It is an unelectrified, bi-directional single track with 1,800 metre long passing loops at Leightonfield and Glenfield.

[2] Delays to freight services operating to and from Sydney via the Main South line had long been a problem, but it wasn't until the formation of the National Rail Corporation that any plan was devised to resolve it.

[3] In February 1992, the Federal Government allocated $71 million for the construction of a dedicated freight line from Chullora to Macarthur as part of the One Nation infrastructure project.

Instead the funding was used to complete a number of smaller projects, including building a 6.6 kilometre relief line between Glenfield and Ingleburn.

In November 2009, poor planning led to the ARTC suspending the project for 10 months while it relocated utilities.

[8][9] On 24 June 2012, the Chullora to Leightonfield section opened allowing the connection from the BHP yard at the latter to the RailCorp network to be severed.