Housed in a magnificent Edwardian Baroque building, Sydney’s Central Railway Station is a city landmark. The original station was first opened in 1855 and has undergone several major facelifts over the decades. Today, it’s a stunning feat of sandstone, steel and glass, anchored by a grand clock tower that towers 85 metres above the city.
Central Railway Station serves almost all of Sydney’s suburban lines, as well as long distance trains like the Indian Pacific. Trains stop at 25 platforms, with an enormous indicator board looming over the main concourse. Today, Central Railway Station steps up as the largest and busiest train station in New South Wales, with more than 11 million passengers a year streaming through its gates.
Central Railway Station sits at the southern end of the CBD, occupying a large city block. Train access is easy, with most of Sydney’s major lines stopping at its platforms. Local buses stop at Eddy Avenue and Chalmers Street, as well as Railway Square on George Street. The station is wheelchair accessible, with limited parking available for pick-ups and drop-offs.
While today Central Railway Station whisks passengers across the city and beyond, when it first opened, trains travelled exclusively between Parramatta and Sydney. The set-up was modest to say the least, with the station made up of a single wooden platform and a corrugated iron shed terminal.