5 big moves at Central Station
With 25 platforms and 250,000 passengers every day, Central Station is the largest and busiest railway station in New South Wales.
Central Station is serviced by suburban trains on the:
T1 North Shore, Northern and Western Line;
T2 Airport, Inner West and South Line;
T3 Bankstown Line;
T4 Eastern Suburbs and Illawarra Line;
One inbound morning peak service on the T6 Carlingford Line;
Special event services on the T7 Olympic Park Line;
Intercity trains on the:
Blue Mountains Line;
Central Coast & Newcastle Line;
South Coast Line;
Outbound afternoon peak service on the Southern Highlands Line
Regional trains to:
Adelaide
Brisbane
Canberra
Melbourne
Perth
Regional NSW
Not only does Central Station perform a crucial function in the state's railway network, but the broader precinct also provides interchange opportunities with buses, light rail and long distance coaches.
But how many people actually enjoy their Central Station experience, let alone consider Central Station a destination in its own right?
Central lacks the attraction of a Chatswood Station, with over 60 cafes, restaurants and specialty stores ranging from Adriano Zumbo to Woolworths and Ippudo to Tim Ho Wan. Central lacks the legibility of an Olympic Park Station with its clear sightlines and strategic location. And Central lacks the multi-million dollar views of a Circular Quay or Milsons Point Station.
Things are about to change.
Whilst Central isn't going to be comparable to Grand Central in New York or St Pancras in London anytime soon, here are five projects which will change it for the better. And who knows what is to come with the ambitious Central to Eveleigh project down the track (if you'll pardon the pun)...
How many times have you wandered into Central Station, wishing it had a decent restaurant open for breakfast, lunch or dinner? Those dreams could be coming to fruition! Eternity is a new licensed restaurant planned for the old Booking Hall fronting onto the Grand Concourse. At the time of writing, the proponents of Eternity were seeking approval for a 212-capacity venue to operate 5:30am-9pm Mon-Thurs & Sun, and 5:30am-11pm.
Remember the great Central Station fire of 2015 which took out Hungry Jacks and the other F&B tenants in this part of the station? Well a DA has been lodged with the City of Sydney for a new cafe, convenience food store and food outlet in this location.
At the time of writing the DA is not yet on exhibition, however Central Station regulars will no doubt be pleased to hear some affordable food options are on their way back!
The $2.1 billion Sydney CBD and South East Light Rail project is scheduled to commence operations in early 2019. When it does, the latest addition to the Sydney Light Rail network will connect Circular Quay with Central Station via George Street, continuing through Surry Hills and Moore Park, and then branching to Randwick and Kingsford.
Central Station will operate as the primary interchange between the existing L1 Dulwich Hill Line and the new Sydney CBD and South East Light Rail, coded as the L2 Randwick Line and the L3 Kingsford Line. Customers wishing to interchange between the L1 Dulwich Hill Line and L2 Randwick and L3 Lines will be able to do so via the Central (Grand Concourse) and Central (Chalmers Street) stops.
How often do you lament the rabbit warren that is Central Station's pedestrian tunnels? The $300 million Central Walk will help fix that!
Central Walk will provide an underground connection between the upcoming metro platforms (more on that below), all of the existing suburban platforms and the Chalmers Street light rail stop (more on that above).
The new pedestrian connection will be notably wide, and unlike many parts of Central Station, provide lift and escalator access to/from platforms.
The $12 billion Sydney Metro City and Southwest project is an extension of the $8.3 billion Sydney Metro Northwest project from Chatswood to Bankstown via North Sydney, Barangaroo and Sydney CBD.
Central will see the construction of two new platforms as part of the Sydney Metro City and Southwest project. Driverless trains, platform screen doors and weather proofing will provide a real point of difference between the existing suburban, intercity and regional platforms and the new metro platforms at Central Station.
The new metro platforms will be located beneath the existing intercity platforms (13, 14 and 15) at Central, facilitating easy interchange opportunities between all forms of rail. Furthermore, the new Central Walk will also facilitate interchange opportunities with the new Chalmers Street light rail stop.