Circular Quay railway station is a

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elevated

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are co ...

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

that is located on the

City Circle The City Circle is a mostly-underground railway line located in the Sydney central business district and Haymarket, in New South Wales, Australia, that forms the core of Sydney's passenger rail network. The lines are owned by the Transport As ...

route, serving the

Circular Quay Circular Quay is a harbour, former working port and now international passenger shipping port, public piazza and tourism precinct, heritage area, and transport node located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on the northern edge of the ...

precinct of the Sydney central business district in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. It is served by

Sydney Trains Sydney Trains is the operator of the suburban passenger Railways in Sydney, rail network serving the city of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Railways in Sydney, network is a hybrid urban rail, urban-suburban rail system with a central un ...

T2 Inner West & Leppington, T3 Bankstown and T8 Airport & South line services.

History

Circular Quay is an area of historical significance for Sydney, as it was for a long time the central harbour of a settlement which relied on shipping for its connection to the outside world. By the 20th century, ferry commuter wharves began to eclipse commercial shipping wharves as the dominant feature of the Quay area. The area became a transport hub as it served as the terminus of both ferry and

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ...

services. Planning for a railway station here to complement this transport hub began in 1909, and work was authorised in 1915. Tunnels to link the surrounding stations to the future Circular Quay station were built from Central between 1917 and 1926 to

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(eastern section) and 1932 to

Wynyard Wynyard may refer to: Australia: *Wynyard, Sydney, the district of Sydney CBD around Wynyard railway station, Sydney *Wynyard Park, Sydney *Wynyard, Tasmania *County of Wynyard, in the Murrumbidgee–Tumut region of New South Wales Canada: *Wynya ...

(western section). Work on the section of the railway through Circular Quay began in 1936, was interrupted by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, and recommenced in 1945. Work was again interrupted between 1951 and 1953 with the viaduct finally completed in 1954. The supporting beams were fabricated at Chullora Railway Workshops in the 1930s. They were used during the construction of the Hawkesbury River Railway Bridge in the 1940s, before being returned to Chullora. Cahill Expressway Construction

Designs for the station building itself commenced in 1927, revised in 1937, and the station was finally completed and opened on 20 January 1956 by

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Joseph Cahill John Joseph Cahill (21 January 189122 October 1959), also known as Joe Cahill or J. J. Cahill, was a long-serving New South Wales politician, railway worker, trade unionist and Labor Party Premier of New South Wales from 1952 to his death in ...

, with the first regular train services beginning on 22 January. The completion of Circular Quay station marked the completion of the City Circle railway as originally envisaged by John Bradfield making it the newest station on the line. The construction and placement of the station was always controversial due to its prominent location at the head of Circular Quay, an important natural and cultural landmark and visitors' attraction. When the

Cahill Expressway The Cahill Expressway is an urban freeway in Sydney and was the first freeway constructed in Australia, opening to traffic in 1958. It starts from the Eastern Distributor and Cross City Tunnel in Woolloomooloo, and runs through a series of ...

opened above the station in 1958, the controversy over the entire structure only intensified. There have been various proposals to relocate the station underground in conjunction with the demolition of the Cahill Expressway, however these have not come to fruition. In 2006 RailCorp performed maintenance and cleaning of the station's 50-year-old facade. A refurbishment in 2007 introduced sun-shading awnings on the platforms, removed advertising hoarding between the tracks, and improved facilities on the concourse level.

Design

Circular Quay station features a ground-level central concourse, and elevated platforms on a second level. Both platforms feature sections of open galleries, offering views to Circular Quay, the

Sydney Harbour Bridge The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge in Sydney, spanning Sydney Harbour from the central business district (CBD) to the North Shore. The view of the bridge, the harbour, and the nearby Sydney Opera House is widely regarded ...

and the

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on one side, and Customs House and the Alfred Street plaza on the other. Viaducts lead from the elevated platforms to tunnels through surrounding elevated terrain that lead to neighbouring stations. The station has two main, double-storey facades, facing Circular Quay to the north, and Customs House to the south respectively. The northern facade is faced with polished granite tiles, while the southern one features polished granite and sandstone. The station name is featured in steel lettering on both sides. The upper storey of the facades correspond to the central sections of the platforms, and feature steel-framed windows. The exterior of the remainder of the platform feature open, glass-railed galleries, supported on the lower level by a continuation of the central facade. The top of the northern, harbour-facing facade is incorporated into the viewing platform and rest area located above the station alongside the Cahill Expressway roadway. This platform can be reached from the pedestrian walkway on the Cahill Expressway. The station platforms are reached from the ground level concourse via stairs, escalators and lifts. The central concourse is surrounded on either side by retail and food shops and public toilets located under the elevated platforms. The concourse is decorated with brass details in an aquatic animal motif, seen in sculpted grills above stairways and doorways. Glass bricks are used extensively in various parts. The station is in an inter-war functionalist style, as seen in the strong horizontal lines presented by the windows and galleries, with

art deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...

details.

Platforms & services

Transport links

South of the railway station is the Alfred Street bus terminus. A number of Transdev John Holland routes originate from there while two

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routes depart from George Street just north of

Alfred Street Alfred Street is a street running between the High Street to the north and the junction with Blue Boar Street and Bear Lane at the southern end, in central Oxford, England.

.Hop-On, Hop-Off City Tour
Big Bus Sydney Adjacent to the station lies Circular Quay wharf that is served by Captain Cook Cruises, Manly Fast Ferry and

Sydney Ferries Sydney Ferries is the public transport ferry network serving the city of Sydney, New South Wales. Services operate on Sydney Harbour and the connecting Parramatta River. The network is controlled by the New South Wales Government's transport ...

services.

Gallery

Sydney Light Rail 04.jpg, Connecting trams outside Circular Quay Station Circular Quay Railway Station From Loftus Street.JPG, Northern exterior view from Alfred Street in April 2015 Harbour Bridge from Circular Quay station day.jpg, Northbound view from Platform 1 Circular Quay Railway Station, North Entrance.JPG, Entrance to ground level concourse Circular Quay railway station Platform 2017.jpg, Eastbound view from Platform 2 in August 2017

References

External links

Circular Quay
at Transport for New South Wales (Archive
10 June 2019

Circular Quay Public Transport Map
Transport for NSW {{Transport for New South Wales railway stations, Inner West & Leppington=y, Bankstown=y, Airport & South=y, state=collapsed Easy Access railway stations in Sydney Railway stations in Sydney Railway stations in Australia opened in 1956 New South Wales State Heritage Register sites located in the Sydney central business district City Circle Bankstown railway line