Plans announced for new Barangaroo ferry hub and $100m upgrade of Sydney’s Wynyard Station.
New South Wales Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian last week announced a $100 million upgrade of Wynyard Station, including an overhaul of the concourse and ticket area that aims to make it easier for customers to move in and around the station.
Describing Wynyard Station as a relic of the past but one of the city’s busiest transport hubs, Ms Berejiklian said it was a long-held wish of most train customers in Sydney that Wynyard Station was given the attention it deserved. The planned work includes an upgrade to the CBD station’s concourse and platforms, with a less cluttered concourse and wider ticket gate area making it easier for customers to enter, exit and move around the station.
It also includes new lighting, new tiling, an overhaul of the retail outlets, a fresh coat of paint and new signage to help customers move around the station easier.
“We will also reduce clutter on the platforms, making it easier and safer to board and alight trains, which is one of the best ways to improve the punctuality of our services,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“We want to make public transport as simple and comfortable as possible for our customers and to encourage others out of their cars and onto trains, buses, ferries and light rail.”
Wynyard Station is also expected to act as a gateway to Barangaroo and play a key part in the movements of thousands more of customers every peak period.
“Barangaroo’s development, the construction of Wynyard Walk and the proposed light rail line linking Circular Quay to Central and on to Randwick and Kingsford will only make Wynyard more important to Sydney public transport customers,” Ms Berejiklian said.
Also last week, the government invited tenders for the preparation of an environmental assessment for a new ferry wharf and interchange hub at Barangaroo, which is expected to be ready for customers in 2016 and forms part of the ‘Sydney’s Ferry Future’ blueprint to expand the ferry network over the next 20 years.
The Barangaroo ferry hub will connect ferry customers to the city centre via Wynyard Walk, which is scheduled for completion in late 2015 and involves pedestrian link between Barangaroo and Wynyard Station.
Ms Berejiklian said preliminary site investigations for the ferry hub project will also begin in the coming months, with community consultation to be carried out later this year.
“A new ferry hub at Barangaroo will provide room for additional ferry services from the Parramatta River to Darling Harbour and Barangaroo, as well as direct access to and from the Eastern Suburbs and lower North Shore,” the Minister said.
The southern end of the Barangaroo development is expected to cater for 11,000 workers by the end of next year, increasing to around 19,000 by late 2016 and 23,000 by August 2019.
The planning approval process for the Wynyard Station project will take place in the coming months.
The station upgrade project comes as work gets underway on an $8 million major refresh to Town Hall Station including around 8,000 square metres of new tiling on six platforms, fresh paint, improved lighting and upgraded staircases.
Preparations are also underway to install new two new lifts at Circular Quay Station and Museum Station.
Source: News Release Urbanalyst, 19 May 2014