Circular Quay railway station is a

heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and human-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In ma ...

elevated

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

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, New South Wales, Haymarket, in New South Wales, Australia, that forms the core of Sydney's passenger rail network. The lines are ...

line, serving the

Circular Quay Circular Quay is a harbour, former working port and now international passenger shipping terminal, 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 The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main Central business district, commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia. It is served by

Sydney Trains Sydney Trains is the brand name and operator of Railways in Sydney, suburban and intercity train services in and around Greater Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. The metropolitan part of the network is a hybrid urban rail, urban-suburban r ...

' T2 Leppington & Inner West Line, T3 Liverpool & Inner West Line and T8 Airport & South Line services. It is adjacent to the

Circular Quay ferry wharf Circular Quay ferry wharf is a complex of wharves at Circular Quay, on Sydney Cove, that serves as the hub for the Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour ferry network. It is adjacent to Circular Quay railway station, which serves as an interchange for ...

complex, which serves as an interchange to

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

. It is also adjacent to

Circular Quay light rail station Circular Quay light rail station is located at Circular Quay in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It opened on 14 December 2019 as part of the first portion of the CBD and South East Light Rail, of which it is the northern terminus. History ...

which is the terminus of the L2 Randwick Line and L3 Kingsford Line of Sydney's light rail network.

History

Circular Quay is an area of historical significance for

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, 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 A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

and

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

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 St James (eastern section) and 1932 to Wynyard (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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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 State Premier

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 New South Wales Labor Party, Labor Party Premier of New South Wale ...

, 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 Cahill Expressway is an urban freeway in Sydney and was the first freeway constructed in Australia, with the first section, from the Bradfield Highway to Conservatorium Place being opened to traffic in March 1958. It links the southern end 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. Along with Central station, Circular Quay received one of the first easy access upgrades which included lift access prior to September 1998. In 2006,

RailCorp Rail Corporation New South Wales (RailCorp) was an agency of the Government of New South Wales, Australia, established in 2004 pursuant to the ''Transport Administration Act 1988''. It was a division under the control of Transport for NSW, foll ...

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, New South Wales, Australia, spanning Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour from the Sydney central business district, central business district (CBD) to the North Shore (Sydney), North ...

and the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...

on one side, and

Customs House A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting ...

and the

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

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 (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

details.

Platforms and services

Transport links

South-east of the railway station is the Alfred Street bus terminus. A number of

Transdev John Holland Transdev John Holland Buses is a bus operator in Sydney, Australia. A joint venture between Transdev Australasia, Transdev and John Holland Group, John Holland, it operates services in Sydney Metropolitan Bus Service Contracts, Sydney Bus Regio ...

routes originate from there while two

Big Bus Tours Big Bus Tours (formerly ''Les Cars Rouges'' and ''The Big Bus Company''), is an 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 cities of 11 c ...

routes depart from George Street just north of

. Adjacent to the station to the north lies Circular Quay wharf that is served by Captain Cook Cruises, Manly Fast Ferry and

services. West of the bus terminus and also at Alfred Street is the Circular Quay light rail stop, which is the northern terminus for the L2 Randwick and L3 Kingsford lines.

Gallery

Sydney Light Rail 04.jpg, Connecting trams outside Circular Quay Station, May 2020 Circular Quay Railway Station From Loftus Street.JPG, Northern exterior view from Alfred Street,
April 2015 Harbour Bridge from Circular Quay station day.jpg, Northbound view from Platform 1 viewing

, August 2007 Circular Quay Railway Station, North Entrance.JPG, Entrance to ground level concourse, April 2015 Circular Quay railway station Platform 2017.jpg, Eastbound view from Platform 2, 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, Leppington & Inner West=y, Liverpool & Inner West=y, Airport & South=y, state=collapsed Easy Access 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 Light rail stations in Sydney