Lidcombe Railway Station
History
Lidcombe station opened on 1 November 1858 as Haslam's Creek after local landowner, Samuel Haslam. When in 1867 land was set aside for a cemetery nearby, the residents renamed the locality Rookwood. The official name of the station followed, being renamed Rookwood in 1878. By the turn of the century the Necropolis was also called Rookwood, so on 1 January 1914 the station name was renamed again to Lidcombe.
On 11 November 1912, Lidcombe became a junction station, with the opening of a deviation of the Main South line to Regents Park.
On 23 April 1999, Platform 0 was opened as part of the Olympic Park line project. As part of this work, the station was refurbished and a second footbridge added at the eastern end.
In 2007, the Lidcombe Station Upgrade project removed the Walter Bowmer Memorial Reserve and Memorial Plaque (dedicated by Auburn Council in 1986 to former alderman Walter Bowner, who served in the 1950s and had a hairdressing salon at the site) located on the western end of the station adjacent to Tooheys Lane.
The station works as part of the CityRail Clearways Project completed in 2010 featured a new platform for terminating Bankstown Line services. This was built in conjunction with the Homebush turnback, which claimed to improve reliability on the Inner West & Leppington Line.
A new train timetable implemented in October 2013 resulted in the discontinuation of all Bankstown to City via Regents Park services and discontinuation of almost all trains to Liverpool via Regents Park prompting a community campaign to reinstate lost services.
In 2020, the NSW Legislative Council Inquiry into Sydenham to Bankstown line conversion questioned the need to terminate services at Lidcombe, and recommended that both Bankstown to City via Regents Park and Liverpool to City via Regents Park services be reinstated. The Liverpool to City via Regents Park service is scheduled to be reinstated in the 2024 timetable.
Platforms and services
Lidcombe has six platforms: five for ordinary suburban services, and one for the shuttle between Lidcombe and Olympic Park – officially Platform 0 but known simply as the Olympic Park Sprint platform. During times of special events, some train services may make additional calls at Lidcombe.
| Platform | Line | Stopping pattern | Notes |
| 0 | services to Olympic Park | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | services to Gordon, Hornsby & Berowra via Central (Weekdays Only) | ||
| 2 | services to Penrith, Richmond & Emu Plains (Weekdays Only) | ||
| 3 | services to Lindfield, Gordon, Hornsby & Berowra via Central | ||
| services to Central & the City Circle | |||
| 4 | services to Penrith, Richmond & Emu Plains | ||
| services to Parramatta & Leppington via Granville | |||
| 5 | terminating services to & from Central & the City Circle via Bankstown |
Transport links
Transit Systems operates four bus routes via Lidcombe station:
- 401: to Lidcombe Birnie Avenue loop service
- 915: to University of Sydney Cumberland Campus (limited semester service)
- 920: Parramatta station to Bankstown station
- 925: to East Hills via the Botanica Estate and Bankstown
Lidcombe station is served by three NightRide routes:
- N50: Liverpool station to Town Hall station
- N60: Fairfield station to Town Hall station
- N61: Carlingford station to Town Hall station
Trackplan
The Lidcombe Junction trackplan includes the Lidcombe Triangle Loop with a direct bi-directional track between Auburn and Berala. The Lidcombe Triangle Loop is primarily used during trackwork as a diversion route for trains from the Western Line to connect with the Bankstown Line towards Sydney CBD.