Redfern railway station is a heritage-listed major suburban railway station located on the Main Suburban line and Eastern Suburbs line, serving the Sydney suburb of Redfern. It is served by Sydney Trains T1 North Shore & Western Line, T2 Leppington & Inner West Line, T3 Liverpool & Inner West Line, T4 Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line, T8 Airport & South Line and T9 Northern Line services, as well as intercity Blue Mountains Line, Central Coast & Newcastle Line and South Coast Line services. It is also served by T7 Olympic Park Line services during special events only.
Redfern was designed by John Whitton and built by the Department of Railways. The property was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999, under the name Redfern Railway Station group and Tenterfield railway.
History
thumb|Former Gibbons Street entrance in July 2007
Redfern railway station
In the early history of the New South Wales Government Railways, Redfern station was the frequently used but unofficial name of the principal Sydney terminus, a fact which has led to persistent confusion. That station, the first Sydney Terminal, was north of Cleveland Street, which is Redfern's northern boundary, and south of Devonshire Street. It opened on 26 September 1855 in an area known as Cleveland Fields which is now the railway corridor called Sydney Yard. This original 'Redfern' station comprised one wooden platform in a corrugated iron shed, with the station's name honouring William Redfern. The station was built of iron and the first stationmaster was a Mr Fielding. As traffic increased the original station was replaced in 1874 by a brick and stone building containing two platforms. This second station, the second Sydney Terminal which grew to 14 platforms, was designed for through traffic if the lines were extended in the city direction. This second station was found to be too far from the city centre, so a new station (the present Sydney Central station) was built to the north of Devonshire Street and opened on 4 August 1906. The 1874 station was soon demolished.
A station was opened in 1876 west of the original Redfern and named Eveleigh, after an old home located on the western side of the railway line.
Redfern station had been opened to serve the Eveleigh railway workshops, the first stage of which was completed in 1887, as well as the inner-city residential and industrial suburb of Redfern, one of Sydney's most high-density residential areas.
By the 1940s, three-quarters of Sydney factory workers worked within a three-mile radius of Redfern station, and many commuted to work by train. Work on underground platforms 11 and 12 began in the 1940s but did not finish until the 1970s when the Eastern Suburbs railway line was opened in 1979. The original plans of The City and Suburban Electric Railways (Amendment) Act of 1947 had included additional railway lines that were never completed, resulting in unfinished platforms and tunnels existing above the current platforms 11 and 12.
The Gibbons Street exit closed in 2018 and was replaced by a new entrance on the corner of Gibbons and Lawson Streets in November 2018.
In August 2019, further improved accessibility was proposed including a new concourse at the southern end of the station. The Southern Concourse began construction in 2021 and opened in October 2023. The upgrade provided lift access to Platforms 1–10, a new entrance off Little Eveleigh Street and a relocation of the existing Marian Street entrance.
Lift access to platforms 11–12, which are on a diverging, underground alignment, would potentially involve a multi-storey development, is still to be provided.
Description
Redfern has 12 platforms, ten ground level (linked by stairs to the concourse at Lawson Street), and two underground (linked by stairs and escalators to the concourse at Gibbons Street). The two concourses are linked. Station offices and facilities such as toilets and the main indicator boards are located next to the Lawson Street entry.
As part of the construction of the Eastern Suburbs Railway (now platforms 11 and 12), it was proposed to build up to four platforms for the underground route. Two of these platforms were built and now are platforms 11 and 12, however, the two platforms above were half constructed above platforms 11 and 12. These are visible through a small gap in the wall opposite Platform 11, as well as by a boarded up entry portal under the Lawson Street Bridge (which was to be the down track), and a now filled-in dive tunnel under the Wells Street Sectioning Hut on the Central side of Lawson Street. The area in which the platforms were to be situated is visible from the station concourse at the entrance to Platform 10.