Central Station’s grand underground cavern to open to Sydney commuters

A blaze that engulfed a building near Sydney’s Central Station has failed to derail the planned 4am opening on Monday of a massive new concourse at the rail hub,part of a near $1.3 billion project that shifts underground the main point where commuters switch between trains.

While the huge fire has delayed the unveiling of a new eastern entrance to Central Station,transport officials are pushing ahead with the opening of the 140-metre north-south concourse located below existing train lines.

It significantly expands an underground interchange area for commuters and removes a rabbit warren of narrow passages at the station’s northern end.

Escalators link the underground north-south concourse to platforms for the Metro City and Southwest line.

Escalators link the underground north-south concourse to platforms for the Metro City and Southwest line.Wolter Peeters

Transport Minister Jo Haylen said Sydneysiders would be “surprised and impressed” by the underground concourse,which would make Central Station the “jewel in our transport network”.

“Great global cities of the world have central stations that people visit not only when they are going on a journey. Sydney’s Central will become of them,” she said. “People will love the light and space and also that there is a real Sydney feel to it – the sandstone and other historical references.”

Chiselled out of sandstone,the concourse creates an airport terminal-like hub and reorients the central core of Australia’s busiest station underground. Its floor features work by Melbourne artist Rose Nolan that resembles several running tracks.

The 27-metre-wide concourse is sandwiched betweennew metro train platforms deeper underground,and reinstated platforms 12-14 above. It also links to an 18-metre-wide concourse dubbed Central Walk,which has beenopened in stages over the past six months.

Transport Minister Jo Haylen (left) with Transport for NSW acting secretary Howard Collins and Sydney Metro chief executive Peter Regan on the underground concourse of Central Station.

Transport Minister Jo Haylen (left) with Transport for NSW acting secretary Howard Collins and Sydney Metro chief executive Peter Regan on the underground concourse of Central Station.Wolter Peeters

Tender documents show the underground concourses,entranceways and new metro train platforms cost $1.27 billion,a $308 million increase onearly estimates. Sydney Metro,the agency responsible,has largely blamed the pandemic for the cost overrun.

“We had some pretty significant construction challenges,particularly through the COVID disruptions,” Sydney Metro chief executive Peter Regan said.

While commuters will be able to use the concourse on Monday,the planned opening of an eastern entrance to Central Street from Chalmers Street on the same day – near a light-rail stop – has been delayed.

A new building that houses escalators and lifts for the station entrance was damaged during the inferno that engulfed aheritage-listed warehouse nearby last Thursday.

The entrance is still in an exclusion zone set up around the destroyed warehouse,which is preventing transport officials from assessing the damage and determining when it can be opened. Water and fire retardant entered the entrance while firefighters fought the blaze.

Transport for NSW acting secretary Howard Collins said the north-south concourse and Central Walk would become both the “core artery” and middle core of the station.

“It makes Central Station operate in a world-class mode rather than the little passageways that we all fought through to get from one side to the other,” he said. “When we build stations,it is for 100 years. This is a world mega project.”

The finishing touches were made to the new north-south concourse at the weekend.

The finishing touches were made to the new north-south concourse at the weekend.Wolter Peeters

While train patronage has yet to fully recover from pre-pandemic levels,about 200,000 people a day pass through Central,and the number is forecast to rise to 450,000 by 2036. Before the pandemic,about 250,000 people a day used the station.

Collins said the longer-term ambition was to extend the concourse to Pitt Street on the western side of the station,allowing people to walk underground between Surry Hills in the east and Haymarket in the west.

Commuters will be able to access the metro platforms from the north-south concourse next year,when the main section of the$20 billion Metro City and Southwest rail line between Chatswood and Sydenham opens.

To create the new concourses and metro platforms,British contractor Laing O’Rourke excavated more than 375,000 tonnes of sandstone from beneath the station.

Laing O’Rourke project director John Cosgrove said the aesthetics and finishes on the concourses were of a high standard,making it “more hotel foyer than train station”.

The unveiling of the north-south concourse comes amid a separate$350 million revamp of Central’s main sandstone building,which is due to take three years to complete.

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Matt O'Sullivan is transport and infrastructure editor at The Sydney Morning Herald.

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