Central railway station, Sydney

Central
Central
	Central railway station, August 2017
General information
Location	Eddy Avenue, Sydney, New South Wales; Australia
Coordinates	33°53′06″S 151°12′19″E / 33.8849°S 151.2052°E
Elevation	20 metres (66 ft)
Owned by	Transport Asset Manager of New South Wales
Platforms	26 14 terminating; 12 through/island platforms; 4 underground;
Tracks	30
Train operators	Sydney Trains; Sydney Metro; NSW TrainLink; Journey Beyond;
Connections	12 bus stands; 13 coach bays; Central Grand Concourse; Central Chalmers Street
Construction
Structure type	Ground & underground
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Status	Staffed (24 hours, 7 days per week)
Station code	CEN
Website	Central station at transportnsw.info
History
Opened	5 August 1906
Electrified	June 1926
Passengers
2023	45,068,020 (year); 810,143 (NSW TrainLink Regional); 123,474 (daily);
Services
	Museum (limited anti-clockwise service) One-way operation
	Museum (limited anti-clockwise service) One-way operation
	Green Square Via Sydney Airport towards Macarthur
	Broken Hill towards Perth
Excursion runs
	Building details
General information
Type	Railway station terminus
Architectural style	Federation Free Classical
Inaugurated	4 August 1906
Renovated	1915, 1921, 1926, 1955, 1964, 1979, 2024
Cost	£561,000, equivalent to approximately A$94,600,000 in 2022
Client	New South Wales Government Railways
Height
Height	75 metres
Tip	85.6 metres (281 ft) AHD
Technical details
Material	Sydney sandstone; Carrara marble and terrazzo; Australian red cedar joinery; Acid etched glazing; metalwork balustrades;
Lifts/elevators	17
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Walter Liberty Vernon (1901–1906)
Architecture firm	New South Wales Government Architect
Developer	Government of New South Wales
Engineer	Henry Deane (Engineer in Chief of the New South Wales Government Railways)
Services engineer	John Bradfield (rail engineering)
Other designers	Fairfax & Roberts (clock tower)
Main contractor	NSW Department of Public Works
New South Wales Heritage Register
Official name	Sydney Terminal and Central Railway Stations Group; Central Railway; Central Station; Underbridges
Type	State heritage (complex / group)
Criteria	a., b., c., d., e., f., g.
Designated	2 April 1999
Reference no.	1255
Type	Railway Platform / Station
Category	Transport – Rail
References
Location
Location

Central is a heritage-listed railway station located in the centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The station is Australia's largest and busiest railway station, and is a major transport interchange for NSW TrainLink inter-city rail services, Sydney Trains commuter rail services, Sydney Metro services, Sydney Light Rail services, bus services, and private coach transport services. The station is also known as Sydney Terminal (Platforms 1 to 12). The property was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.^[4] It recorded 85.4 million passenger movements in 2018 and serves over 250,000 people daily.

Central station occupies a large city block separating Haymarket, Surry Hills and the central business district, bounded by Railway Square and Pitt Street in the west, Eddy Avenue in the north, Elizabeth Street in the east and the Devonshire Street Tunnel in the south. Parts of the station and marshalling yards extend as far south as Cleveland Street, and are located on the site of the former Devonshire Street Cemetery.

^ This figure is the number of entries and exits of a year combined averaged to a day.
^ "Train Station Monthly Usage". Open Data. Archived from the original on 2 April 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
^ "The Cockatoo Run – East Coast Heritage Rail". East Coast Heritage Rail. 21 December 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
^ ^a ^b "Sydney Terminal and Central Railway Stations Group". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. H01255. Retrieved 13 October 2018. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC BY 4.0 licence. Material was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License Archived 16 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine.
^ "Central Railway Station". New South Wales Heritage Database. Office of Environment & Heritage. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
^ "Central Railway Station and Sydney Terminal Group". New South Wales Heritage Database. Office of Environment & Heritage. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
^ Cite error: The named reference central history was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "Central Railway Station, Eddy Av, Haymarket, NSW, Australia (Place ID 2196)". Australian Heritage Database. Australian Government. 21 March 1978. Retrieved 29 November 2017.

[note1-1] This figure is the number of entries and exits of a year combined averaged to a day.

[2] "Train Station Monthly Usage". Open Data. Archived from the original on 2 April 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2024.

[3] "The Cockatoo Run – East Coast Heritage Rail". East Coast Heritage Rail. 21 December 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2025.

[nswshr-1255-4] "Sydney Terminal and Central Railway Stations Group". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. H01255. Retrieved 13 October 2018. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC BY 4.0 licence. Material was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License Archived 16 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine.

[nswshr1-5] "Central Railway Station". New South Wales Heritage Database. Office of Environment & Heritage. Retrieved 3 January 2017.

[nswshr2-6] "Central Railway Station and Sydney Terminal Group". New South Wales Heritage Database. Office of Environment & Heritage. Retrieved 3 January 2017.

[central_history-7] Cite error: The named reference central history was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[8] "Central Railway Station, Eddy Av, Haymarket, NSW, Australia (Place ID 2196)". Australian Heritage Database. Australian Government. 21 March 1978. Retrieved 29 November 2017.

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