The Hunter Line (HUN) is an
intercity rail
Inter-city rail services are Express train, express trains that run services that connect cities over longer distances than Commuter rail, commuter or Regional rail, regional trains. They include rail services that are neither short-distance co ...
service running from
Newcastle
Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
, with two branches to
Dungog and
Scone
A scone ( or ) is a traditional British and Irish baked good, popular in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is usually made of either wheat flour or oatmeal, with baking powder as a leavening agent, and baked on sheet pans. A scone is often ...
in the
Hunter Region
The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, Newcastle Region, or simply Hunter, spans the region in northern New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River (New Sout ...
of New South Wales, Australia. It operates on the
Newcastle
Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
,
Main North and
North Coast lines.
Description of Route
Hunter Line services operate from
Newcastle
Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
on the
Newcastle branch line to Islington Junction, the
Main North Line between Islington Junction and
Scone
A scone ( or ) is a traditional British and Irish baked good, popular in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is usually made of either wheat flour or oatmeal, with baking powder as a leavening agent, and baked on sheet pans. A scone is often ...
, the
North Coast Line between
Maitland and
Dungog. The Hunter Line shares its portion of the Main North Line and North Coast Line with
NSW TrainLink North Western and North Coast regional services respectively.
Services
Services run regularly between
Newcastle
Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
and
Telarah, with infrequent services to
Dungog and
Singleton,
Muswellbrook
Muswellbrook ( ) is a town in the Upper Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney and north-west of Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle.
Geologically, Muswellbrook is situated in the northern parts of the Sydney bas ...
and
Scone
A scone ( or ) is a traditional British and Irish baked good, popular in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is usually made of either wheat flour or oatmeal, with baking powder as a leavening agent, and baked on sheet pans. A scone is often ...
. Services are operated by
Endeavour and
Hunter
Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...
railcars.
Until 2007,
620/720 class railcars operated the service. The line was the last in Australia to have a regular steam hauled passenger service. The final service was hauled from Newcastle to Singleton on 24 July 1971 by
3246. Diesel locomotive hauled services operated until replaced by 620/720 and
660/760 class railcars in 1984.
The line was truncated to terminate at
Hamilton
Hamilton may refer to:
* Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States
* ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda
** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
from 5 January 2015.
Upcoming transport changes in Newcastle
Transport Info NSW 8 December 2014 It was extended to Newcastle Interchange when this opened on 15 October 2017.
Trains that service the line have two carriages, while some peak hour services have four carriages.
Stations
Patronage
References
{{Authority control
NSW TrainLink
Sydney Trains
Rail transport in the Hunter Region
Standard-gauge railways in Australia