Good news and bad news. RailCorp will be split-up into two operators effective July 1, 2013 is the good news. The bad news is 700 jobs will be affected by the separation.

At a press conference on Friday morning, Gladys Berejiklian, transport minister of New South Wales, said the reduction of manpower is part of the state government's plan to reform the train network. The metropolitan lines will be managed by the Sydney Trains, while the NSW Trains will oversee the long-distance train trips.

An internal RailCorp document classified as commercial in confidence obtained by Fairfax Media said the job cuts are mostly directed at station managers. They will be replaced by station customer managers who will oversee a number of locations.

Overall, 240 back office positions and 450 maintenance jobs will be slashed over three years.

"At the moment we have a lot of duplication . . . we are not using our staff effectively," Ms Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney, noting roles would need to be redefined and that staff would be reassigned to new jobs.

The number of drivers, guards or station staff will not be affected, Ms Berejiklian said at the press conference.

"The overall number of station staff remains the same. We have 1,860 now, we'll have 1,860 after July 1," Ms Berejiklian said.

From July 2013, RailCorp will cease in operation. It will be replaced by two new organisations, Sydney Trains and NSW Trains.

In May 2012, the government of NSW announced it will divide RailCorp in two entities. Some 750 middle-management posts were offered for redundancies earlier this year.