New look for one of Sydney’s oldest train stations

The biggest upgrade to one of Sydney’s oldest and busiest stations in more than four decades will turn its southern side into the main gateway to nearby suburbs, reducing platform crowding and improving commuter accessibility.

After delays and cost overruns, a 90-metre-long pedestrian bridge spanning 10 rail lines at the heritage-listed Redfern station, complete with lifts and stairs to platforms, will open to passengers on Sunday.

Redfern station’s new southern concourse will open on Sunday.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

More than 46,000 passengers tap on and off at the ticket gates at Redfern on average every weekday, making it the fifth-busiest station in NSW.

Redfern station upgrade project manager Michael Childs said 60 per cent of the station’s commuters were forecast to now enter and exit from the new southern concourse, reducing pressure on the northern entrance.

Childs said the $166 million upgrade would improve links to South Eveleigh, Carriageworks, Sydney University, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and an area near a new metro train station at Waterloo, which is due to open next year.

“Once Metro is opened down at Waterloo, which is only a short journey up, you’ll get even more people from this side,” he said.

Redfern station upgrade project manager Michael Childs on the six-metre wide bridge which spans 10 train lines.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

The new bridge connects Little Eveleigh Street on the western side of the station to Marian and Gibbons streets on the east, allowing people to walk from one side to the other without having to pass through ticket gates.

The western entrance on Little Eveleigh Street was created out of an old factory warehouse once home to The Big Issue magazine.

Transport Minister Jo Haylen said the much-needed upgrade would breathe new life into the station and ensure it had better capacity and accessibility.

“Redfern train station is the fifth-busiest train station in the state, but for the 140 years it’s been serving passengers, it hasn’t been fully accessible. That changes today,” she said.

The 90-metre-long bridge provides lifts and stairs to all the station’s 10 above-ground platforms.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

Under the previous government’s early plans, the Redfern station upgrade – the largest since underground platforms for the eastern suburbs line were built in the late 1970s – was due to be completed by late 2020 at a cost of $100 million.

The state’s transport agency has blamed the late completion and an increase to $166 million in the project’s cost largely on disruptions from the pandemic, wet weather and industrial action.

Childs said the upgrade would reduce crowding on platforms and stairs at the northern end, which become packed during peak hours on weekdays.

“A lot of the job wasn’t just about lifts – it was about congestion relief. Tuesdays through to Thursdays are almost getting back to pre-COVID numbers, so it’s getting very busy on the platforms again,” he said.

The station’s narrow platforms, heritage buildings and need to operate near working train lines presented challenges for the project team. Workers had to install vital parts of the bridge over 61 weekends when rail lines were closed and power temporarily switched off.

A 35-metre-long “sky-bridge” from the main overpass had to be built because of the narrow width of two platforms.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

“Each one of those 61 weekends was compressing weeks’ worth of work into a 48-hour period. It was an incredibly challenging feat,” Childs said.

Cranes were used to lift beams for the bridge into place during the rail shutdowns. All up, 404 tonnes of steel were used to construct the six-metre-wide bridge.

Contractors also had to build a 35-metre “sky bridge” from the main pedestrian bridge to platforms eight and nine because they were too narrow in places for lifts and stairs to be installed elsewhere.

Workers put the finishing touches to the new station entrance on Little Eveleigh Street. Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

The upgrade to Redfern is also aimed at ensuring it meets accessibility standards, after years of refusals by successive governments.

The project is the biggest of those funded from the government’s transport access program, which received a $300 million boost in the state budget.

As part of that program, two new lifts have also been opened at Stanmore station in Sydney’s inner west, as well as accessible toilets and extra lighting. So far, 118 train station accessibility upgrades have been delivered across the state.

Community group REDWatch welcomed the installation of lifts to all Redfern station’s above-ground platforms, as well as locals being able to cross the southern concourse without having to pass through gates.

However, spokesman Geoffrey Turnbull said it was not a “total solution” to making the station fully accessible because the underground platforms at the station for the eastern suburbs line still did not have lifts.

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