NSW Country Removals

New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a state on the east coast of Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south, and South Australia to the west. Its coast borders the Coral and Tasman Seas to the east. The Australian Capital Territory and Jervis Bay Territory are enclaves within the state. New South Wales’ state capital is Sydney, which is also Australia’s most populous city.^[6] In December 2021, the population of New South Wales was over 8 million,^[1] making it Australia’s most populous state. Just under two-thirds of the state’s population, 5.3 million, live in the Greater Sydney area.^[7]

The Colony of New South Wales was founded as a British penal colony in 1788. It originally comprised more than half of the Australian mainland with its western boundary set at 129th meridian east in 1825. The colony then also included the island territories of Van Diemen’s Land, Lord Howe Island, and Norfolk Island. During the 19th century, most of the colony’s area was detached to form separate British colonies that eventually became the various states and territories of Australia. However, the Swan River Colony was never administered as part of New South Wales.

Lord Howe Island remains part of New South Wales, while Norfolk Island has become a federal territory, as have the areas now known as the Australian Capital Territory and the Jervis Bay Territory.

Transport

Passage through New South Wales is vital for cross-continent transport. Rail and road traffic from Brisbane (Queensland) to Perth (Western Australia), or to Melbourne (Victoria) must pass through New South Wales.

Railways

 

A Sydney A set commuter train at Ashfield

 

An XPT operating a Central West service at Rydal

The majority of railways in New South Wales are currently operated by the state government. Some lines began as branch-lines of railways starting in other states. For instance, Balranald near the Victorian border was connected by a rail line coming up from Victoria and into New South Wales. Another line beginning in Adelaide crossed over the border and stopped at Broken Hill.

Railways management are conducted by Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink^[102] which maintain rolling stock. Sydney Trains operates trains within Sydney while NSW TrainLink operates outside Sydney, intercity, country and interstate services.

Both Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink have their main terminus at Sydney’s Central station. NSW TrainLink regional and long-distance services consist of XPT services to Grafton, Casino, Brisbane, Melbourne and Dubbo, as well as Xplorer services to Canberra, Griffith, Broken Hill, Armidale and Moree. NSW TrainLink intercity trains operate on the Blue Mountains Line, Central Cost & Newcastle Line, South Coast Line, Southern Highlands Line and Hunter Line.

Roads

 

New South Wales and its highways

 

Pacific Motorway (Sydney–Newcastle) north of the Hawkesbury River

Major roads are the concern of both federal and state governments. The latter maintains these through the Transport for NSW agency.

The main roads in New South Wales are

• Hume Highway linking Sydney to Melbourne, Victoria
• Princes Highway linking Sydney to Melbourne via the Tasman Sea coast
• Pacific Highway linking Sydney to Brisbane, Queensland via the Pacific coast
• New England Highway running from the Pacific Highway, at Newcastle to Brisbane by an inland route
• Federal Highway running from the Hume Highway south of Goulburn to Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
• Sturt Highway running from the Hume Highway near Gundagai to Adelaide, South Australia
• Newell Highway linking rural Victoria with Queensland, passing through the centre of New South Wales
• Great Western Highway linking Sydney with Bathurst, as Route 32 it continues west as the Mitchell Highway then as the Barrier Highway to Adelaide via Broken Hill

Other roads are usually the concern of the TfNSW or the local government authority.

References