‘More connected than ever before’: Southwest Sydney to get its own Central Station

Upgrades will make one southwest Sydney station comparable to Central, by making it a transport hub, connecting trains, the Metro and buses.

Sydney’s southwest will get its own version of Central Station, with plans to upgrade Bankstown Station into a major interchange and concourse by the end of next year.

The upgrades will see trains, Metro and bus all interconnected to turn Bankstown into a major transport hub for the city’s southwest.

As part of the construction two new concourse buildings will be added to house both the train and Metro line, with a central plaza area crossing the old rail corridor and connecting the north and south sides of the suburb for the first time. The new plaza will bridge the gap between the upgraded heavy rail stations and the two new Metro stations under construction.

The Minns government expects the new plaza to be ready when the southwest Metro opens to the public next year, but has said the Metro can open even if the station has a delayed completion time.

Renders of the brand new Bankstown station. Plaza entry view to Sydney Metro Bankstown.

Bankstown is the only station along the southwest Metro line to have new buildings with the work being delivered by a joint venture of John Holland and Laing O’Rourke.

The new buildings are designed to turn Bankstown into a hub similar to Chatswood, in the city’s north with the new station akin to Chatswood chase.

So far, part of the Metro platform screen doors have been installed at Bankstown, with the new buildings and platform fit-outs still to be completed.

Government and industry leaders predict the new transport hub will be the tip of the iceberg for development in the area with 12,500 new homes to be built near the station. Bankstown Station lies within the NSW government’s Transport Orientated Development zones, rezoning land within 400 metres of the station to allow for dwellings up to six storeys high.

The area will also see rejuvenation in the building of a new promenade and additional investment around the new Western Sydney University campus at Bankstown.

Business Western Sydney executive director David Borger said it was essential more integrated transport hubs like the new Bankstown station were developed in Western Sydney.

“Like many places in Western Sydney, Bankstown is split in two by the train line,” he said.

“And in many places buses aren’t integrated as well as trains.

Sydney Metro Bankstown Station. Construction.

“You need to encourage easy traffic over the train line to make the town centre work properly – bridging that gap is fantastic for those Western Sydney communities.”

Transport Minister Jo Haylen said the new station was designed to make “Bankstown more connected than ever before”.

“When Metro is up and running in 2025, travel for every service between Bankstown and Central will be under 30 minutes for the first time, with a Metro departing every four minutes during peak,” she said.

Bankstown MP Jihad Dib said the suburb had been transformed by the new university campus, with the new transport hub to further the development in the area.

“I know this is hard for the community at the moment and I thank them for their patience,” he said.

“This is going to be a great outcome for the community in the long run.”

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