Railway Square

Railway Square
Sydney, New South Wales
Railway Square; Sydney, New South Wales
	Railway Square tram interchange early 1900s
	Railway Square
Coordinates	33°52′58″S 151°12′15″E / 33.8829°S 151.2042°E
LGA(s)	City of Sydney
	Localities around Railway Square:

Railway Square is a plaza at the southern end of the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia, formed by the confluence of Broadway, Lee Street, Pitt Street and George Street. The square itself is a very busy intersection and is the site of a large bus terminus. The University of Technology, Central railway station and the now-closed Kent Brewery are adjacent to Railway Square.

History

Railway Square was originally known as Central Square. In the 19th century and early 20th century, Central Square was the heart of the city's modern retail district, enhanced by the presence of Central railway station and its adjacent hotels, erected to serve country visitors arriving in Sydney by train.^[1] The Marcus Clark department stores were located in a number of buildings at Central Square. The Parcel Post Office in Lee Street was built in 1913, having been designed by George McRae, the government architect.^[2] It was later restored and converted to the Medina Hotel.^[3]

The area was previously a busy nexus for the electric tramways of Sydney until the system's closure in the late 1950s.^[4] Until the 1990s, Railway Square had a three-platform bus terminal in its centre. The platforms were connected to one another, as well as the opposite sides of Lee Street and Broadway, by an extension of the Devonshire Street Tunnel.

The 1907 built tramway shelter was removed in June 1973 and re-erected at the Sydney Tramway Museum in Loftus.^[5]^[6]

On 14 August 1975, a new pedestrian subway and bus station opened with two platforms in the square, one for Public Transport Commission buses to the Eastern Suburbs and one for Inner West services.^[7]

On 22 May 1999, a redeveloped bus station with two platforms, lifts, a cafe and access to the University of Technology opened.^[8] The site was fitted with public artwork created by Merilyn Fairskye, including murals, illuminated wall panels and four towers with coloured steel ribbons inside, representing the four elements (Air, Water, Earth and Fire).^[9] Railway Square is dominated by the rising glass bus terminal structure, and by four sculpture light towers. The area is now an interchange for Busways and Transit Systems bus routes.

Rail tunnel

Railway Square is not only traversed underneath by the extension of the Devonshire Street pedestrian tunnel, but also by a railway tunnel that runs underneath at the southern end of the square.^[10] The tunnel was part of the Metropolitan Goods line linking the main lines south from Central with Darling Harbour. This tunnel is the oldest railway tunnel in New South Wales and is now disused. The section of the rail line between the tunnel and the Powerhouse Museum is now a park and pedestrian pathway called The Goods Line. The section beyond the Powerhouse Museum has been converted to light rail.^[11]^[12]

References

^ Railway Square Archived 9 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine Brushtail.com.au.
^ A Pictorial Guide to Identifying Australian Architecture, Apperly (Angus & Robertson) p.106
^ Mercure Railway Square Accessed 17 August 2007 Archived 31 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine
^ Keenan, D. Tramways of Sydney. Transit Press 1979
^ Railway Square Australian Bus Panorama issue 11/1 July 1995 page 20
^ Railway Square Waiting Shed and Signal Box Trolley Wire issue 245 May 1991 pages 29/30
^ Buses Electric Traction September 1975 page 12
^ Sydney Buses Transit Australia July 1999 page 159
^ "Fairskye Website". Archived from the original on 21 March 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2006.
^ Close-Up Look at Freight Lines Transport News August 1974 page 5
^ "History of Rail Transport in Glebe". The Glebe Society Inc.
^ New South Wales' Oldest Existing Railway Structure Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin issue 244 February 1958 pages 29/30