1972: The Arrival of Sydney's S Set trains

Source: Anon. 1972. $17 m New Carriages". The Daily Telegraph, July 14: 3. 

1972 saw the delivery of the first carriages of the famous S set trains that would operate for 47 years on Sydney's rail network.

The new carriages were built to boost capacity on the rail network and allow more passengers to be accomodated on each service.

509 carriages were built by Comeng and later Goninan with the last carriages entering operation in 1980. Some carriages were built with an amended design.

Source: Anon. 1973. "New Carriages for City". The Sydney Morning Herald, November 20: 3.

Initially, driver cars were built with trailer cars added in future orders.

Trains promised to "increase capacity and comfort", yet they were not air-conditioned which caused discomfort either on cold winter days or hot summer days.

Tulloch trailer cars (carriages) were also used to form either four, six or eight car sets until 2004, when they were phased out ensuring that S-set trains comrpised of S set carriages only. 

The introduction of trains that were entirely double-decker marked the beginning of the end of single deck trains on the Sydney rail network as they gradually replaced the red rattler trains. By the end of 1993, the entire Sydney rail network comprised of double-decker carriages. The opening of the Sydney Metro (independent of the main rail network) marked the return of single decker trains.

During the 1990's the carriages were renovated as part of the Citydecker program with new windows and the installation of electronic destination boards on the driver cars.

The S Set trains were phased out from service between 2012 and 2019 as the Waratah Trains were introduced across the network (Excluding the T4 line). The last line that operated the S Sets was the T7 Olympic Park line. 

1998: Sydney CBD-Parramatta Fast Train Proposal

In 1998, Lend Lease proposed to build a fast train line that would have enabled commuters to travel from the Sydney CBD to Parramatta in only 12 minutes. This would be nearly 50 % faster than the proposed Western Sydney metro connecting the two centres or would shave at least fifteen minutes off a standard rail trip. It also proposed that the line would also go through to Penrith. For those commuting from Penrith to Sydney, travel time would be reduced by two thirds to just 22 minutes. 

In addition, it was planned that either a light rail line or monorail line would link Parramatta with Castle Hill in just ten minutes.

 

Source: Humphries, D. & Doherty, L. "City to Parramatta in 10 minutes: transport for a fast track future". The Sydney Morning Herald, March 5: 4. 

While it did not eventuate, the issue of fast rail has lasted through to the present day. Note that there is a possible option of connecting the Western Sydney Airport with Parramatta and the Sydney CBD. It is not off the table altogether.

1998: The first plan for a North West Sydney rail line

Enlarged from the following source: Bissett, K. "$5bn transport link to the future".  The Daily Telegraph, November 24: 4.

The Berejiklian Government has delivered the Metro North West Rail Line to the people of Sydney and has quickly been embraced by the people of Sydney and also has given the people of the booming North West its own rail line.

This week, I look back at when the first proposal for a rail line to serve the North West was mooted.

It was in 1998 when Labor was in power, led by Bob "the builder" Carr and Carl Scully was Transport Minister.

In November of that year, Action for Transport 2010 was released, providing a decade long plan for the delivery of transport infrastructure across Sydney covering all modes of transport.

With rail, the ambitious plan included a rail line running from Chatswood to Parramatta (via Epping), another line running from Hurstville to Strathfield, extension of the Eastern Suburbs line to Bondi Beach, a Y link at Casula and upgrades to the intercity lines running between Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong.

There were also plans for a branch line to run from Epping to Castle Hill with new stations at Castle Hill and West Pennant Hills. Completion was anticipated for 2010. Question to ask - Would trains run via the northern line or would they proceed to Chatswood and then the city (like how the Sydney Metro will evolve into).

That would make the delivery of heavy rail to Castle Hill a decade late under the 1998 plan!!!

Source: Bissett, K. "$5bn transport link to the future".  The Daily Telegraph, November 24: 4.

1962: Tom Ugly's Bridge as a double deck bridge?

In 1962, there was only one crossing over Georges River to link the Sutherland Shire with the rest of Sydney - Tom Ugly's Bridge. The bridge could only carry three lanes of traffic. The postwar years saw a boom in the population and congestion on the bridge approaches was becoming an ever increasing problem.

Source: Anon. 1962. "Engineer proposes an answer to the chaos". The St George and Sutherland Shire Leader, February 8: 1. 

One engineer - James Stewart had a plan that would allow for an additional three lanes built atop the existing lanes of the bridge. It was an efficient proposal, but the challenge would have been with the approaches to the bridge. This may have had implications on both sides of the bridge as we see it today. 

   

Source: Anon. 1962. "Cars could drive over the top of Tom Ugly's". The St George and Sutherland Shire Leader, February 8: 3. 

It was not until 1987, that a second bridge was built roughly parallel to the existing bridge - Georges River Bridge which would carry southbound traffic on the Princes Highway, allowing tom Ugly's Bridge to carry northbound traffic only. 

Also, he suggested a rail line traveling from Caringbah to Rockdale to relieve congestion on the single deck Como Bridge with the tracks incorporated into the soon to be built Captain Cook Bridge. He felt that while tenders had closed, the design could be modified. The line would have followed the corridor for the F6 (Southern) Freeway and rejoined the main Illawarra line at Rockdale. This would have led to significant reductions in commute times on the Cronulla branch line and provided South Coast services a second route through Southern Sydney.

SYDNEY TRANSPORT VISION: Southern Sydney Road & Rail Transport Vision (1962)

Source: Anonymous. 1962. "Engineer proposes solution to the chaos". The St George and Sutherland Shire Leader, February 8: 1. 

In 1962,  engineer James Stewart in the Sutherland Shire drew up a vision to improve transport across the city's southern suburbs. His idea was straightforward

*Build a second road deck over the existing Tom Uglys Bridge. He claimed it could be done in 20 days with six men.
*Use the F6 Corridor to build a new heavy rail line linking Rockdale with Caringbah and be incorporated into the new Taren Point Bridge. For Cronulla rail commuters, this would lead to a big reduction in travel times to and from the city.

The new rail link would have also eliminated the need to build what is now the current rail bridge at Como, but I think this was inevitable in terms of providing a smooth service between the South Coast and Sydney.