Sydney's underground railways do not form a true metro, because they are extensions of suburban main line services and are not a completely segregated system. However, the underground sections, especially the City Circle, show many of the characteristics of a metro, such as very frequent services. In this way Sydney's railways can be considered a hybrid system. The railways are run by CityRail, an agency of the government of New South Wales. A rapid transit, underground, subway, tube, elevated, or metro(politan) system is a railway — usually in an urban area — with a high capacity and frequency of service, and grade separation from other traffic. ... The City Circle is a system of underground passenger railway lines located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia that make up the heart of the Sydney passenger railway network, owned and operated by CityRail, a New South Wales government agency. ... Official logo of the CityRail network The waiting area at  Central Railway Station, the main station on the CityRail network Old-style manual train indicator boards at Concord West. ... Capital Sydney Government Const. ...

Because the original underground lines were built in conjunction with the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, a decision was made to have the lines in shallow tunnels so as to minimise the height difference between the underground rails and their extension across the bridge. The Sydney Harbour Bridge is the main crossing of Sydney Harbour carrying vehicular, rail, and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district (CBD) and the North Shore. ...

Underground lines

Sydney has three underground lines; a fourth is under construction.

• The oldest is the main city loop, the City Circle, which runs between Central, Town Hall, Wynyard, Circular Quay, St. James station and Museum stations. Central and Circular Quay are above-ground stations (Circular Quay is elevated, directly underneath the Cahill Expressway), while the remainder are below ground. The line to St. James station and Museum was opened in 1926, but Circular Quay was a "missing link" until 1956. The "western limb" of the City Circle through Town Hall and Wynyard to Sydney Harbour Bridge opened in 1932.

• The second, the Eastern Suburbs line, opened in 1979. It runs between Redfern, Central, Town Hall, Martin Place, Kings Cross, Edgecliff, Woolahra (Unused Platforms) and Bondi Junction stations. All these are underground, but there are three above-ground sections, two on viaduct and one in cutting. Most of the platforms at Redfern and Central stations are above ground, including the platforms for the City Circle, but the Eastern Suburbs line is underground. There were plans to extend the Eastern Suburbs line from Bondi Junction to Bondi Beach, but the plans have since fallen through.

• The third underground line is the Airport Line, which opened in 2000, prior to the Sydney Olympics. This serves Central, Green Square, Mascot, Domestic (underneath the Domestic terminal), International (underneath International terminal at Sydney Airport), and Wolli Creek. After Wolli Creek it joins the above-ground East Hills line at Turrella.

• The Epping to Chatswood rail link is under construction. It will link Chatswood to Epping, with new underground platforms at these two stations and new underground stations at Macquarie University, Macquarie Park and North Ryde. The line was intended to continue from Epping to Parramatta, incorporating the existing Carlingford line, but this section has been postponed indefinitely.

There are also vague plans for: The City Circle is a system of underground passenger railway lines located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia that make up the heart of the Sydney passenger railway network, owned and operated by CityRail, a New South Wales government agency. ... Central (also known as Sydney Terminal) is the largest railway station in Sydney, Australia. ... Town Hall railway station is the second-busiest railway station on the CityRail network (after Central station), located in Sydney, Australia. ... Inside Wynyard railway station Wynyard is a major underground CityRail station in the central business district of Sydney, Australia, 2. ... Circular Quay is a CityRail station located in Sydney, Australia and is an integral part of the City Circle. ... St. ... Museum is a railway station on the City Circle line in Sydney, Australia. ... Year 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar). ... Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Sydney Harbour Bridge is the main crossing of Sydney Harbour carrying vehicular, rail, and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district (CBD) and the North Shore. ... 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will take you to a full 1932 calendar). ... The Eastern Suburbs Railway line was constructed in the 1970s. ... For the Smashing Pumpkins song, see 1979 (song). ... Redfern railway station is a major railway station in Redfern which is to the south of the Sydney city centre. ... Island Platform with Centre Turnback Siding - Martin Place Martin Place railway station on the CityRail Illawarra line is located under Martin Place in the CBD of the city of Sydney, Australia. ... Kings Cross railway station is an underground railway station in Sydney, Australia. ... Edgecliff railway station is an underground railway station in Sydney, Australia. ... Bondi Junction track layout. ... A railway platform is a section of pathway, alongside rail tracks at a train station, metro station or tram stop, at which passengers may board or alight from trains or trams. ... Bondi Beach Bondi Beach (with a long i) is a hugely popular beach and suburb of Sydney, Australia. ... The Airport line is an underground CityRail railway line that opened in the year 2000, just in time for the 2000 Summer Olympics. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... The 2000 Summer Olympics or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were the Summer Olympic Games held in 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. ... Mascot is the second station on the Airport branch, and, like Green Square, is not really an Airport station because of its location. ... Domestic is a railway station in Sydney that serves the Domestic terminal of the Kingsford Smith Airport. ... International (airport) is an underground railway station with two side platforms. ... Wolli Creek railway station on the Sydney CityRail network serves two lines, the Illawarra Line and Airport and East Hills Line The two lines intersect at almost right angles with the Illawarra line on the surface, and the Airport-East Hills line below ground level, though open to the sky. ... Turrella railway station has an island platform on the middle pair of tracks. ... Diagram of Epping to Chatswood Line. ... Chatswood track layout including ECR Chatswood is a CityRail railway station on the North Shore railway line in Sydney, Australia, at the business centre of Chatswood. ... Epping railway station is a railway station on the Northern Line of the CityRail network in Sydney, Australia. ... Macquarie University railway station is located in the suburb of Macquarie Park (See also: North Ryde), Sydney at the intersection or Waterloo Road and Herring Road. ... Macquarie Park railway station is located in the suburb of Macquarie Park (See also: North Ryde), Sydney at the intersection or Waterloo Road and Ryde Road. ... North Ryde railway station is located in the suburb of North Ryde, Sydney underneath Delhi Road. ... Parramatta is a city, suburb and Local Government Area in Sydney, Australia, 25 kilometres west of the central business district (CBD) in Western Sydney. ...

• a new underground line to extend from Epping to Castle Hill, and possibly later to the new development underway at Rouse Hill.
• a subway to travel from Central to St Leonards under the city and the harbour. See MetroPitt.

Castle Hill is a suburb in the northwest of Sydney in Australia, about 30 kilometres north-west of the central business district. ... Rouse Hill is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. ... Central (also known as Sydney Terminal) is the largest railway station in Sydney, Australia. ... St Leonards railway station is a station on the North Shore Line of Sydneys CityRail network. ... The Redfern to Chatswood Rail Link (RCRL) is the name of one of the routes proposed for a new underground railway line in Sydneys central business district. ...

Disused tunnels

Sydney has several disused tunnels. The best known of these are those leading out of St. James station. There are also several disused tunnels and platforms on the Eastern Suburbs line, which like St. James station provided for the possibility of four tunnels even though only two were ever built. Most of the stations have these disused platforms adjacent (but walled off from) the platforms currently in use. At Redfern station instead of platforms there is a big open pit in the ground, running from surface to subway level, in which in 2000 construction personnel were busy building something (possibly a car park). The never-used platforms at Central are used to store the Archives of the State Rail Authority. Like St. James station, these stations have stub tunnels, although they are much shorter. They were used in filming the movie The Matrix. St. ... The Matrix is a science fiction/action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski and starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano and Hugo Weaving. ...

It was possible to access the Redfern pit and disused tunnels in two ways — there was a hole in the wall opposite the in-use platforms (now blocked off) where people used to climb in (the one through which sunlight and weeds were visible); it is also reportedly possible to enter the stub tunnels from Eveleigh rail yards.

There are two tunnels for the old Pyrmont goods line, not part of the pasenger railway system. One runs underneath Railway Square, between the Central station railway yards and the Powerhouse Museum, the other underneath Glebe. The first tunnel is no longer used, but the old railway from the Powerhouse Museum to Lilyfield, including Glebe tunnel, has been converted to form part of the Metro Light Rail line from Central station (see Metropolitan Goods Line). Powerhouse entry The Powerhouse Museum is Sydneys museum of science and technology. ... Glebe Glebe is a suburb located slightly west of Sydneys central business district, in the Inner West. ... Powerhouse entry The Powerhouse Museum is Sydneys museum of science and technology. ... Lilyfield is a small inner-western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. ... Metro Light Rail, owned by Connex, operates one light rail line in inner Sydney, Australia. ... The Metropolitan Goods Railway Line is a network of freight (or goods) railway lines in the suburbs of Sydney, Australia. ...

Also of interest is a tunnel connecting the Eveleigh rail yards, on the southern side of the main line, to the northern side of the main line, just past Redfern.

Lines of Sydney CityRail

Suburban services ■Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line | ■Bankstown Line | ■Inner West Line ■Airport & East Hills Line | ■South Line | ■Cumberland Line | ■Western Line ■North Shore Line | ■Carlingford Line | ■Olympic Park Line | ■Northern Line Intercity & Regional services ■South Coast Line | ■Southern Highlands Line | ■Blue Mountains Line ■Newcastle & Central Coast Line | ■Hunter Lines Under Construction / Planning CBD Rail Link | Epping to Chatswood Line | North West Rail Link | South West Rail Link List of Sydney railway stations