Sydney's Quietest Stations Part 1: Cheltenham, Warrawee & Waterfall 

Thanks to Manscaped for sponsoring today's video! Get 20% OFF + Free International Shipping with my promo code BUILDING at mnscpd.com/buildingbeautifully. Part 2 is now out! Check it out here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-cEFMwzMW_AI.html Hope you all enjoy this video! I've had a few viewers point out that I somehow missed Mount Kuring-gai and Mount Colah when finding the quietest station on the T1. Basically, Warrawee really isn't the quietest station on the T1, even excluding the Richmond Line...my bad. Sorry about that! Warrawee is still a really quirky station that is relatively quiet compared to the rest of the T1, so I don't think it's an amiss inclusion on this list. In the near future, I'll do a video visiting those stations north of Hornsby to make up for my mistake!

For those who don't know, the Maccas in 12:23 is Engadine Maccas, infamously rumoured to be the place where Scott Morrison soiled himself as an adult.

Hi Sharath, thanks for checking out Warrawee station! I’m only one of a few people who can say they use Warrawee station other than Knox students. I was actually only there just yesterday. I pretty much only use the station to see a friend of mine who works there. He also used to work at Cheltenham too. And most of the time the station is exactly how it is portrayed here. The only time when it’s busy is at around 3:30PM when all the Knox Boys leave school. There are about 2-3 trains that need to be flagged because of the amount of people on the platform. If you look from the footbridge during that time, it’s a big sea of navy blue! Warrawee is one of several examples of these infill stations on the North Shore. These include Killara, Waitara, Artarmon, and Wollstonecraft. Except for Artarmon and nowadays Waitara, there’s often not a lot of development happening in these areas. And the reasons why are very similar to Warrawee and Cheltenham. Wollstonecraft was never supposed to be built and instead a cutting between St Leonards and Waverton was going to go straight through when the line was extended in 1893. The residents insisted on a station being built so that’s why there’s that very sharp curve on the line. Nowadays their descendants hate it! Between Turramurra and Pymble which is the longest distance between 2 stations on the line, another station was supposed to be built in around 1943 called Beechworth Road. There was a lot of demand by locals in an area where there weren’t many shops, apartments, nor schools nearby. The Railway Commissioner said it was too premature at the time and it never went ahead. It would’ve been a very interesting station as it would’ve been on a deep cutting. Everyone forgot about its existence until I checked in the local library and found some documentation about the fight to build one there both in 1943 and before then and put it on Wikipedia. I really enjoyed this video, so thanks for making it!

Very surprised that Waterfall rates as a "quiet" station. The carpark is always full, the trains starting from here during the morning peak are packed and on the weekends many bushwalkers use it. Yes, there are waterfalls within reasonable walking distance from the station. On a sombre note, I was one of the first RFS responders to the train derailment and it is still very firmly entrenched in my mind.

Man’s utilising that ENGG1811 knowledge

This channel has turned me into a train geek.

I'm actually quite an avid Waterfall Station user. When I commuted Town Hall from Wollongong I would drive to Waterfall and use the train the rest of the way. That allowed me to skip the part where the train slowly climbs up the escarpment.

Waterfall station is great for anyone interested in exploring the Royal National Park without a car - countless times I took my bike and started rides on the trails and roads from the station.

One of the things that I love about railways is that underutilised stations don't significantly detract from their efficiency yet do provide the significant benefits of rail transport to the people who use them. Sure, there may be stations that aren't surrounded by shops and tower blocks but it's not like the train has to go out of its way to get to them, the railway line is already there.

Id love to see this with the intercity lines, that would be fun!

Waterfall is not an unused station, even if the stats say otherwise. It is well known from Wollongong locals that many people drive to Waterfall (as an alternative to Sutherland) and catch trains to the city, or suburbs before hand and vice versa. Also as a last “buses replace trains” situation, we often end at Waterfall, and hundreds of people will catch buses to Wollongong station. I think it’s still extremely important, which I suppose you did say, haha. Anyway, I will die on my hill, Waterfall is an integral line for those on the south coast, and I don’t know if your stats take into account the amount of times buses replace trains from this station. It is something to consider, I suppose 😊😊

The trophy for least busy station in Sydney is a 6 way tie between Rosehill, Camellia, Rydalmere, Dundas, Telopea and Carlingford stations

I doubt that the opal-based stats are accurate at either Cheltenham or Warrawee, because many of the school students don't bother tapping on or off, they get free travel anyway, not much point

"of a station existing for a select special few" this reminds me of how the Metro-North Railroad in New York has small stations with limited service dedicated to hikers! Which is pretty cool when you can take transit to go hiking! So it's not just for the few who wanna go hiking, but also for the special views! These are Manitou and Breakneck Ridge on the gorgeous Hudson Line (one of the most beautiful stretches of railway in the US), and Appalachian Trail on the Harlem Line. With Appalachian Trail station being significant as it's the only rail station directly located on the whole Appalachian Trail! Breakneck Ridge serves its namesake, same for the Appalachian Trail, and Manitou serves Bear Mountain and Anthony's Nose. And Warrawee's story reminds of how there's a suburb outside Chicago called...Golf. Yup, just Golf! Basically, Albert Earling was the president of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad company in the early 1900s, so of course, he had his own private railcars! Earling was a member at Glen View Club and would hitch his private car to the back of northbound trains, unhitching at a special siding station the railroad company had created for these trips. He told colleagues he was "going to golf", and before long, people called it the "golf stop" and thus its name simply became Golf.

As someone who used live in the Northern, Warawee station is used mainly for Knox student (A private school). It's mostly busy during school hours.

My day is complete with a new Building Beautifully video 😎

Waterfall is an enigma to me because whenever I'd get the train to go into the city with mum, Waterfall was always the last stop. One day I just kinda want to get on a train and go all the way there for a round trip to scratch the itch of the childhood mystery that is Waterfall. Wolli Creek too. I always remember those names.

although it's not very heavily used I do have a soft spot for Waterfall station because of the trails in the Royal National Park that it access to. Coming to Sydney from Brisbane I was really impressed that Sydneysiders can access such great national parks conveniently without needing a car.

I know you didn't mention the T7 because of course it's short, but it's still cool that the service exists! For those who don't know: The line opened in 1911 and was originally built as the Abattoirs Branch line to serve the State Brickworks, abbatoirs, and associated sale yards located in the area that is now Sydney Olympic Park. The line closed in stages in 1984 and 1995 when these facilities moved out of the area. After the last passenger service on the line was withdrawn in 1995, the line was rebuilt and realigned in places to serve the new stadiums and sports grounds that were being built for the 2000 Summer Olympics. On the Long Island Rail Road in New York, one of the most interesting stations is Pinelawn! The station opened in the 1890s. In 1902, William H. Locke Jr. had the vision to create a beautiful memorial park on Long Island for those in the city, who were offered the ease of the LIRR to bring their loved ones for funeral arrangements. In its first years of service, Pinelawn Memorial Park provided overnight accommodations for families who were burying their loved ones within the vast, peaceful, green land. Long Island National Cemetery was eventually created there in the 1930s after the US gov purchased land from Pinelawn Cemetery to house more WWI veterans as Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn didn't have enough space.

Its crazy how similar this is to places in melbourne. Warrawee is basically heyington, with the difference heyington literally borders the school. Waterfall could be Upper Ferntree Gully with the whole suburb on the other side of the main highway and the start and end for a lot hikes and bike rides up the dandenong ranges Cheltnehem could be Chatham or Willison, just plonked into the nimbys backyard

Haha at 3:24 when you bust out the IPA translation in subtitles I started laughing. I love how nerdy the railway community are, keep on being you.

warrawee is my home station and ive used it for decades now.. i can say from years of observation that the opal numbers are pretty much just non-students. school kids taking a train 2 or 3 stops rarely tap on or off

Thanks for the doco- very interesting. True story, some years ago (within the last decade) I was on a train on the Northern Line towards Hornsby and as we were approaching Denistone, the guard announced "Quietest station on the network, no-one gets on and no-one gets off!'

I live in Nowra, and Waterfall is our go-to station to park at and ride into the city! I love it!

It's great having public transport serve lower density areas. Everyone benefits from a decrease in car dependency and congestion. Wish these areas had even a few shops though.

Lost Sydney Idea: You should do a video on the history and failure of the Eastwood County Road. It was a major road that was planned through Ryde but never ended up being built, however great chucks of the land still remain empty and the outline of the road can be seen on a satellite imagery.

"why are these even open" is a very dangerous question when it comes to railway stations - sincerely, a Brit

I grew up in Waterfall, it is a beautiful little town with a strong railway heritage, it's where I began my love for trains from. In terms of guessing the next ones, after a bit of thinking, I might've deciphered it: T2: Yennora, T3: Leightonfield, T8: this is the tricky one that has sorted stumped me, my best guesses are Turrella or perhaps Bardwell Park or Narwee, my only other thoughts further down the line are Macquarie Fields or Leumeah.

Waterfall allows people to visit the National Park without a car.

As someone who lived in the Cheltenham almost all their life its worth noting that not only are there no shops around the station, there are no shops at all in the entire suburb. The only business is the cafe at the bowls club and thats only existed for about 5 years.

Interesting that Cheltenham received a station upgrade and lift access in 2015 with so few visitors. Thornleigh and Normanhurst, on the same line, only just had their station upgrades completed in 2023.

I would imagine that Casula and Yennora are in the running for quietest station on the t2/t5 lines. Leightonfield is probably one of the quietest on the t3 line too.

When I was working for Sydney Trains I did a lot of shifts at Warrawee and the lack of any shops was annoying. Couldn't even get that early morning coffee - ziltch! The next stop towards Hornsby Wahroonga station is the total opposite with great cafes, restaurants, shops, etc. Now Denistone is another story... not a shop to be seen anywhere and whilst I was working there, I jokingly asked a customer on the platform where are all the shops? - her response was... "We don't want no shops here, it's peaceful here without them". If you had one of those mobile coffee vans I reckon you could make some good money by parking in the small carpark next to the station say from 6.00am to 8.00am to service all those heading to work with some caffeinated beverages & donuts 😁

To the west of Waterfall station is Lake Toolooma. The lake is actually a rail dam that was built to supply water for steam trains. Water was pumped, using a steam engine, up to the rail line. Waterfall was an important stop back in the day. The walk down to the lake is very enjoyable and worth the effort. I have done several bushwalks that involved catching the train to or from Waterfall station. The Royal is a good place for a walk but I actually prefer Heathcote NP as it is much quieter and has a far more remote feel. Keep up the good work with your videos. Cheers.

I wouldn't be surprised if the patronage numbers for Cheltenham and Warrawee are much higher than the Opal count. Students are notoriously bad at 'forgetting' to tap on and off if both stations don't have barriers. Waterfall might be a little higher for those people transferring from a terminating service to a Port Kembla service rather than catching an express from Sutherland but I don't think it would be that big a bump, at least compared to the other 2 stations.

Denison’s on the Epping line is also very quiet. It’s in amongst houses, nothing else, and it’s such a surreal spot.

Fascinating. I live in Rouse Hill and am on the Metro everyday, and as it happens, I tend to frequent Warrawee and Cheltenham stations up to 6 times a week for work.

The very rare occasion when you can travel from North Sydney to Waterfall (and vice versa). Happened as recently as Saturday the 11th of November and Sunday 12 November. This was due to track works on the T4 line in the city tunnels. When the T2 lines is out of service too, then the St Peters and Erskineville Stations enter the T4 lines..... I've lived in Sydney my how life, and haven't ventured out to some of the stations and suburbs featured on this page. It's like a "Sydney Weekender" meets "Getaway", and makes me want to visit these places :)

amazing video, keep it up!

As usual love the content and appreciate the effort you put into research.

You're getting good at this! Keep it up

I traveled from Cheltenham station to the city for 10 years up until 2008 it is a very nice station I glad the have lifts now and you forgot the best attaction of Cheltenham .Cheltenham Oval just to let you know bower birds nest in the bush near station

Keep up the Good work! love the content

Waterfall gets a lot of peak hour patronage, mostly people who live south of there driving up and catching the more frequent Sydney trains service. Go during the week, and the entire town is full of cars parked for the day waiting for their owners to get the train back and drive home.

You can take the monthly tap on/off data and use the attendance data from Google to work out the hours and days of the week when they're busiest and an estimate of how many people would have been there.

Best day when Sharath posts

12:24 haha mr shat himself

Not every service terminates at Waterfall. In the Afternoon, T4 Trains run Semi-High Speed Service to Helensburgh and Back to Bondi Via the City once a Day. Well in the Afternoon times.

Like at Warrawee, I suspect much of the patronage at Cheltenham is school students commuting from nearby suburbs.

sponsorship woohoo! 🎉 good work sharath I was your 87th subscriber I always knew you were going to make it.

Love this vlog. Keep it going and get that station named after you

Thank you, Sharath; this was so much fun to watch. When you mentioned accidents at Waterfall, I didn't remember the first, but the second one brought back memories of the news broadcasts. It was nice of you to offer your condolences to the families, as well. Would you perhaps do a collab with Phil from Sydney Trains Vlogs one day? I would definitely watch that.

petition for an intercity version

To be fair Warawee and Cheltenham are both largely high school stations and if you ever catch the train there at the right time prepare to be flooded

Waterfall is a very popular stop for Scouts as it’s where a major camp is.

10k views in one day. Can we celebrate that! 🎉 well done mate keep up the great work.

Warrawee station sounds like an Abbott and Costello sketch, "Who's on first" with public transport

LOL your video was so funny today Sharath. Well done

Full video report coming up: First off, I found "If you want me to do it in numerical order, too bad" rather amusing. Good thing I wasn't really thinking about wanting them to be in that order. I was surprised at first that Cheltenham was quieter than Denistone. But after the explanation I can see why. They're probably about the same. Oh wait, it is Denistone as said a while after where I was up to in the video at the time. (I'm writing this comment while I watch the video) How did you miss that Sharath? Great sponsor by the way. It's one of the few that I would watch instead of skipping it because I just don't care. For the T1 I can definitely see how it's Warrawee after the explanation. Just like another Denistone. And I love the stand in the middle of the road test. But if this included the Richmond line for those wondering, I believe the quietest station is Clarendon. Very cool to catch the train to Waterfall from North Sydney. I wasn't expecting Waterfall to be the quietest station on the T4. Probably because it's the terminus for the T4. But I guess it is right on the edge of Sydney and if it only has a population of 522, it makes sense. And then there's this line. "Most of the town is on the west of the highway while the station and railway is on the east of the railway." I was expecting that the station and railway would be in the same place as the station and railway. And I was half expecting a mention of the two crashes that happened at Waterfall. Very nice video. I can't wait for the next one! And also, here are some predictions for what the stations in the next video will be: Casula, Leightonfield, and I'm not sure for the T8 so I'll guess Panania.

Cheltenham has always been quiet - except a couple of times throughout the day - except for school activity it’s a ghost town. It was built in the bowels of a sleepy neighbourhood.

nice vid sharath!

Love Warrawee station. Sincerely, a school student.

great video

I think your wrong the pink flamingos, aka cheltenham girls crowd the platforms all the time, i think they just don't tap on that much

Wouldn't it be great if they reopened the Ropes Creek line again!

Sharath we need to get Geoff Marshall out to do a least used stations... Australian edition with you.

As someone noted below, Central Coast and Newcastle trains also pass through Platform 3 on weekdays. In theory, local trains could too, except for one problem: Beecroft does not have a platform facing that new track (Pennant Hills does).

Cheltenham has about 1000 high school girls use it every school day in the morning and the afternoon.

Really enjoyed the video, thank you. Sharath I was just about to call an uber to drive down that street in Warrawee. I thought you might be standing there for a week.

Cheltenham like Warrawee serves the large population at Cheltenham Girls High School

Half expecting an episode on Vineyard next

I was at Heathcote station recently to drop my son off for a hike. Similar story to Waterfall. Lovely spot. Waterfall turn back does makes sense though.

Why are these open? Because the people who get off at the busy stations have to have got on somewhere.

great video! interesting stations, you should do a video about Casula station, it is just tucked down a suburban street and seems very quiet.

Well Hornsby to St Leonards opened on the 1st of January 1890. Then Later Extended to Milsons Point and the Branch to Lavender Bay. (The Lavender Bay Line Closed on the 19th of March 1932).

We want part 2!!! 🎉

Waterfall is also a massive Scouting station as Camp Coutts is just next to it on the opposite side of the national park. Thousands of scouts go there yearly and it gets quite packed over the long weekends.

I love this

Worth noting that quiet stations are much easier to fare evade, meaning these numbers wouldn’t include locals using them to travel just a couple of stations

Just found your channel. Some really cool stuff. If you're looking for other ideas, consider Epping. Specifically, the Essex St/Epping Rd intersection. As far as I'm aware, it's the ONLY westbound exit from east side of Epping station since the right-turn from Langston place onto Bridge St closed several years ago. It's an absolute clusterfuck, especially around drop-off/pick-up times of the nearby Epping Public School. One ways street and almost complete gridlock. There's been massive property development in the last few years, and it continues today with a mega apartment complex being constructed on Cambridge St. If that's not enough, all North Epping traffic goes though the Eastern side of Epping as well, making it even more hectic.

I often take my family on "suburban bushwalks". A nice one is from Thornleigh to Hornsby along the "great northern walk". It takes around ~5 hours to walk, and then ~5 minutes to return by train 🙂

I don't know how I stumbled across your content but I enjoy it so keep it up. Even though I don't work in this field, I have a passing interest in urban planning, infrastructure, and civil engineering so it's fun to watch videos of places that I'm familiar with. I'd be interested to see a video about a game like Cities: Skylines II to simulate how you might fix something like the Homebush roundabout or the HEZ.

i genuinely had no clue waterfall and even wollongong were so close to sydney

I personally thought Denistone was more quiet but I can't argue with sources.

Cheltenham is a lovely looking station considering how quiet it is.

Always great to see new videos on your channel. I am an Engadine resident but I dont get the reference to the Maccas. What am I missing??

Nice video

crazy how one of the biggest junction stations is completely empty in a town that basically revolves around a single fish and chip shop

I regularly run through Warrawee Station for exercise. I remember the first time I ran out of the station, I did some triple-takes on my Google Maps to make sure I was running down the right street because it was so damn quiet that I thought I was going to run into a dead end! I also feel safe to run on the road.

I lot of posts have mentioned Holsworthy. I would’ve thought with a carpark and a fair bit of medium density housing built around it that it would it quite busy. I know the traffic around peak hour can be a challenge.

Will we the quietest stations regional? Keep up the great work

ooh yes been to all 3 :) Edit: saw the waterfall trains at platform 3 north sydney on sunday just a few hours after when the departure board tells me when you were there

Watching this on the Sydney train let’s go

Cheltenham is the perfect place if you want a quiet life, it's beautiful. A lot of homes with character and well built too. and they have large blocks of land. But for most it's far too expensive and isn't possible.

Guess we must have had the same idea at the same time because I was thinking about building a website doing the same exact things using the same dataset a month ago! University exams have put that on the back burner for now though

T2: Yennora !!! Maaaate!

Certainly Knox students form a major portion of those using Warrawee Station. But don't forget that the station was there over 20 years before the school wqs opened.

Awesome video!! You should see if you can touch base with Geoff Marshall who does similar things in the uk.

I wish every suburb and stations are like these. No more cars and traffic jam. Buses are noisy and took long time. I live in Beecroft. Beecroft and Cheltenham stations are one of the best.

earliest ive been to sharaths vids but wow its good keep it up edit: saw i made a mistake