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Town Hall railway station, Sydney

Coordinates: 33°52′25″S 151°12′17″E / 33.8736819°S 151.2047579°E / -33.8736819; 151.2047579
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Town Hall
George Street entrance, February 2015
General information
LocationGeorge Street, Sydney
Coordinates33°52′25″S 151°12′17″E / 33.8736819°S 151.2047579°E / -33.8736819; 151.2047579
Owned byTransport Asset Holding Entity
Operated bySydney Trains
Line(s)City Circle
Distance1.18 km (0.73 mi) from Central (clockwise)
Platforms6 (2 island, 2 side)
Tracks6
Connections
Construction
Structure typeUnderground
Depth
  • 6 metres (20 ft) (upper level)
  • 12 metres (39 ft) (lower level)
Platform levels2
AccessibleYes
ArchitectJohn Bradfield (designer)[1]
Other information
StatusStaffed
WebsiteTransport for NSW
History
Opened28 February 1932; 92 years ago (1932-02-28)
ElectrifiedYes
Passengers
2023[3]
  • 48,528,470 (year)
  • 132,955 (daily)[2] (Sydney Trains, NSW TrainLink)
Services
Preceding station Sydney Trains Following station
Central
towards Emu Plains or Richmond
North Shore & Western Line Wynyard
towards Berowra
Central Leppington & Inner West Line Wynyard
towards Macarthur
Central
towards Liverpool
Liverpool & Inner West Line
clockwise only
Wynyard
towards City Circle
Central
towards Waterfall or Cronulla
Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line Martin Place
Central Airport & South Line Wynyard
towards Macarthur
Central
towards Hornsby
Northern Line Wynyard
towards Gordon
Preceding station NSW TrainLink Following station
Wynyard
towards Gosford or Wyong
Central Coast & Newcastle Line
(peak hour services)
Central
Terminus
Central
towards Kiama
South Coast Line
(morning and evening services)
Martin Place
Light rail services
Preceding station Light Rail Following station
QVB Randwick Line Chinatown
towards Randwick
Kingsford Line Chinatown
Route map
City Circle route map

Town Hall railway station is a heritage-listed[1] underground commuter rail station located in the centre of the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. The station opened on 28 February 1932.[4] It is named after the Sydney Town Hall, located directly above the station.

History

[edit]
Platform 2 in 1932
Concourse during renovation in 2017

The station is built on the site of Sydney's earliest colonial cemetery, the Old Sydney Burial Ground.[5][6][7] In 2008, part of this cemetery was being excavated from under the Town Hall.

The station opened on 28 February 1932[1][8] and was built with six platforms, which were split over two levels with three platforms on each level. When the station opened, only four of the platforms were in use: platforms 1, 2 and 3 on the upper level and platform 6, served by escalators, on the lower level.[9] The other two platforms were built in preparation for a proposed western suburbs line from the city to Gladesville, as envisaged under the Bradfield scheme.[9] This line was never built, and the platforms (4 and 5) remained disused until incorporated into the Eastern Suburbs line when it opened in June 1979.

The station concourse had a major restructure in 2005 when the shops inside were closed to make way for the increasing crowds.

During a refurbishment of the station in 2014, a sign pointing to an air-raid shelter was uncovered on a staircase leading to Platforms 1 and 2. It has been encased in a Perspex casing.[10]

Station configuration

[edit]

Town Hall has two platform levels, each with three platforms – physically two island platforms, but set up so that one faces two tracks and the other faces the other track. Each platform has one lift in the centre connecting the concourse with the platforms, providing Easy Access for wheelchairs. These facilities were constructed in 1999. The lower-level platforms (4 to 6) have 4 escalators to the concourse. As the platform is not wide enough, the escalators are in a cross configuration, with two at either end of the platform and another two at the centre. The escalator directions can be changed by staff throughout the day as the passenger flow dictates. The upper-level platforms have stairs up to the concourse. There are also small staircases linking the two platform levels.

The concourse is above the two platform levels and immediately below street level. The station is linked to nearby shopping centres including the Queen Victoria Building, The Galeries, Town Hall Square, Pavilion Plaza and, Woolworths Supermarket. There are also several exits up to each side of George Street.

Opened in 2024, the Sydney Metro line includes another station located at Gadigal.[11]

Platforms and services

[edit]
Platforms 5 and 6
Platform Line Stopping pattern Notes
1 services to Homebush, Parramatta & Leppington [12]
services to Liverpool via Lidcombe and Regents Park[13]
2 services to Penrith, Richmond & Emu Plains 6 weekday morning peak NSW TrainLink services to Blacktown[14]
services to Epping & Hornsby via Strathfield[15]
3 services to Lindfield, Gordon, Hornsby & Berowra via Chatswood 3 weekday evening peak NSW TrainLink services to Gosford
3 weekday evening peak NSW TrainLink services to Wyong[16][17]
services to Gordon via Chatswood[15]
4 services to Cronulla, Waterfall & Helensburgh [18]
Limited services to Wollongong, Dapto or Kiama[19]
5 services to Bondi Junction [18]
Limited services to Bondi Junction or Martin Place[19]
6 services to Sydenham
2 weekday evening services to Campbelltown
[20]
services to Revesby & Macarthur via Airport stations[21]
[edit]

Light rail services

[edit]

Above the underground concourse on George Street is the Town Hall light rail stop, which is the serviced by the L2 Randwick and L3 Kingsford lines.[22]

Line Destinations Notes
L2 Circular Quay & Randwick [23]
L3 Circular Quay & Kingsford [24]

Bus services

[edit]

Town Hall station is served by bus routes operated by Busways, CDC NSW, Transdev John Holland and Transit Systems, under contract to Transport for NSW.

Stand A, QVB:

Stand B, QVB:

Stand C, QVB:

Stand D, QVB:

Stand F, Market Street

Stand G, Park Street

Stand H, Park Street

Stand J, Park Street

Stand K, Park Street

Stand L, Druitt Street

Trackplan

[edit]
Track layout

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Town Hall Railway Station". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC BY 4.0 licence.
  2. ^ This figure is the number of entries and exits of a year combined averaged to a day.
  3. ^ "Train Station Monthly Usage". Open Data. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  4. ^ Point, Holiday (16 March 2018). "Town Hall Station, Sydney - Underground Platform Map, Exits & Shops". Sydney Point. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  5. ^ "Old Sydney Burial Ground". City of Sydney. Archived from the original on 31 March 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  6. ^ "Town Hall Surrounds". Sydney Town Hall. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013.
  7. ^ "Burial: Early Sydney cemeteries". Australian Museum. Archived from the original on 11 June 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  8. ^ Town Hall Station Archived 15 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine NSWrail.net
  9. ^ a b "The St James Railway Tunnels". Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  10. ^ "Town Hall Station upgrade" Railway Digest January 2015 pages 44-45
  11. ^ "Gadigal Station | Sydney Metro". www.sydneymetro.info. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  12. ^ "T2: Inner West & Leppington line timetable". Transport for NSW.
  13. ^ "T3: Bankstown line timetable". Transport for NSW.
  14. ^ "T1: Western line timetable". Transport for NSW.
  15. ^ a b "T9: Northern line timetable". Transport for NSW.
  16. ^ "T1: North Shore line timetable". Transport for NSW.
  17. ^ "Central Coast & Newcastle line timetable". Transport for NSW.
  18. ^ a b "T4: Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra line timetable". Transport for NSW.
  19. ^ a b "South Coast line timetable". Transport for NSW.
  20. ^ "T8: Airport & South line timetable". Transport for NSW.
  21. ^ "T8: Airport & South line timetable". Transport for NSW.
  22. ^ "Town Hall stop guide" (PDF). Transport NSW Info. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
  23. ^ "Randwick Line". Transport for NSW. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  24. ^ "Kingsford Line". Transport for NSW. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
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Media related to Town Hall railway station, Sydney at Wikimedia Commons