Stations The first passenger train services on the Illawarra commenced on 21 June 1887, after the line was completed from
Clifton to , and later,
North Kiama on 9 November 1887. The line was later connected to via , , and the following year between July and October 1888, after delays on construction between Waterfall and Clifton. The line was further extended to through , opening on 2 June 1893. passenger train approaches station. (
photograph dated 1914) Throughout its long history, the South Coast Line's roster of stations has changed significantly. Many stations in the Upper Illawarra had closed and new ones opened towards the first half of the 20th century. Stations such as the ones serving Clifton were closed, along with a majority of the original railway between Waterfall and Coalcliff between 1915 and 1920, replaced with a new alignment that made use of a flatter gradient and made the infamous
Otford Tunnel defunct. New stations along the line that opened throughout this period included in 1902, in 1915, in 1916, in 1917, and in 1948. Further removals of stations from the line in the latter half of the 20th century included the station serving
Yallah in 1974, the majority of the stations on the line between Kiama and Bomaderry, and in 1983. While the railway network at
Port Kembla was built in 1916, stations and passenger trains servicing the surrounding suburbs did not operate until 5 January 1920, when the
Port Kembla railway station was opened. A station at was added to the Port Kembla commuter branch in 1926, along with one at , a decade later, in 1936. A railway station for workers at Port Kembla, named , after the nearby
Lysaght steel plant, was also opened in 1938. Electrification of the South Coast railway line was further extended to in 1993 and, finally, to Kiama in 2001. The railway between Kiama and is the only part of the line that remains non-electrified, operated by
New South Wales Endeavour railcars since their introduction in 1994. The electrified rolling stock of the South Coast Line began with
V set intercity trains. There were later accompanied by
Tangaras when they were introduced into the
CityRail network in 1988. Originally, the Tangaras that ran on the South Coast Line were different variations of T sets known as G sets. G sets differed from T sets in that they had reversible seats, toilets, fresh water dispensers and luggage racks. In late 2005, it was discovered that a majority of the V set rolling stock operating on the South Coast Line were suffering from corrosion in their underframes. More G sets were introduced onto the South Coast Line to compensate, and eventually became the standard rolling stock on the South Coast Line after V sets ceased operating on the service. From January 2012, V sets ceased operating South Coast services. In 2009, however, after the introduction of
OSCARs onto the intercity CityRail network, All G sets were recalled for conversion into T sets. The OSCAR fleet effectively replaced the G set rolling stock and, from 2010–2025, standard
Sydney Trains T sets, owned by Sydney Trains, have been operating services to Port Kembla. In 2017, it was revealed that the Liberal state government had reviewed a 3.6 billion dollar tunnel between Thirroul and Waterfall that could reduce travel time between Sydney and Wollongong by 22 minutes, but that rail improvements were being sidetracked in favour of improving and extending the nearby
Princes Motorway.
Incidents On 20 December 1994, an accident involving two empty
S sets occurred during a
shunting procedure at . One of the trains jack-knifed onto the platform, demolishing the concrete pedestrian bridge. No injuries or casualties, however, were reported. On the morning of 31 January 2003, an intercity
Tangara en route to
derailed at high speed between Waterfall and , resulting in the deaths of seven people and injury of forty. The accident was the third major accident resulting in fatalities on the
CityRail network in 13 years, after the
Cowan rail accident in 1990 and
Glenbrook rail accident in 1999. On 23 November 2011, a
Pacific National coal train derailed near
Clifton, causing the suspension of South Coast Line services between Waterfall and . Services were resumed four days later, after the derailed train was removed from the tracks. The train had derailed immediately after coming out of the Clifton tunnel, with the front eight clearing the tunnel and derailing, and the rear twelve carriages remaining inside the tunnel. The Office of Transport Safety Investigations found that the cause of the derailment was a broken axle. ==Services==