Oak Flats railway station

Oak Flats railway station is a single-platform intercity train station located in Oak Flats, 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.[6] Together with the Dunmore and later Shellharbour Junction stations, Oak Flats has long served as the rail connection for the coastal suburbs of the City of Shellharbour.

Oak Flats
Oak Flats Station
General information
LocationStanford Drive, Oak Flats
New South Wales
Australia
Coordinates34.571982°S 150.820323°E / -34.571982; 150.820323
Elevation15 metres (49 ft)
Owned byTransport Asset Holding Entity
Operated byNSW TrainLink
Line(s)South Coast
Distance105.522 km from Central[1]
Platforms1 (200 metres)[1]
Train operatorsNSW TrainLink
Bus operatorsPremier Illawarra
Construction
Structure typeAt-grade
Parking380 spaces[2]
Bicycle facilitiesYes
AccessibleYes
Other information
WebsiteTransport for NSW
History
Opened1925[3]
Rebuilt21 February 2003
Electrified17 November 2001[4]
Passengers
2013400 (daily)[5] (Sydney Trains, NSW TrainLink)
Rank193
Services
Preceding station NSW TrainLink Following station
Shellharbour Junction
towards Kiama
 South Coast Line Albion Park
towards Central or Bondi Junction

History
The former station in 1951

The railway reached the area in 1887, when the South Coast Line was extended from Wollongong to North Kiama. Initially stations were only provided at Dunmore and Albion Park[7] – although Albion Park Station was known as Oak Flats until the following year.[8]

Local politician and sometime Premier of New South Wales George Fuller was a prominent landholder in the district – his father had named Dunmore – and in 1921 he subdivided some of his land at Oak Flats, on the southern shore of Lake Illawarra.[9] The development of a residential area over the next few years spurred the NSW Government Railways to build a station for the new subdivision; this opened in 1925.[3] The original station featured a single wooden platform and small, skillion-roofed weatherboard waiting shed.[10]

Concerns over accessibility and a constrained site led the State Rail Authority to relocate the station in 2003. The $6 million interchange, built by Bovis Lend Lease on a new site 400 metres east of the original, opened on 21 February. The building features a double pitched roof, a band of tangerine-coloured glazed bricks, recycled timber beams and distinctive Y-shaped steel columns. Opening the new facility, then Transport Minister Carl Scully described it as "one of the best railway stations in the state."[11][12] A plan to name the new station "Shellharbour City (Oak Flats)" was abandoned following community opposition.[13] The earlier station was subsequently demolished.

Electronic ticketing, in the form of the Opal smart card, has been available at Oak Flats since 2014.[14]

Croom Tunnel

Immediately to the east of Oak Flats Station is the 40-metre-long Croom Tunnel, said to be the shortest railway tunnel in NSW.[15]

Platforms and services

Oak Flats has one side platform. It is serviced by NSW TrainLink South Coast line services travelling between Sydney Central, Bondi Junction and Kiama.[6]

Platform Line Stopping pattern Notes
1 services to Sydney Central, Bondi Junction & Kiama [6]

Premier Illawarra operates six bus routes via Oak Flats station, under contract to Transport for NSW:

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.
  2. Transport for New South Wales (November 2013). "Transport Access Program – Oak Flats commuter car park" (PDF).
  3. Bozier, Rolfe. "NSWrail.net: Oak Flats Station".
  4. "Electrifying news". South Coast Register. 20 November 2001.
  5. Bureau of Transport Statistics. "Train Statistics 2014" (PDF). Transport NSW. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  6. "South Coast line timetable". Transport for NSW.
  7. Bozier, Rolfe. "NSWrail.net: South Coast Line".
  8. Bozier, Rolfe. "NSWrail.net: Albion Park Station".
  9. "Oak Flats sub-division". Robertson Advocate. 18 March 1921.
  10. "Oak Flats Railway Station (NSW), June 1951". 16 August 2018.
  11. Singer, Michelle (22 February 2003). "Scully enjoys rail platform". Illawarra Mercury.
  12. Design Inc. "Projects: Oak Flats Station".
  13. O'Connor, Kerrie (14 May 2002). "SRA terminates plans to rename Oak Flats station". Illawarra Mercury.
  14. Opal card available on all Sydney trains by next Friday Sydney Morning Herald 20 March 2014
  15. Shellharbour City Council (12 January 2011). "Shellharbour heritage inventory: Croom railway tunnel" (PDF).
  16. "Premier Illawarra route 37". Transport for NSW.
  17. "Premier Illawarra route 51". Transport for NSW.
  18. "Premier Illawarra route 53". Transport for NSW.
  19. "Premier Illawarra route 57". Transport for NSW.
  20. "Premier Illawarra route 76". Transport for NSW.
  21. "Premier Illawarra route 77". Transport for NSW.
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