Bankstown railway line

Bankstown railway line
View of the Bankstown railway line as it runs through Dulwich Hill in 2010. The former Rozelle branch of the Metropolitan Goods railway can be seen on the right; it has since been converted to light rail.
Overview
Termini	Sydenham Lidcombe
Stations	14
Operation
Opened	1 February 1895
Owner	RailCorp
Operator(s)	Sydney Trains
Events
opened to Belmore	1 February 1895
exended to Bankstown	14 April 1909
extended to Regents Park	16 July 1928
Technical
Line length	17
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)

The Bankstown railway line is a railway line serves the Canterbury-Bankstown and Inner West regions of Sydney between the stations of Sydenham and Lidcombe.

The line opened on 1 February 1895, branching from the Illawarra line from Sydenham to Belmore. The line was originally constructed as an alternative route for goods traffic on the main southern railway, with planners intending the line to eventually link up with the main line at Liverpool. The 1890s depression put this plan on hold; by the time funds became available again, it had been decided to make the Bankstown line a suburban-only line to service the growing population west of Canterbury.

On 14 April 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 Bankstown line from Marrickville to Campsie. On 16 July 1928, it was extended to Regents Park where it joined the Main South line via a triangular junction.