Sydney to Wollongong trains exposed as slowest in the country as commuters vent frustrations

Trains between Sydney and Wollongong were completing the journey in just 75 minutes in the 1980s. However, more than three decades on, speeds have dropped with the same route taking in excess of 90 minutes.

The typical commute time for passenger from Wollongong station to Central is 1 hour and 31 minutes.

Sydney to Wollongong train commuters left “wrecked” by snail-paced travel times would not be surprised to learn the latest federal government data has revealed the route features in the slowest trains in the country, with some equidistant routes completing journeys in nearly half the time.

The frustrating figures were disclosed in the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transports Research Economics (BITRE) annual statistical report which states the average speed for a non-urban passenger service train on the Sydney to Wollongong plods along at just 54km/h over the 91 minute trip.

The report notes the Sydney to Wollongong rail corridor was “slow and circuitous due to the ‘steam era’ alignments through the mountainous terrain in which they operate” – a reference winding expedition through the Illawarra’s northern suburbs and the Royal National Park.

The miserly pace is the slowest in Australia for any passenger service under four hours with the only other services travelling slower being the mega-trips of Brisbane to Charleville and Townsville to Mt Isa – both having an average speed of 47km/h.

At the other end of the spectrum, the Melbourne to Bendigo service averages 95km/h meaning the 162km journey takes just 11 minutes more than the 82km trek from Sydney to Wollongong.

The V/Line train between Melbourne and Bendigo is the fastest in Australia for journey’s under four hours. Picture: Supplied

University of Wollongong academic Philip Laird told this publication how in 1988 there was a Sydney to Wollongong service which clocked in at 75 minutes with an average speed of 66km/h.

Prof Laird co-authored the 2017 report ‘Shorter South Coast Trains Service Times’ which notes the lack of improvement in travel times over the last century.

Transportation expert Philip Laird said fastest trains are achievable for the Sydney to Wollongong route. Picture: Supplied

“One week after Federation celebrations were held in Sydney, 1200 people travelled as part of an official South Coast picnic by trains,” Prof Laird wrote in the report.

“Their trains took a few minutes more than three hours to get from Sydney to Bomaderry and were hauled by steam locomotives. Current best times are around two and three quarter hours.

“Incredibly, in the 1930s, an express train service was on offer that took 90 minutes from Sydney to Wollongong with a steam locomotive.”

Prof Laird believes higher speeds and hour-long Sydney to Wollongong journeys are a possibility, but it would require a “holistic approach to the problem to achieve”.

The report highlighted a 5.6km alignment between Waterfall and Otford as one area which would improve train speeds as well as the easing of rail curves and tunnels.

There was no shortage of Sydney to Wollongong commuters expressing their displeasure with the sluggish trains with a common complaint being how “it is the worst thing for your work-life balance”.

“It sucks, always takes longer than I remember,” one commuter. “I hated having to get up at 5am just to barely make it to the office in Sydney for 8am. Hated getting home at 8pm.”

Another commuter described it as “horrible” and after a full-on work week they would be a “wreck on weekends and just wanted to do nothing”.

A Transport for NSW spokesman said the state government had committed $10m to develop a “Illawarra Rail Resilience Plan” to “determine options to improve, upgrade, and rebuild sections of the line”.

“The South Coast Line has a long history of instability relating to the geology and topography of the area, particularly between Waterfall and Thirroul,” he said.

“It is vulnerable to bad weather and was impacted by multiple extreme weather events, particularly last year.

“Sydney Trains is proactively working to improve the resilience of the South Coast Line with ongoing maintenance programs.”