Springwood Station on Blue Mountains Line NSW

The Blue Mountains Line is part of the Main Western Line to far west NSW and South Australia and Indian Pacific to Perth.

Springwood was opened in 1867 by the New South Wales Government Railway and originally ascended and descended the Blue Mountain through a series of zig-zags. The eastern zig-zag was by-passed by tunnel in 1892 and the western zig-zag in 1910.

It was electrified in the 1950s to extract coals from the western coal-fields to the coast, but as a result the passenger services were also electrified. The line originally had gradients as step as 1 in 33 (now 1 in 60) and as sharp as 8 chains in radius (now eased to 12 chains).