Epping to Chatswood rail link

The Epping to Chatswood rail link (ECRL) (originally a part of the Parramatta Rail Link (PRL) proposal) is a railway line in the northern suburbs of Sydney, Australia, which connects Epping station on the Northern line with Chatswood on the North Shore line. It was formerly considered its own railway line, but is now part of the Metro North West & Bankstown Line.

The 13-kilometre (8 mi) line runs completely underground and includes three intermediate stations: Macquarie University, Macquarie Park and North Ryde. The junction stations at Epping and Chatswood both underwent major redevelopments to incorporate the new link.

As a suburban line, it was in service for less than a decade, opening in February 2009 and closing in September 2018 for conversion. The vast majority of the infrastructure was incorporated into the Metro North West & Bankstown Line of the Sydney Metro network. The conversion took place as part of the Sydney Metro Northwest project.

Earlier proposals

There were proposals for a railway between Sydney's North Shore and the Main Northern lines since September 1920, when John Bradfield's plans were put forward for a railway between St Leonards and Eastwood. The proposed route was via the present Parklands Avenue in Lane Cove to the head of Burns Bay, across the Lane Cove River near the present-day public school at North Ryde, and terminated about 20 chains (400 m) north of Eastwood station. After political moves, and potential engineering difficulties with hills south of Eastwood station in the 1930s, the terminus was changed to Epping, where the line became known as the "Epping-St Leonards Railway".