Owned by RailCorp Line(s) South Coast Opened 2 June 1893 Architectural style Functionalism Tracks 4 | Operated by NSW TrainLink Train operators NSW TrainLink Owner RailCorp Platforms in use 1 | |
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Location Meroo Street, Bomaderry New South Wales
New South Wales
Australia Distance 153.348 km from Central Address Bomaderry NSW 2541, Australia Similar Kiama railway station, Port Kembla North rail, Lysaghts railway station, Wolli Creek railway station, Berry railway station | ||
Bomaderry is a single-platform intercity train station located in Bomaderry, New South Wales, Australia, on the South Coast railway line. The station serves NSW TrainLink diesel multiple unit trains to Kiama. Early morning and late night services to the station are provided by train replacement bus services. A siding near the station is used by freight trains operated by the Manildra Group.
Contents
In 1887 the southern terminus of the South Coast Line reached "North Kiama Station" (now known as Bombo). The NSW Government Railways intended for the line to eventually connect with the Sydney network in the north, and Jervis Bay or even Eden in the south. In 1886, the firm of W. Monie & J. Angus was awarded the contract to begin the extension south. A major milestone in the work was completion of the 342-metre truss bridge over the Shoalhaven River in 1881. Bomaderry Station opened as the new – and, it was assumed, temporary – southern terminus two years later. But while the connection to Sydney opened in October 1888, progress towards Jervis Bay stalled. The bridge was converted for road traffic instead.
Now confirmed as a permanent railhead, and with Nowra on the Shoalhaven's opposite bank expanding, Bomaderry Station's significance grew. A large goods yard was added, along with a 60-foot turntable (1914), dairy siding (1921), weighbridge (1921), railway crew barracks (1924), Vacuum Oil Company siding (1929) and crane (1934). The goods yard and goods shed were further extended in 1944.
The original platform building was destroyed in a fire in 1945 and rebuilt in the inter-war functionalist style the following year. According to the Heritage Branch, "The building is divided into three bays, each recessed behind the other to create a "stepped" effect. There are two semi-circular ended lobbies flanking the projecting parcels office on the west elevation. The circular lobby has been achieved by the use of projecting square masonry ribs (rather than callow bricks) to support a flat, concrete slab roof over the lobbies. ... one of the finest representative examples of an inter-war functionalist style railway building in the state. ... particularly noteworthy for its use of curved elements."
Bomaderry was also noteworthy as the terminus for the last section of the NSW metropolitan rail network to use the electric staff signalling system. The system, installed in 1908, was replaced with automated signalling in 2014.
Operations
Between 1933 and 1991, Bomaderry was the terminus of a direct limited-stops service to Sydney, known as the South Coast Daylight Express. Today, most services are shuttles between Bomaderry and Kiama, the terminus of the electrified network. In 2005, then Minister for Transport John Watkins announced that electrification would be extended to Bomaderry at an unspecified future date, but the proposal did not progress.
Local bus services operated by Nowra Coaches, Shoal Bus and other operators connect the station with destinations in and around Nowra, Shoalhaven Heads, Jervis Bay, Sussex Inlet and Kangaroo Valley.
Electronic ticketing, in the form of the Opal smart card, has been available at Bomaderry since 2014.
Track layout
The Bomaderry yard contains four tracks: a platform road, a passing loop and two goods sidings. A security compound for overnight storage of trains is located on a small siding south of the station. A 1.8-kilometre "master siding" diverges from the number-two goods siding opposite the station, passes over Railway Street and Bolong Road, and passes Shoalhaven Steel Supplies, Shoalhaven Starches (Manildra Group) and the former dairy.