Central (also known as Sydney Terminal) is the largest railway station in Sydney, Australia. It services almost all of the lines on the CityRail network, and is the major terminus for interurban and interstate rail services. Central is the station closest to the University of Technology Sydney. Central Station houses the operations of New South Wales Railways and is located at the southern edge of the Sydney Central Business District. Central Station is celebrating its 100 years of service aniversary on 5 August 2006.
There have been three stations on the current site.
The original Sydney Station was opened on 26 September1855 in an area known as "Cleveland Fields." This station (one wooden platform in a corrugated iron shed), which was known at the time as Redfern, had Devonshire Street as its northern boundary. When this station became inadequate for the traffic it carried, a new station was built in 1874 on the same site and also was known as Redfern. This was a brick building with two platforms. It grew to 14 platforms before it was replaced by the present-day station to the north of Devonshire Street. The new station was built on a site previously occupied by a cemetery, a convent, a female refuge, a police barracks, a parsonage, a Benevolent Society and a morgue. This new 15-platform station was opened on 4 August1906 and is still in use.
The last train departed platform 5 of the old Sydney station at midnight. During the remainder of that night the passenger concourse was demolished and the line extended through the old station into the new station. The Western Mail train that arrived in Sydney at 5:50am on 5 August1906 went straight into the new station. Devonshire Street, which separated the two stations, became a pedestrian underpass to allow people to cross the railway line and is now known by many as the Devonshire St Tunnel.
Sydney station has expanded since 1906 in an easterly direction. A 75-metre Gothic revival clock tower was added at the north-western corner of the station on 3 March1921.
Station Configuration
In attempting to describe Sydney's Central Station as it stands currently, it is probably better to think of the station as two separate, but adjacent, railway stations.
In the days of steam, the station was regarded as being divided into "steam" and "electric" parts.
The western ("steam") half of Central Station, which was formerly known as 'Sydney Terminal' and is often referred to as such by Sydneysiders (although it is no longer the official name), comprises 15 terminal platforms and was opened in 1906. This section is dominated by a large vaulted roof over the concourse and elaborate masonry composed primarily of sandstone, the most common rock in the Sydney region. This western section is popularly known as the country platforms, even though only four platforms are commonly used for long-distance trains. Most of the 15 platforms are used for CityRail's intercity services that terminate at Central, also known as Sydney Terminal.
To the west of Platform 1, there was previously a siding leading to two dock platforms for use of mail trains. This siding has been cut back to serve a car loading ramp for the Indian Pacific. The space where the mail sidings were is now a Youth Hostel. The hostel rooms are modelled on old train carriages.
The eastern ("suburban" or "electric") part of Central Station, formerly known as 'Central Electric', consists of 12 through platforms, four of which are underground. These platforms are used by suburban CityRail services, and by a limited number of through intercity services during peak hours. The eight above-ground platforms were opened in 1926 as part of a large electrification and modernisation program aimed at improving Sydney's suburban railway services.
The four underground platforms were built as part of the Eastern Suburbs Railway. Construction commenced in 1948 but the underground railway line was not finished until 1979. While the plans called for four platforms, two were found to be not needed and are currently used as archival storage by the New South Wales Railways.
Service/Platforms
Platform at Central station
Central Station currently serves all suburban lines except for the Cumberland Line and Carlingford line, and all intercity lines except for the Hunter Line. All long-distance rural and interstate passenger trains operated by the State-owned CountryLink and the famous Indian Pacific, the twice-weekly train between Sydney and Perth, Western Australia - the only train to cross a continent from one ocean to the other - owned by the formerly Federally-owned Great Southern Railway terminate at Central.
The platforms at Sydney's Central Station are numbered from 1 to 27, with 1 being the westernmost platform and 27 being one of the easternmost. The services which generally use each platform are listed below.
Blue Mountains Line - intercity services to Springwood, Katoomba, Mt Victoria and Lithgow.
Southern Highlands Line - peak hour intercity services to Moss Vale & Goulburn. (At other times, Southern Highlands line trains depart from Campbelltown).
South Coast Line - intercity services to Thirroul, Wollongong, Port Kembla, Dapto and Kiama.
Olympic Park Line - weekday off-peak and special event limited stops services to Olympic Park.
Platform 16:
Northern Line - all stations services to North Sydney via Town Hall.
North Shore Line - all stations and limited stops services to Lindfield, Gordon, Hornsby and Berowra. Peak hour intercity services to Gosford via the North Shore line.
South Coast Line - peak hour intercity services to Thirroul, Wollongong and Port Kembla.
Platforms 26-27 (underground):
Located directly above Platforms 24 and 25, these platforms have never been used by rail traffic.
Light Rail
A Metro Light Rail vehicle at Central station.
Central
Light Rail Station
Suburb
Central
Street(s)
Railway Sq
Distance from Central
0km
Fare Stage
1
Number of platforms
1
Train Transfer
Yes
Monorail Transfer
No
Day Frequency
4-6/hour
Night Frequency (0000-0600)
2/hour
Operating Hours
Sun-Thu
24 hours
Fri & Sat
24 hours
Central station is also the location for the Central light rail station, the eastern terminus of the Metro Light Rail line in Sydney, which runs for 7.2km between the station and the terminus, Lilyfield light rail stop. It is the only station on the light rail line at present where transfer to CityRail services is possible.
The light rail stop is located in an outside concourse area of Central station, located near to the main waiting area and departure hall. It allows easy transfer from train services to Chinatown, the Darling Harbour precinct, Pyrmont and some of the inner western suburbs. A TramLink card was made available by Metro Transport and Cityrail to facilitate these transfers through the purchase of one ticket on both systems.
History/Service
Central's light rail stop is a single platform on a unidirectional turning loop (much like South Ferry Metro station in New York) which is used to avoid having to terminate the vehicles. The route taken by the light rail around Central was not new; it had been formerly used until the 1950s as a route on the former Sydney tramway system. The stop and Central station loop were constructed in 1997 as part of the construction of the Sydney Light Rail (now the Metro Light Rail. The covered area in which the light rail stop is located was previously used as a staff carpark and bus interchange. Ticket machines and line information boards are located on the platform area.
Previously there have been proposals to extend the light rail network into the CBD. It is expected that Central station would be the terminus for the CBD services also.
Many major bus services depart from adjacent Eddy Avenue, Chalmers Street or from Railway Square on George Street, accessible through the Devonshire Street Tunnel, which crosses directly under the rail station from the suburban lines. Long-distance road coaches also terminate in Sydney at Central Station on Eddy Avenue.
Students that alight from Central station to travel to the University of New South Wales board buses at Stand D on Eddy Avenue to go to the unversity, and arrive on the station side of Eddy Avenue on the return trip at Central. Express Buses (Route 891) to the University of New South Wales arrive approximately every 2 minutes during morning peak hours, with decreasing frequency in off peak hours.
