Circular Quay Ferry Wharf is a complex of wharves at

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 Sydn ...

, on

Sydney Cove Sydney Cove ( Eora: ) is a bay on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour, one of several harbours in Port Jackson, on the coast of Sydney, New South Wales. Sydney Cove is a focal point for community celebrations, due to its central Sydney loca ...

, that serves as the hub for the

Sydney Harbour Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Se ...

ferry network.

Layout

The Circular Quay ferry wharf complex consists of five double-sided wharves at 90 degrees to the shoreline, numbered 2 to 6. Wharves 3 to 5 are used exclusively by Sydney Ferries, wharf 2 west is used by Sydney Ferries, wharf 2 east is used by Manly Fast Ferries by while wharf 6 is used by other operators including Captain Cook Cruises. Each wharf has ticket selling facilities on both sides of the barriers as most other wharves do not have such facilities. On the eastern side alongside Bennelong Apartments, is the ''Eastern Pontoon'' used by charter operators. On the western side, lie the ''Commissioners Steps'' and ''Harbour Masters Steps'' that are used by charter operators and water taxis. When the

Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company The Port Jackson and Manly Steamship Company (PJ&MSC) was a publicly listed company that operated the Manly ferries in Sydney, Australia. After being taken over by Brambles Industries, the ferry service was eventually taken over by the State ...

introduced

hydrofoils A hydrofoil is a lifting surface, or foil, that operates in water. They are similar in appearance and purpose to aerofoils used by aeroplanes. Boats that use hydrofoil technology are also simply termed hydrofoils. As a hydrofoil craft gains sp ...

to the Manly service in the mid-1960s, a pontoon was attached to the eastern side of wharf 2 to allow the hydrofoils to berth without their foils fouling the wharf. This was removed when the hydrofoils were replaced by JetCats in 1991. Wharf 3 is exclusively used by ferries on the Manly service. When the Freshwater class ferries were introduced in the 1980s, the wharf was rebuilt to accommodate their onboard gangways. It has a mezzanine level allowing ferries to disembark passengers from their upper decks. It also houses an office for Transdev Sydney Ferries. To better accommodate the larger ferries, wharf 3 is built higher from the water and this combined with differently configured

Opal card Opal is a contactless fare collection system for public transport services in the greater Sydney area and most other urban areas of New South Wales, Australia. Operation of the Opal system is managed by the New South Wales Government's transpo ...

readers and gates, means only Manly ferries can use the wharf. Wharves 2 West, 4 and 5 are used interchangeably by Sydney Ferries.

Ferry services

Interchanges

The Circular Quay ferry wharf complex is adjacent to an elevated railway station of the same name. The station is served by

Sydney Trains Sydney Trains is the operator of the suburban passenger rail network serving the city of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The network is a hybrid urban- suburban rail system with a central underground core that covers over of track and 17 ...

services on the Airport & South Line, Inner West & Leppington Line and the

Bankstown Line The Bankstown Line (numbered T3, coloured orange) is a commuter rail line operated by Sydney Trains in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It serves Canterbury-Bankstown and parts of the Inner West and Western Sydney. The Bankstown railway ...

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

Big Bus Tours Big Bus Tours (formerly ''Les Cars Rouges'' and ''The Big Bus Company''), is the largest operator of open top bus sightseeing tours founded in May 2011 after "Les Cars Rouges" and the "Big Bus Company" merged. The company operates in 23 citi ...

routes depart from George Street just north of Alfred Street. There is also the terminus of the L2 and L3 Sydney Light Rail services, located west of the bus terminus, but still on Alfred Street.

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 ferry wharves, Manly=y, Taronga Zoo=y, Parramatta River=y, Pyrmont Bay=y, Neutral Bay=y, Mosman Bay=y, Double Bay=y, Cockatoo Island=y, Watsons Bay=y, state=collapsed Ferry wharves in Sydney