Blue Mountains Line

The Blue Mountains line is a section of the Main Western line which opened in 1868.^[1] The line was built with gradients as steep as 1 in 33 (3%) and curves as sharp as 8 chains (160 m; 530 ft). Most of the curves were eased to 12 chains (240 m; 790 ft) with duplication.^[2][3]

The line originally ascended the eastern and descended the western sides of the Blue Mountains via a series of zig-zag track sections. The eastern zig zag was by passed by a tunnel in 1892 and the western zig zag (currently a tourist railway) was bypassed in 1910 with the Ten Tunnels Deviation.^{[citation needed]}

All electric Blue Mountains line services start and terminate from the intercity platforms (4–14) of Central (Sydney Terminal) station. During the weekday off-peak, they operate hourly, alternating between services to Mount Victoria and Lithgow. During the morning and afternoon peaks, some express services operate, together with short workings to Springwood and Katoomba.^{[citation needed]}

There are two daily services each way between Bathurst to Central, known as the Bathurst Bullet, mainly catering for commuters working in Sydney. Two services run toward Central in the morning and return in the afternoon. Two shuttle services operate from Lithgow to Bathurst in the early morning and return to Lithgow late at night.^{[citation needed]}

Some off-peak electric interurban services on the line only consist of four carriages, with peak hour services usually consisting of eight carriages. Regional diesel services on the line consist of two carriages.^{[citation needed]}

• New South Wales D set 4, 6, 8 or 10-car EMUs — (Central to Springwood, Mount Victoria or Lithgow)
• New South Wales Endeavour Railcar 2-car DMUs — (Bathurst Bullet services)

• 
  Mariyung D set at Springwood, 2023

The following table shows the patronage of each line of the NSW TrainLink Intercity network for the year ending 30 June 2025, based on Opal tap on and tap off data.^[20]