Sydney Trains
- T1 - North Shore & Western Line:
- T2 - Inner West & Leppington Line:
- T3 - Bankstown Line:
- T4 - Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line:
- T5 - Cumberland Line:
- T7 - Olympic Park Line:
- T8 - Airport & South Line:
- T9 - Northern Line:
The T6 designation belonged to the Carlingford Line, a largely single-track branch from Clyde to Carlingford which closed in January 2020 for conversion into light rail as part of the Paramatta Light Rail project, described below.
Sydney Light Rail
Sydney was once home to one of the largest streetcar systems in the southern hemisphere, before like many major cities around the world they were dismantled in favor of buses. Also like many cities, the mode came back in the late 90's in a more focused way, serving to provide high-quality local transit and to become a catalyst for redevelopment of parts of the city.- L1 - Dulwich Hill Line: The first line to be introduced in 1997. Originally the route of a freight railway that served Sydney's harbor, the light rail conversion saw the former streetcar loop at Central Station reopened, with trams taking you from there to the rapidly developing district of Pyrmont. The success of this experiment saw a further extension in 2000 to Lilyfield and then again in 2014 all the way to Dulwich Hill, covering the entire length of this former freight line.
- L2 - Randwick Line and L3 - Kingsford Line: These two lines operate together, starting at Circular Quay and travelling right through the heart of Sydney's CBD, interchanging with the L1 at Central Station. The line continues south east towards the major street of ANZAC Parade, where it branches out next to Centennial Park. The L2 travels east to terminate at Randwick, while the L3 continues along ANZAC Parade, terminating at Kingsford. A future extension of the L3 even further along ANZAC Parade is possible, though not set in stone.
- Paramatta Light Rail: This is a future line located to the west of Sydney's CBD, centered on the major suburb of Parramatta. Part of this line takes over the former T9 Carlingford Line, converted to light rail and double tracked. Instead of terminating at Clyde, this line now turns to travel through the center of Parramatta, also continuing to the major Children's Hospital at Westmead before terminating at its railway station. A future extension would also create a branch to the east of Parramatta, heading to Olympic Park via Melrose Park.
- A honorable mention should also go to the Newcastle Light Rail, Opened in 2019 and located in the city of Newcastle some 100 miles north of Sydney. Built to provide a more development-friendly replacement for the eastern end of the Newcastle Line which previously ran right along the city's downtown waterfront, it is a short 2.7km line with six stations through the city center. It is perhaps most noteworthy for being among the first tram lines in the world to feature wireless operation among its entire route: Trains run on batteries, and recharge using their pantographs at each stop. Though obviously not a part of the Sydney Light Rail system, it does share its distinctive 'L' branding thanks to also being a Transport for NSW project, and its rolling stock was even acquired as part of the contract for Sydney's own, making the two systems fairly close cousins.
Sydney Metro
The Metro is a fully-automated rapid transit system, serving as the city's newest mode of transport. Sydney's system blurs the line between a commuter railway and a short-distance metro, with station spacing being noticeably larger than some equivalent systems.The system opened with the section known as Sydney Metro Northwest, stretching from Tallawong to Chatswood.
A program of rapid expansion is also planned for the future, bringing these new lines and extensions to the emerging system:
- Sydney Metro City & Southwest:
- Sydney Metro West:
- Sydney Metro Western Sydney Airport:
