An 8-car double deck 'V set' EMU pulls into Civic station in suburban Newcastle, just a few minutes into its 168km trip south to Sydney. This is an express service, and will cover the distance in about 2 hours and 45 minutes. At the time of writing, the Newcastle branch line is due to be ripped up on Boxing Day 2014 and the land sold off to developers, rendering scenes such as this part of history.