad and triple tracking, as well as some double tracking. Steep prolonged gradients of up to 1 in 30 make this section challenging to drive, especially for freight trains. The line merges with the North Shore Railway at Hornsby, after travelling 35km. Speaking of the North Shore line, it travels north from Central Suburban platforms, quickly diving into the underground City Circle, which serves as a large balloon loop with 5 stations, before returning to Central. The North Shore line however only uses 2 of these stations, before ascending above ground to cross the world-famous Sydney Harbour Bridge. The line then ascends further onto the North Shore of Sydney, with steep climbs of 1 in 30 and some of the tightest curves in Australia to reach the required altitudes. The line then continues to Hornsby where it joins the aforementioned Main North. It is double track throughout. North of Hornsby, the Main North reduces to double track. Suburban running terminates at Berowra, 45km north of Central, however intercity, regional and freight trains continue. Past Cowan, the line must descend to the Hawkesbury River, with a very long and challenging 1 in 40 grade, often used to test new locomotives and tragically the scene of many fatal accidents. The line then crosses the river on another large bridge, and then weaves its way around the inlets and bays of the Central Coast before arriving into Gosford Station. All passenger trains stop here, and freight loops are provided, hence I feel it fitting for the simulated route to stop here. Major maintenance centres are located at Hornsby and Eveleigh (just south of Central), with smaller yards at Waverton, Macdonaldtown, Hornsby and Gosford. Central Station from above- with the terminating platforms 1-15 on the left, and suburban through platforms 16-23 on the right. The Main Suburban Railway- the two lines on the left are the fast lines, then the semi fast and local lines respectively. Museum Station in the City Circle. Note the suspicious roundels... Milsons Point Station, overlooking the famous 'Coathanger.' Wollstonecraft Station with very sharp curves. Hornsby Station. Hornsby Maintenance Centre. Cowan Bank with average grades of 1 in 40. Hawkesbury River Bridge. Gosford Station. Additional maps and resources can be found at the bottom of the post. Trains There is a vast array of rolling stock that operates this line. Passenger V set (intercity) H set (intercity) K set (Sydney Trains) T set (Sydney Trains) M set (Sydney Trains) A & B sets B set on left, A set on right. XPT (regional) Xplorer (regional) Freight Due to the nature of Australian rail freight, I will only suggest a couple of locomotives here. These are: NR Class (Pacific National) 82 Class (Pacific National) It is unrealistic to expect all of these trains to be featured. As such, I have boiled down the possible options to the following four classes of train: Sydney Trains A and B sets These trains are very similar, with the only differences being internal screens and lighting (and the livery). The A sets first entered service in 2011 and the B sets 2018. They were built mainly by CRRC and fitted in Australia, are 8 cars long, use 1500V DC overhead and a top speed of 130km/h. There are 78 A sets and 41 B sets in service. Sydney Trains T set These trains first entered service in 1988, and were built in Australia. There are 111 4 car sets which operate as married 8 car pairs. They have the same overhead capabilities, with a top speed of 115km/h. NSW Trainlink V set Loved by train spotters all over Sydney and beyond, these vintage trains still valiantly serve many long distance towns. Currently in-service trains entered in 1977, and currently 51 4 car trains are in service. They have the same electrical set up, and a top speed of 115km/h. Pacific National NR Class These quintessentially Australian locomotives were built between '96 and '98, to GE specifications. 120 were built, and still today they are common on Pacific National Steel and Container trains on journeys all across Australia. They have a top speed of 115km/h and are propelled by a V16 prime mover. They also haul the Great Southern (on this route from Strathfield to Gosford) and the Indian Pacific (Central to Strathfield). Appendix Many resources can be located online to help visualise and even build the route, including but definitely not limited to: Driver's Route Knowledge Diagrams North Shore Line Main North Suburban Main North Intercity Main Suburban City Circle Yards and Maintenance Centres Rules and many more. Have a nice day!
Would love to see Australia in the game (preferably Brisbane or Sydney). The is so much opportunity for routes from frequent suburban to long-distance passenger and very heavy freight.
As much as I'd like the whole Newcastle/Central Coast line, stopping it at Gosford makes lots of sense from both a length perspective and because it captures the best parts of the route (even as a proud Novocastrian I can admit that the scenery from Gosford to Fassifern is pretty boring)
I forgot to add services! I'll keep it brief: Suburban services run on the T1, T2, T3, T8 and T9 over this route. Intercity services run on the BMT and CCN lines. Western, North Coast and Northern Tablelands regional trains also run over the line. The total services playable with the 4 trains I proposed brings the total number of services to more than 2000. Some are short runs around the City Circle, others long runs from Gosford all the way to Sydney. Timetables View the main post to see links to maps.
That would be an epic idea. I've been asking for an Australian route for years. This would be awesome, especially the freight trains
Bring it on and for DLC you can have a D Set these are 8-10 carriages. On the journey mode you unlock Next Generation Interurban the D Set chapter if made as DLC. Interesting thing about V set is that passengers can stand behind the drivers cab which is did on DKM 8143 1989 build in 2002.
I don't think DTG will come to Australia. If enough Aussie railfans were to put in some money to a kickstarter project and coders/modellers could produce the route.... Its the only option really as I started building one myself in TS classic. You will need plenty of money and you will have to limit what rollingstock you want. One EMU or two maybe Tangaras? Or are they finished now? Locomotive and freight cars......
Good point and for Tangaras these were built as T Sets and the G set had Toilets. Currently, this would be A-B Sets Long Distance V Set DLC D Set. For the D Set Intro will be at Training Centre Basics but then the Route Sydney Gosford Electrified on 23 January 1960 and 3 April 1982 Gosford Wyong.
They've come very close to AUS recently for TSC, so let's hope that they will come to Australia at some point
