Bonkers new addition to Sydney’s Central Station is largest in southern hemisphere

Sydney’s Central Station, Australia’s busiest railway station, now has something nowhere else in the southern hemisphere can match.

A bustling Sydney train station is now home to the biggest escalators in the southern hemisphere after construction workers installed the massive moving staircases at Central Station.

The escalators have been installed as part of the station’s Sydney Metro transformation.

They will form part of the City and Southwest metro rail line from Chatswood, which will extend under Sydney Harbour through to the CBD and out to Sydenham, then Bankstown.

Central Station is now home to the biggest escalators in the southern hemisphere.

A revamped Central Station will have an 80m concourse dubbed “Central Walk” running 27m underground under the existing train services.

There are nine record-breaking escalators running underground, each 45m long and weighing more than 26 tonnes.

The new escalators from platforms 12 to 23 are expected to open later this year and connect the light rail with suburban trains and metro trains when they kick off in 2024.

The escalators have been installed as part of the station’s Sydney Metro transformation.

A canopy over the station’s Northern Concourse has also been installed, providing 540sq m of open space.

Transport Minister David Elliott said the new Central Walk concourse would make it easier for commuters.

The new escalators and platforms are part of a $944m upgrade to Central Station that includes the underground pedestrian link.

Up to 5500 jobs have been created in the massive construction process over four years.