Kembla Grange railway station

Kembla Grange railway station is a single-platform intercity train station located in Kembla Grange, New South Wales, Australia, on the South Coast railway line. The station serves NSW TrainLink trains travelling south to Kiama and north to Wollongong and Sydney.[5] The station ranked equal last for patronage on the metropolitan network in 2012,[3] and was one of 23 on the metropolitan rail network to record an average of fewer than one passenger per day in 2014.[6]

Kembla Grange
Kembla Grange Station
General information
LocationWest Dapto Road, Kembla Grange
New South Wales
Australia
Coordinates34.4699°S 150.8180°E / -34.4699; 150.8180
Elevation9 metres (30 ft)
Owned byTransport Asset Holding Entity
Line(s)South Coast
Distance91.586 km from Central[1]
Platforms1 (119 metres)[1]
Train operatorsNSW TrainLink
Construction
Structure typeAt-grade
ParkingYes
AccessibleNot accessible
Other information
WebsiteTransport for NSW
History
Opened1 January 1890[2]
Electrified24 January 1993[3]
Previous namesKembla Grange Racecourse
Passengers
2013<1 (daily)[4] (Sydney Trains, NSW TrainLink)
Rank298
Services
Preceding station NSW TrainLink Following station
Dapto
towards Kiama
 South Coast Line
Weekends and race days only
 Unanderra
towards Central or Bondi Junction

History

The railway through Kembla Grange was built as part of a South Coast Line extension from Wollongong to Bombo and opened in November 1887.[7] Three years later, Kembla Grange Station was opened to serve the Kembla Grange Racecourse across the road. Kembla Grange is only open on Saturdays, Sundays and other race days. When open, the station operates as an on-request stop.[5] A special siding and loading bank for horses operated at the station between 1912 and 1942.[8] The internal NSW TrainLink code used for the station is KGG, a reference to the racehorses.

The small breeze block waiting shed features a decorative gabled roof, and nameboard designed to suggest a racecourse winning post. The building was installed around the time the racecourse was redeveloped by the Department of Sport & Recreation in 1987.[8]

Electrification reached Kembla Grange in 1993 and electronic ticketing, in the form of the Opal smartcard system, arrived in 2014.[9]

2021 derailment

On 20 October 2021, a Waterfall bound SCO service from Kiama consisting of Tangara T set T42 would collide with an abandoned van on a level crossing. 4 of the 8 passengers on board were injured, with the driver being trapped among the wreckage. The van was being used to steal a go-kart from Wollongong Kart Raceway when it got stuck on the tracks, and the driver and two passersby were unable to move it off the tracks before the collision.[10][11][12]

Platforms and services

Kembla Grange has one side platform, long enough for four carriages. It is serviced by NSW TrainLink South Coast line services travelling between Sydney Central, Bondi Junction and Kiama.[5]

Platform Line Stopping pattern Notes
1 services to Sydney Central, Bondi Junction & Kiama request stop weekends & racedays only[5]

References
  1. Asset Standards Authority (30 April 2015). "Train Operating Conditions (TOC) Manual – Track Diagrams (version 3.0)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  2. Bozier, Rolfe. "NSWrail.net: Kembla Grange Station".
  3. Bureau of Transport Statistics (November 2012). Compendium of Sydney Rail Travel Statistics, 8th Edition.
  4. Bureau of Transport Statistics. "Train Statistics 2014" (PDF). Transport NSW. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  5. "South Coast line timetable". Transport for NSW.
  6. Bureau of Transport Statistics (March 2015). "Summary of train journeys (official patronage figures)".
  7. Bozier, Rolfe. "NSWrail.net: South Coast Line – history".
  8. City of Wollongong Library (29 June 2015). "History of Kembla Grange".
  9. Opal card available on all Sydney trains by next Friday Sydney Morning Herald 20 March 2014
  10. "Passengers injured as train DERAILS in NSW after slamming into abandoned car". 7NEWS. 19 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  11. Guardian Staff (19 October 2021). "Kembla Grange train crash: driver trapped after train hits car and derails near Wollongong". the Guardian. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  12. "The moments that led to the Kembla Grange train crash". Illawarra Mercury. 15 June 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
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