Railways and Tramways of Australia

Central station in Sydney is one of the world’s great railway stations. It is used by around 100,000 train passengers on a typical weekday. The station features a grand concourse, ticket and information counters, food and retail outlets, and office spaces in the floors above the station. There were 25 platforms used by trains, the highest number of any railway station in Australia. Almost all trains in the Sydney suburban area pass through Central. New South Wales regional trains and most interurban trains also begin their journeys here. The station is conveniently located in the southern part of the CBD, and is within walking distance of some of Sydney’s popular attractions, such as Darling Harbour and the Powerhouse Museum.

First and second stations

The first Sydney station was opened on 26 September 1855 as the terminus of the Sydney–Parramatta line, the first passenger railway in New South Wales. Consisting of a single wooden platform in a corrugated iron shed, it was located on the southern side of Devonshire Street, extending south from the vicinity of the outer end of the current Platforms 2 and 3. The platform was extended in 1856, and a goods yard and goods shed were also added.

Although the first station was intended to be temporary, it remained in use until a larger station opened in 1874. The new station was located on the same site as the original station, and had two platforms and a large brick administration building. It was designed by Engineer-in-Chief, John Whitton, who planned it as a through station for possible future extension of the railway further into the city.

Ongoing expansion of the railway network in New South Wales and increasing passenger numbers led to demands for expansion of the station. From 1884 more platforms were added. Eventually 13 platforms were provided, numbered from east to west: Platforms A and B, then Nos. 1 to 11. Many people referred to the first and second Sydney stations as ‘Redfern’, but the official name was ‘Sydney’. The current Redfern station was at the time named Eveleigh.

Current station

The second Sydney station had been intended as a permanent terminus, but the need for a much larger station became clear. A site was selected on the northern side of Devonshire Street for the third Sydney station, which is the current station. Devonshire Street Cemetery occupied a large portion of the site, so the graves were removed and then transferred to a new cemetery at La Perouse. On 30 April 1902 the foundation stone for the new station building was laid by Edward O’Sullivan, Secretary for Public Works. Henry Deane, Engineer-in-Chief for Railway Construction, had overall responsibility for the design of the new station, but he retired before it opened. The station was officially opened on 4 August 1906 by Joseph Carruthers, Premier and Colonial Treasurer. Tracks from the old station had been extended to the new station, and the official first train ran from the new station to Parramatta at 11.15 am, the same departure time as the first train to Parramatta in 1855. The first train to arrive at the new station was the Western Mail, which arrived at Platform 1 at 5.55 am the following morning.

Passengers began referring to the new station as ‘Central’, although its official name remained ‘Sydney’. When opened, the station had 15 platforms, although Platforms 14 and 15 were at first used as horse and carriage docks. Platforms 16 to 19 were opened on 26 April 1914 and these were at the same level as Platforms 1 to 15, not the higher level of the current Platforms 16 to 23. The clock tower was not present when the station was opened in 1906, but was constructed as part of further work on the station and completed when the clock commenced operating on 12 March 1921. The top of the dome on the tower is 211 feet (64.3 metres) above the concourse and there are 272 steps from the concourse to the clock face. An additional two floors of offices were constructed at the same time as the clock tower.

More changes to Central station came with electrification of the suburban railways and the opening of the city railway. Electric trains commenced running between Central and Oatley on 1 March 1926. The elevated through platforms 21 to 23 were opened in October and November that year, enabling work to begin on the demolition of Platforms 16 to 19. On 20 December 1926 the line opened from Central to St James, the first section of the future City Circle railway. Elevated through platforms 16 to 20 were opened from 1927 to 1929. The second section of the city railway was opened on 28 February 1932 when services began between Central and Wynyard. This line was extended to the North Shore on 20 March 1932 after the Sydney Harbour Bridge was opened. The City Circle railway was completed when the section between Wynyard and St James was opened on 22 January 1956.

For half a century from 1929 to 1979 Sydney’s Central station operated with 23 platforms. Platforms 1 to 15 were mostly used by long-distance trains, servicing Sydney interurban and New South Wales country areas. There were numerous country train services in the era before travel by motor vehicle became cheaper and more convenient. Platforms 1 to 12 are today mainly used by interurban trains operating on the South Coast, Blue Mountains, and Central Coast & Newcastle Lines. Since 1929, Platforms 16 to 23 have been almost exclusively been used by suburban trains, with services operating through Central to the city underground railway.

The Eastern Suburbs Railway had been planned for many decades before it was finally opened on 23 June 1979. Two underground platforms were opened at Central, Platforms 24 and 25, the first addition of new platforms since 1929. The Eastern Suburbs Railway is mostly underground, and extends to Bondi Junction. Services on the line operate through Central and continue on the Illawarra and South Coast lines.

Although 25 platforms at Central were in regular in use by trains, there were actually 27 platforms. At the same time that Platforms 24 and 25 were constructed, another two partially completed underground platforms were built above, these platforms being intended for a planned future railway that never eventuated. They have no tracks and the tunnels leading to these platforms were never completed. The additional two platforms are often referred to as the ‘ghost platforms’ and are not accessible to the public, although special tours operate on occasions.