Rebuilding rail reliability and increasing services is a key focus of the Minns Labor Government after a decade of neglect under the former Liberal government. The increased services under the new timetable build on a record $2.1 billion investment in rail maintenance and incident response.

The new timetable is the most significant change to South Coast services in more than a decade, and will support the rollout of more Mariyung trains, bringing increased comfort and reliability. 

The increase in rail capacity will be enabled by untangling the South Coast and T4 Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra lines between Arncliffe and Central. The South Coast services will run on their own dedicated express line, reducing bottlenecks, improving network capacity and allowing the line to operate at a higher capacity.

Under the new timetable:

• Peak services between Wollongong and Sydney CBD will have four trains per hour up from three. This will mean services every 15 minutes, up from 20 minutes.
• Off-peak and weekend services between Wollongong and Sydney CBD will be doubled, running every 30 minutes on average, up from a service every 60 minutes.
• Over 200 additional weekly services will provide a more consistent timetable across the week.
• All South Coast services travelling to and from Sydney will stop at Sydenham, providing direct connections to Sydney Metro.
• Completing the introduction of the Mariyung trains on the South Coast Line, delivering improved comfort, accessibility and customer amenities.
• A shuttle every 15 minutes in the 8-9am peak hour from the northern suburbs to Wollongong.
• Additional local services will operate between Wollongong and Thirroul. Passengers at Thirroul, Bulli, Woonona, Bellambi, Corrimal, Towradgi, Fairy Meadow, North Wollongong and Wollongong will benefit from improved local connectivity.

While the overwhelming majority of passengers will benefit from more frequent and reliable services, some journeys will change, including different departure times, stopping patterns, journey times and interchange arrangements.

Customers are encouraged to plan ahead and check Trip Planner before travelling when the new timetable comes into effect.

Stopping at Central

The South Coast Line will now terminate at Central Station whereas the current timetable operates to Bondi Junction via the Eastern Suburbs Railway.

The new timetable now allows passengers to stop at Sydenham to access citybound metro services or change at Central Station to access rail stations between Town Hall and Bondi Junction.

For more information on updated timetables click here.

Minister for Transport John Graham said:

"This is the biggest improvement to South Coast train services in more than a decade.

“Boosting peak services to every 15 minutes, rolling out more Mariyungs and clearing the bottleneck closer to Central will have a big impact on the everyday lives of hundreds of thousands of people along the South Coast Line.

"By separating South Coast and T4 services between Arncliffe and Central, we're able to increase capacity and remove a key problem that caused reliability issues.”

Minister for the Illawarra and the South Coast Ryan Park said:

"These timetable changes go a long way to ensuring more reliable and more frequent services for the region, making it easier for people to get where they need to go.

"These are services that were neglected for more than a decade under the previous Government. Our communities deserve better than that, that's why we've invested record amounts in rebuilding rail reliability and improving network capacity.

"With these timetable changes, passengers will also benefit from more Mariyung trains on the line, delivering a more comfortable and accessible travel experience for communities across the Illawarra and South Coast."

Member for Heathcote Maryanne Stuart said:

“The new train timetable will be a significant improvement for the thousands of Illawarra train passengers through a more reliable, frequent and connected rail system, connecting with the increase of over 80 bus services in the Northern Illawarra, the Minns Labor government is delivering a turn up and go service.

“Workers, students, and families in the Illawarra have been asking for better train services, and we’ve listened. This new timetable delivers more services across the network and new stops that connect individuals and communities to jobs, education, and each other.”

Member for Wollongong Paul Scully said:

“For years Wollongong residents have wanted a 15-minute peak hour train service and this timetable change delivers it.

“A growing city like Wollongong needs to have transport services that match and make it easier and faster to travel locally or to and from Sydney.

“Importantly it separates services on the South Coast Line from the remainder of the Sydney Trains network, increasing reliability, while services stopping at Sydenham allows connection to the Sydney Metro.”

Member for Shellharbour Anna Watson said:

“Whether you're travelling to Sydney for work, university, medical appointments or to visit family, having more services and better connections will make a real difference.”

“The Minns Labor Government is delivering the improvements our community has been calling for, making public transport a more practical and reliable option for people living in the Shellharbour electorate and across the Illawarra.”