The doors have opened at Central Station’s landmark new Chalmers Street entrance today, 6 months after it was damaged when a fire took hold of a neighbouring building on Randle Street in Surry Hills.
The new entrance – with 2 new lifts and 6 escalators – was 4 days from opening when the fire emergency began.
The intense inferno was just 6 metres away from Australia’s busiest railway station, with a small laneway, Randle Lane, separating Central Station from the 7-storey abandoned warehouse engulfed in flames.
Six members of the Rail Fire and Emergency team were part of the emergency response. They were on-site within 3 minutes and based themselves in the Chalmers Street entry to help extinguish the flames and protect the station.
The bricks and debris, along with the amount of water needed to battle the blaze caused extensive structural and water damage to the entrance.
After the damage was assessed, a long list of rectification works were required to fix the building, including installing a brand-new roof, re-tiling stairs and replacing windows.
The new lifts and escalators – which were yet to carry commuters in and out of Central Walk – were flooded with water, resulting in mechanical and electrical services needing to be replaced.
Opening the new entrance for passengers required a mammoth effort from firefighters, clean-up crews, Sydney Metro and contractors Laing O’Rourke. It marks the completion of all major Sydney Metro upgrade works at the station.
Central Station’s upgrades include:
- A new entrance at Chalmers Street, providing direct access from the east and allowing easy interchange from CBD and south-east light rail services.
- Central Walk, a new underground pedestrian concourse connecting all areas of the station.
- Significant accessibility upgrades via 14 new lifts and 42 escalators.
- A revitalised Northern Concourse, with transformed pedestrian thoroughfares and a stunning new roof canopy.
- A brand-new North-South Concourse where, in 2024, commuters will have access to metro platforms and metro services every 4 minutes in the peak.
When metro services start through the city in 2024, new metro platforms below Central Station will welcome 21,350 commuters in the morning peak, alleviating pressure on other transport modes. Metro will also provide fast journey times from Central to Chatswood in 15 minutes, North Sydney in 9 minutes, and Sydenham in 7 minutes.
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Transport Minister Jo Haylen said:
“More than 130 firefighters and 20 fire trucks responded to the intense Randle Street fire as it burned metres away from Australia’s busiest station.
“Not only were they able to protect the station, we were able to keep rail services up and running through the afternoon to ensure people were able to get home.
“The Chalmers Street entry was a bit battered and bruised, but it was carefully rebuilt and is now open to the public.
“The new Chalmers Street entrance welcomes commuters to a transformed Central Station that is more accessible than ever before.
“Central’s significant Metro makeover will help more than 67,500 people flow through this station and change between metro, rail, bus, light rail and intercity services.
“Commuters are now benefiting from the significant Sydney Metro upgrades to Central Station and the countdown is on as we look forward to the icing on the cake, metro services starting below our feet in 2024.”
Manager Fire and Emergency Operations at Rail Fire and Emergency Brett Richardson said:
“In a demonstration of dedication and expertise, the teams of the Rail Fire and Emergency unit swiftly responded to the Randle Street fire, underscoring their commitment to protecting our critical infrastructure, notably Sydney Metro’s newly constructed Chalmers Street entrance at Central Station.”
Acting Fire and Rescue NSW Deputy Commissioner – Field Operations Paul McGuiggan said:
“The Surry Hills fire required a large and immediate response from emergency services but our people were up to the challenge.
“The unstable nature of the site after the blaze led to a protracted operation over several days that affected many neighbouring businesses and projects, such as the Sydney Metro.”
