Town Hall Station is too confusing. Let's fix it.
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- čas přidán 26. 03. 2023
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Town Hall station opened in 1932, and it is Sydney’s busiest railway station. While the station certainly has served commuters well for over 90 years, the station is compact, uncomfortable, antiquated and just generally tired. On top of all that, it’s often quite difficult to orientate yourself in the station and find the right exit up to street level, especially since the station has so many exits! In this video, I’ll explore what makes the station so confusing, suggest ways we could fix the station, and investigate just how many exits Town Hall has. Hint; it’s a LOT more than you think!
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My map of Town Hall station and all its exits: drive.google.com/file/d/1Xj16...
Hey! Hope you enjoyed this video :)) This was my most Jay Foreman video yet, but unlike him I am a researcher first and (attempted) comedian second. I hope my acting wasn’t TOO cringe for you all.
Anyways, I did my best to find every Town Hall exit, but I’m sure I missed some. Let me know in the comments any exits that I missed.
Any Summoning Salt fans in the crowd recognise the last song I used? It’s Wavetable by Patricia Taxxon. Been watching his videos for ages and I remembered that song and was like “You know...that would work really well at the end of this video!” That contrast between using it in speed-running videos and using it in railway station exploration videos though LOL.
Anyways...my next video is a special video on Saturday that’s coming out in the morning for the first time! Get hyped!
Great video, Town Hall seems like a labyrinth
I should have known you were a fellow Jay Foreman fan
Did you find the exit from Woolies on to Pitt Street? Up the escalators in Woolies to their ground floor and head to the back (south?) end of the store. I think it comes out between 301 and 303 Pitt Street. There's a great little food court downstairs in the "arcade" from Woolies to Pitt Street.
Actually, Town Hall station isn't that bad. It was just built and designed in mind for everyone to access the CBD to work and wasn't really built for a provision of interchange. Besides, it's ok, I've seen worse. Don't even get me started on Brisbane's Central Station.
Hey, this is Australia, cringe acting is practically the national sport.
The fact that you can get from the bottom platforms of Town Hall Station, one of the lowest points in the city, to the top of Centrepoint Tower, the highest point in the city, without leaving a building is crazy.
Can you? I have never found the entrance to the tower.
Yes you can; the entrance to Sydney Tower is at the top of Westfield Sydney. You'll need to get the escalator from the lower platforms of the station to concourse level, exit station and walk through the lower-ground floor of QVB, then to Westfield Sydney. You'll have to cross the sky bridge of Pitt St Mall, then get a few more escalators to level 5, where you can find the entrance to the tower.
It's actually possible to go one block further to David Jones aswell. There's a skybridge AND an underpass both connecting DJ to Westfield.
You used to be able to get from Town Hall station to Martin place station without going outside through Westfield, glasshouse and the MLC, but they took down the skybridge linking MLC with glasshouse in 2021.
If that skybridge remained, by 2030 you would've been able to walk from the George st cinemas to Barangaroo through the new Hunter street station that links Martin place and Wynyard.
@@eddielong8663 This actually makes it possible to get to the Art Gallery from Town Hall with only having to cross one road (Elizabeth St)
The signs on the platform that say 'No Way Out' really add to the feeling of being trapped & helpless
I've seen signs on the tracks (I guess as a warning for workers) with 'No Safe Place'. I wonder if state rail had a paranoid sign designer who wanted to share their gift with the world?
Having worked close to Town Hall station, I've not found it confusing as a regular commuter. The multiple exits is in fact one of the best parts of this station, and the fact that you can go much farther below ground level is a bonus on rainy days. 😅
Yeah the actually underground tunnels are great station is kind of crap. The journey is better than the destination.
Rather change trains from TH station than Central , it’s that easy
Give this man a like he mapped out 64 exits for a single train station. The station does have a lot of downsides to it and it confusing until you get use to the exits. However, a couple of benefits are that those underground tunnels can usually take you close to where you work without having to cross a lot of traffic lights above ground. Secondly, it is pretty easy to find, it is on George St near the QVB building.
Not to mention avoiding the weather (hot, cold or rain). I've walked though town hall station far more frequently than I've caught a train there.
@@uzetaab Good point, did not think of that.
Even though town hall is very confusing, I love the compactness and verticality of it.
I've used this station for the last 8 years. Not too confusing for me. What is really confusing is the maze of rooms the public doesn't see.
@@andrewthorpe3219of course it's not going to be confusing once you get used to it, and what rooms are you talking about?
@@sebisconfused1475 On the main concourse level near the Woolworths entrance is the station office. Behind the front counter is a veritable maze of meeting rooms, store rooms, duty rooms, and staff facilities.
@@andrewthorpe3219 oh wow, you worked it out some time over 8 years? What a genius you must be.
@@kiriakoz I've had to work in the area. Been there at least several times a year for the last several years.
I always thought I was the only one who found Town Hall station confusing to navigate through. Thanks for making this video 😊
I've never really found town hall station that confusing, but I found central station to be soooo confusing until I started going there more. tbh I found your suggestion about adding exit 2B, etc and west/east would make the exiting a bit more confusing 😅 crossing george st is super easy so ending up on the wrong side isn't a big deal. anyway loved the video, super cool map you did of all the exits!
I agree with Central. I go to uni near there now so I've become very familiar with it but back in the day I'd go to Town Hall to change lines instead of Central even though it was a bit further simply because I found Central so confusing.
What do u mean? i LOVE town hall, changing lines is SO much easier because of the vertical builds than walking in circles for hours to find your platform at Central / running up stairs at redfern - and all the tunnel routes outta there are just such a treat!
Thanks for the map, hadn't ventured past westfield before, looking forward to the walkabout !
This! I'd cross the city morning & afternoon for 7 years of high school. Town hall in the morning peak was too congested to go between platforms with any speed (I'd take Redfern), but come the afternoon town hall was the best - to change lines I didn't even need to change levels - cross-platform transfers/interchanges are amazing.
Enjoy your walkabout!
Oh those circular corridors at Central drive me mad! So confusing, so pointless. Like a damn rabbit warren.
well, ive heard that shinjuku station is 40 minutes from exit to exit... (covering 3 other stations I belive)
that means town hall is roughly 25% the radius of shinjuku station. That would somehow make sense, as Shinjuku therefore is 16x the size of townhall, accomodating 16x the amount of people... as tokyo has 16x the amount of people as sydney.
our little shinjuku station.
This is true. I was shopping in Shinjuku a week ago and had to get from one side to the other so I can grab dinner. It took 20 mins navigating the tunnels so I could avoid the busy congested streets. It’s well sign posted but it’s defs a big walk because trains are 16 carriages long in Japan.
I love Town Hall but after experiencing the station layouts of Sapporo, Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka to name a few in Japan. We have it easy here. In Japan it’s a complete different world underground!
I've used Town Hall Station since when it only had exits to George St on either side & to Town hall Square. It wasn't until the QVB was renovated, after being left near derelict for decades, that the QVB underground link was opened in the late 80's. The offshoot to The galleries was added in the late 90's. Likewise, the exit to 580 George St wasn't added until the late 80's as well.
The Myer to Westfield to David Jones interconnections all existed prior to the QVB renovation, both below & above ground, as they made it easier to cross the busy Market, Castlereagh & Pitt Streets to each building. The QVB exit was added specifically so that people could access these shopping districts without having to transverse the busy roads at ground level. The Pitt St Mall was added in the 1990's to complete the shopping precinct.
TfNSW and it’s predecessors have tried to improve Town Hall as it gets dangerously congested. The fact nothing has happened suggests the Engineering challenges preclude any sizeable improvements.
Some of the platforms get dangerously congested in peak times. Especially Platforms 1 & 2.
Or it's haunted with a spooky ghost.
Once the City & SW Metro opens, you might then have the breathing space to be able to close the station and make the necessary open heart surgery without losing cross-city rail connectivity. I would love to see platform screen doors installed so you can also air condition the city underground stations, theyre way too hot in summer, but this will be difficult with the unions.
The platforms are so narrow and the bottom ones feel like there isn’t enough oxygen. It is dark and dingy. It’s horrible
@@mickker841 yes but its a complicated expensive project to do much about. One thibg that will help is that once the Bankstown line is running through the Metro to Chatswood, you can run all the Airport trains through Museum and St James which will simplify the City Circle and more evenly distribute passengers, plus alot more people will likely transfer at Central or Sydenham and ease pressure on Town Hall and Wynyard.
I loved using town hall and its associated tunnels as the awesome pedestrian freeway that it is. Avoiding road crossings, traversing up and down the various levels and emerging into a completely different city precinct. Signs are for chumps!
Town Hall is like 20x bigger than the biggest shopping centre in New Zealand! It helps to navigate more by landmarks (eg remembering which cafes you pass) rather than the hundreds of signs. The only signs you need to pay attention to are the big orange T signs. Town Hall also has 2 (or more) train levels. You can get to places suprisingly without crossing multiple roads, if you take the right exit. It feels like a subway, only more modern with double decker trains. Lift access let alone navigating the Hall, is terrible for those who have mobility needs. As its like an indoor city. It would take me 5 minutes to get from the platform via Town Hall to Sydney Westfield, without needing to cross any roads.
Anything in Australia is 20x bigger than tiny little NZ. Have they got internet over there yet?
@@BrickLayingStud it’s 10 gigabit. Much faster than NBN
@1 6 It's a commonwealth country so yup, NZ has internet. Have high speed fibre with Vodafone (One).
@@BrickLayingStudThey had many things before Oz dipsh$t! And their internet is faster than snail pace Australia! And no, they don’t wanna be a concrete jungle...🙄🤡🤦♂️
Never thought about how confusing it is! although i used to find Central more confusing than town hall :)
It's amazing how that now with the light rail, there are 3 levels of rail tracks on George Street - the two tram tracks on the surface, the 3 train tracks on the upper platform level, and the 3 train tracks on the lower platform level. No wonder it's such a transport hub with all those vehicles moving along it.
And if you stretch to include Pitt st you've got a 4th level with the Metro
That might be a /bit/ of a stretch - the station boxes aren't really near each other.
Sadly the monorail is no more - there could have been another level!
I’d like a video with more information on how the station was built. It seems to have been modified and built upon as the years have progressed
This may be the most random flex ever but the Town Hall labyrinth is pretty fun once you memorise it
The best thing is that when it rains, you could literally go from the top most point to the bottom without getting wet once and I used that heavily to my advantage at Town Hall station :D
Ahh, good ol Town Hall. I was a regular user of that station before I moved to Coffs Harbour. I never found it confusing to get around but more claustrophobic sometimes, especially in busy times when personal space was at a premium. I can remember 20 years ago the eastern concourse used to have shops such as a newsagent and takeaway joint. They got rid of them to widen the concourse as it got notoriously crowded.
I went to school in North Sydney in the 90s and I used to try to get as far through the city purely using the labyrinth whenever I was walking through, useful on rainy days 🙂
i used those tunnels to stay in air conditioning as long as i could
You will be able to walk through from Town Hall to Barangaroo via Martin Place underground when the Western Sydney Metro is open, it will be a bit of a journey but I'm looking forward to it.
@@TerryT304 Unfortunately they took away the bridge linking Glasshouse and MLC a couple of years ago and it is still up in the air as to whether they will reinstate the link between MLC and Martin Place
I've known Town Hall most of my life when I had to walk through it for high school at St Andrews and yeah, hella confusing back then, still confusing now but I know where the routes go like the back of my hand. It's basically got 10 entrance/exits and where you want to go depends which one you want to take. Sometimes I still get thrown off trying to remember which escalator goes to platform 5/6 for the bondi route.
When I did the All Stations Challenge 2 weeks ago in my planning I avoided changing at Town Hall if possible due to the station layout. I did have train changes at Wynyard and Redfern which was more friendly to changing trains. If you want to do a video on changing trains in Sydney let me know and I could help you out with it from my All Stations Challenge experience.
Having lived 450 meters from Town Hall exit 2, (George Street East side) for 1.5 year, I am always surprised the places these underground walkways can lead me to when it rains, a few times I didn’t take an umbrella and didn’t even get wet, and got to the post office, got my groceries, went to David Jones, amazing! 🎉❤😂
It’s the backrooms
No… It’s level 20000000 of the backrooms ;)
I used to go to Town Hall regularly before, and got used to the exits in due time. The worst part was using the lowest level platforms, which feel so claustrophobic and overcrowded, especially in the summer. Descending down them on a hot summer day, especially when there were train delays, was like descending into hell. And when you want to ascend to concourse level, the right stairs/escalators are so difficult to find.
Once upon a time you could also go from Westfield into Glasshouse and then across a now demolished walkway to MLC Centre (now 25MP), through the Martin Place station concourse into Colonial (now 52MP) and end up only a few steps from Hunter St next to Chifley Tower.
I'm so upset that the walkway across King St got demolished
I can't wait for this man to discover Central!
brilliant! You didnt mention the SMELL! Town hall has always always smelled absolutely the same - awful! I wonder how much the Pitt Street metro station will impact on how busy Town Hall is. That will be interesting to see.
Yeah it also feels stuffy and humid.
thank you for your dedication, i wouldn’t have the nerve to do all that in public !
The worst part of the Town Hall experience is having ads blasting sound into my ears while waiting on the platform. I assume everyone else hates this but its never mentioned.
This video is fantastic! I love the comedy skits sprinkled in the video and your audio quality has improved dramatically since your first few videos. Congratulations for getting on the trending page!
Town Hall is great. I love the fact it is so interconnected with adjacent buildings. It makes me feel like I am living in a big city. If you can't deal with this I don't know how you would deal with something like Montreal's RÉSO
Sharath you legend! I live 10 minutes from Town Hall so I use it quite often. I like to think I've gotten my head around it a fair bit because of that, but you've clearly outdone me. I look forward to trying all the obscure routes you've mapped out to see how much time I can save when entering and exiting the station 😝
I have never use Exit numbers at all, I just learnt all the different exits of overtime. It shame that the overpass at King Street into the MLC Centre has been removed.
I've always found it easy and convenient coming from Cronulla, across the platform for the city circle, or up a platform for the north shore. if you want to go to Wynyard, either or, take your pick.
Despite how dingy it is, Its better than it was 10 years ago. At least they got rid of the rusty dusty false ceiling for much of it.
Oh Man, I always felt like the Town hall station design was witchcraft, glad you brought this up. As confusing as it may seem I like how it seamlessly connects to food court and a lot of other things.
Many of the tracks are accessible only on one side (the inside)- the outside side could be excavated (behind the wall of advertising billboards) and the platform area for trains in the station nearly doubled. There was a plan once I think to do this under Woolworths....
Sydney City Council owns the Woolworths building so that they can expand the Town Hall square. That would be part of the puzzle.
Woolworths? Oh, you mean Bebarfalds! (Showing my age!) Actually it probably was Bebarfalds in those days ...
I do remember my first time at town hall, I was with some friends heading to Bondi junction and was tipsy at the time. I remember missing the train because I wandered off to the toilets and got lost trying to get back to platform 5. Now I work in the city I find it second nature navigating through the station.
The other thing I love is the underground labyrinth. Being able to navigate through all those corridors is a godsend when it’s pouring with rain.
You are right though, signage could always be better
This is brilliant! If you're not from Sydney, Town Hall station is a nightmare. As a born and breed Sydney sider I know it well and where I need to go. Love your channel. Keep up the good work.
Yep when I first came here I found myself ending up in different places every time I came out of Town Hall - sometimes outside, sometimes in a shopping mall 😂
Funnily enough my job till 26 years ago was Sydney railway signage, even before all the extra exits to Townhall Station the signage was confusing to us that made them. Also working there was absolutely horrible, we even had a high school girl sit on an acrylics fabricated Cube sign and fall straight strough it even though she had to walk into our work area to do it. State rail as it was at the time was clueless about directional signage.
There were early plans years ago to widen Town Hall station to reduce crowding. The Woolworths building could be demolished and excavated down to the level of the lower platforms and new platforms build to 1 and 4. Platform 4 is tiny so this would help with dangerous overcrowding on that platform and Platform 2 could be converted to a side platform for its track and 1 given its own side platform.
This would lead to a wider concourse above allowing more space for passenger circulation.
The city of Sydney would never sell the building to the transport department though so the idea was shelved.
Haiiiya need to build new stashen big incoming passenger and tourist from new airport. Haiiya maybe too early but good I tink for you aussie
Town Hall is an old friend ... I am blind to her faults. I love the multiple exits - OK, there could be better signage - and I love the fact that you can walk underground as far as St James (almost as good as Montréal, Canada) Thanks for the video, in any case.
BTW, I think I saw you and your sister walking along Church St at Parramatta yesterday. I wanted to say how much I enjoy your videos, but then I thought you might get sick of strangers interrupting you in public, so I just walked on. So I'll say it now, anyway. Keep up the good work!
Even tho Town Hall maybe the most confusing station in Sydney (maybe Australia) it is nothing compared to a vast majority of interchanges in London, Paris and Tokyo.
Town Hall Station without a doubt isn't perfect, but 64 potential exits linked through 800m of underground walkway with no interaction with City vehicle traffic is its most redeeming feature!
High through put of trains, mostly easy changing of lines to make connections to other lines (assuming your not trying to go back on the same line you just came in on) make it one of the best stations on the suburban network to change trains.
Town Hall Station is great. Show me a CZcamsr tired of Town Hall Station and I’ll show you a CZcamsr tired of life.
All the city stations have their own character but Town Hall is the “retail” station for me. There’s probably nothing you can’t find by heading to Town Hall first. Wynyard is the business station, Circular Quay is the holiday station, St James is practically a religious experience, and Museum is the Indiana Jones station.
Haiyya one time i come out in museum get lost inside Manny tunnel very confushen i ask lady very nice she say hello come with me I show you tings come to oxford street lucky I use brain she no lady she have big feet haiiya i nearly fukd up
cant say ive ever had an issue navigating town hall or any of its surrounding connected underground routes. the only trouble ive had is knowing which trains leave from which platforms, and thats solved in 2 seconds with tripview.
A few years ago, you used to be able to walk all the way from Town Hall Station to Martin Place Station without 'exiting'. You took the QVB exit at Town Hall, continue via the lower ground floor halfway then head to the "lower lower ground floor" of the QVB to Myer Centre (now Westfield), head up to first floor of Myer and use the footbridge over Pitt Street Mall entering CentrePoint (now Westfield). CentrePoint, one floor down, connected with SkyGarden which, yet another floor down, then connected to Glasshouse. In Glasshouse, you head back up to the third floor to access the skybridge over Kent Street to the MLC Centre/Theatre Royal (now 25 Martin Place). You then headed down two floors to the lower ground floor which had a connection from the MLC Centre to the Martin Place Shopping Circle, which then lead you directly into Martin Place Station.
I won a $150 bet with a buddy showing them the maze. They were disgusted, but I had their $150.
I've been going to work via town hall station for over a decade and I still get a bit nervous whenever I have to exit via a different exit to the ones I am used to 😅 What you didn't mention is the insane levels of overcrowding (admittedly not as bad since covid) and the stifling heat.
Haiiya too many exit so confushen
Need paint line on floor like hospital
This way to noodle in China town is example haiiiyaa
You really should know Town Hall station after 10 bloody years.
@@user-kc1tf7zm3b well, to be fair, if I remove covid years it's only 8 😂
@@lhallora1 It all comes down to experience, practice and familiarity. The teenagers at adjacent St Andrew’s Cathedral School certainly know how Town Hall station works.
NEW BACKROOMS LEVEL: Town Hall
Nice work. Your analysis of the issues and possible solutions is A+. Though I don’t work in the city, I’ve been getting on and off at Town Hall when visiting the city for most of my 53 years, yet I still get disoriented when reaching the concourse. The other evening I was with my husband (who has worked in the city his whole working life and is more familiar) and he had to redirect me from one platform 4 escalator to another because they switch up which escalator goes up or down depending on whether or or not it’s peak hour. You haven’t even mentioned that it’s one of the hottest places in Australia at all times of the year.
It all comes down to familiarity and experience. Since I was born in Sydney, I have never felt lost in Town Hall. If memory serves, the many exists serving the station have not changed since the turn of the new millennium. So, if a Town Hall passenger does not understand how the station flows and works now in 2023, they never will.
@@user-kc1tf7zm3b Once I figure out which direction I’m going and head towards the QVB, I’m right.
+1 the escalator switcheroo gets me everytime too :) - but it makes sense for peak hour.
I don't know why you don't have a channel intro video because you have an amazing channel and the amount of work you put in is really appreciated. I've never been to Australia but I love railway channels and I have a ton of them but yours is definitely one of the few I consider cream of the crop and has informed me on what is happening in the land down under.!!
Town Hall station, the one station in Sydney I absolutely hate the most due to the amount of exits which I unfortunately remember, but I used all of them to my advantage whenever I need to go somewhere around the CBD in a pinch.
Fun Fact: at one point, you were able to walk from Town Hall station all the way up to Martin Place without physically walking across any streets, which is now impossible to do since the footbridge connecting MLC centre to the Glasshouse centre got demolished a couple of years back.
Great video! I was looking for the credits at the end to see who played all the characters though.
Good Video, maybe you should do one on the underground labyrinth of walkways in Sydney, there is of course the ones you mentioned in this video and Hunter is now closed but there is also one near i think 201 Elizabeth street by looking at google street view, i know i have entered another one from around that area, Martil place but that's probably all closed off by now, wonder if there are any others?
You go downstairs at 201 and can walk through to 231 or even the north end of Museum station. Stairways and escalators take you back up to Bathurst St and 231 E.
This labyrinth of tunnels is particularly helpful to get around the central CBD when it’s raining outside
Or to just not have to cross the road
@@froggy904 that too, crossing George St is easy now that it’s light rail only, but the tunnels are real helpful for Park and Market streets
I'll be honest, the inside of Town Hall Station has never bothered me or confused me, as you said the signage is pretty decent.
But I can't count the amount of times I've exited to George St, and then gone "oh this wasn't where I thought I was..."
as someone who needs to change from T4 to T2 at Town Hall, this really hits home. But really once you've been to town hall at least 5 times, you begin to understand how to change between platforms, but maybe just not fast enough to change lines.
I know of one more exit, at least pre pandemic, that I used to use regularly out of Town Hall station.
You head east from Town Hall station through the Woolies, go up one escalator and keep heading east, and into an eastern passage through to Pitt Street past some shops e.g. a good Japanese grocer. If it is still there, this exit could be even more useful with the new Pitt St metro station opening soon.
Also agree with your point to rename exit signage to indicate north, south, east or west.
Town hall isn’t confusing as a regular user, but it reminds me of the underground mall system in Montreal, which actually had maps and signs pointing to places you wanted to go! Very handy for winter :)
Town Hall Station Opened on 19th of March 1932 Along with Wynyard when Sydney Harbour Bridge Opened.
I complained about it years ago but the updated signage was Gladys' pet project. An additional problem is that it isn't clear where each platform goes. I want to go to Parramatta, not platform 3
The upgrade to Town Hall station has made it more tolerable compared to years before, it looks a lot better. However exist signage should be improved - they could have a look at the Hong Kong MTR exit signage and take some ideas from them.
Someone commented about the smell of the station, but I can tell you first hand the smell is still better than the New York City Subway. I was stuck on a platform recently for nearly an hour and still managed to survive. Although there are a fair amount of rats on the track.
8:58 this is the best thing about it, you can walk from Town Hall station to a lot of places without an umbrella if it's raining.
If you stay on the path you can emerge in the Pitt St Mall.
@@andrewthorpe3219 You can make the journey longer. If you go up in Myer, cross the bridge over Pitt St Mall to Westfield, walk through to the bridge over Castlereagh St to David Jones, then down and through David Jones, you come out on Elizabeth St not far from St James station. I am assuming you can still do that. It has been a while.
one of the biggest problems to me is when there's a delay or so, Town Hall station(especially -3f platforms) could be a bit hard to breathe in summer(maybe a/c problems)😂
confusing exits wise, I think some exits that can lead to buildings and their exits can bind into one exit number, so in this counting method, not as confusing then?(given most of the exits are technically QVB/Westfield/Town Hall Sq exits), but yeah there are problems about signs and navigation layouts on the station.
Gets hot as the trains push the hot air ahead of them like pistons. Wynyard also has AC exchangers which make more heat in summer on platforms 3/4.
Not sure that I necesssarily agree with you on this one mate, although I do like your suggestions for updating the wayfinding signage. Some good ideas there. Central was far more confusing, but thankfully this will change when Central Walk and the Metro concourse fully open, although they need to connect it to the South Concourse in some way. They also should've made provisions for an underground connection to the Pitt Street station in case they realise later that having said connection is manageable while also impractical by not having it.
This channel should have so many more subscribers than it currently does. Great video!
In fact you can go beyond Westfield! From Westfield, you can cross the indoor footbridge into the MLC building and from there, you will be able to directly access Martin Place train and metro station from 2024! So you will be able to go from South of Town Hall all the way to Martin Place, without going outside! And further, from Martin Place there will be new exits as far as Hunter & Bligh streets 🤯
I think it is a stretch to call the exit from David Jones an exit from town hall station. To go from town hall to DJs, one must cross Pitt st mall (and see daylight) or go up a few floors and take a skybridge. Great video as always
When I stay in Sydney, Town Hall Woolworths is always a go for me. No need to find the supermarket, when it's already there in the station. I do agree, signage that gives bearings would help immensely.
A group of us once also discovered a blue l)ildo a fair way along the southern end of platform 5. That’s all you need to know to tell you that something very weird and disturbing has been going on at Town Hall.
Those pesky Smurfs, at it again.
The most unrealistic thing about this video is that you said you took a train from Denistone. Other than that great analysis!
I thought it was only tourists who found Town Hall confusing. Having said that I didn't have too much trouble finding the eastern suburbs line last time I was there. I had more trouble finding my way out on the return journey.
I personally love the townhll station, say what you want about the layout. It is SUPER convenient to get to places once you learn the layout
Unless you use the same station every day
This reminds me of home. 800 meters? That's so cute! In Philadelphia we have more than TWICE that, connecting four subway stations east-west, two north south (via a branch), and two regional rail stations. Bear in mind that 1.6 km (one mile) is the linear distance from the easternmost entrance to the westernmost, not accounting for all of the twists and turns (just a couple big ones).
Seeing as this is basically an underground city, having a map of all the exits and routes like the Toronto PATH would be great.
Blimey Charlie, I had no idea Town Hall railway station had that many exits. Perhaps colour coding each exit into group locations (by entrance & exit signage or subway texture appearance) , similar to what is shown on your locational map, this might work and be something for TfNSW to consider.
This is a great video. Having lived in Sydney my whole life I used to use this station regularly but haven't really in the past 20 years. Now when I get off and heading to Darling Harbour I know that it's west but need a compass to work out which exit to take!
If you pay attention to your surroundings, and, have a good idea of the surroundings landmarks, you will intuitively know which exit is best for you.
@@user-kc1tf7zm3b yeah not when you are underground though and haven't gotten off there for 20 years. Signs to QVB would send you instinctively north but they aren't immediately apparent when you exit the ticket gates. you don't know if you are on the west side or the east side.
@@jagobbin2 I know which corner of the station I need to move towards depending where I heading to around Town Hall. It is beneficial to board the train, as appropriate, so the exits at the northern or southern ends will be closest to you when you arrive at Town Hall.
It all comes down to experience, practice and familiarity. The teenagers at adjacent St Andrew’s Cathedral School certainly know how Town Hall station works.
@@jagobbin2 You can take the metro to Pyrmont station, to reach Darling Harbour… in 2030. 🚈
@@user-kc1tf7zm3b haha or the monorail back in the day. I'm glad the stations are still there as a reminder to our past. Actually Sharath should do a video on them before they are gone for good.
The worst of Town Hall is the involuntary mosh pit in the morning on platforms 5 and 6. There is a 'double convergence' of people from the extremely busy Eastern Suburbs and Illawarra Line and the City Circle line. The outbound Platform 4 on the Illawarra in the evenings is also pretty bad. Thank goodness I'm far, far away from there now ;)
That transition to the sponsor made me full on Jonathan Thurston laugh 😂 nice one mate
As confusing as Town Hall can be to a newcomer like myself was roughly a year ago, it doesn't really bother me. The only thing I hate about the station is the huge TV screens on the opposite side of the tracks to the platforms, with those obnoxious commercials blaring away over and over again 😡.
Agreed! Whoever the bureaucratic oaf was who permitted these things has an active hatred of peace and beauty. Even cattle in the slaughter line at an abbatoir aren't forced to listen to Macca's ads played at 500 decibels.
It's the worst because of the stinking hot summer sweat stench. The platform that had a "pilot" where it sprayed water on you and blasted you with industrial fans worked ok but then they ended it.
Brilliant start to this video.😂 Town Hall has been Frankensteined since I first worked in Sydney CBD 35 years ago. Just one bit of legacy bolted and strapped onto another, with dodgy incremental changes . Depressing station to use at any time - thank God for Wynyard these days which I use for last 15 years or so.
I went to school at St Andrews Cathedral.
There use to be 3-4 other exits from the station that have closed off over the years.
Man I have to say, your content is extremely high quality. Love your sense of humour!
Can spot one missing exit - just North of the Mid City Centre George St exit, accessed via Level 1 just outside the Uniqlo's George St end and though the office section of the building. Literally come out next door to the other exit
Was worse in the past - there was the other David Jones the Westfield used to connect to before it closed down, which then connected to the Piccadilly Shopping Centre, which then has a bridge over Castlereagh St to the Hyde Park Sheraton and over Pitt St to the building of the former Pitt St Mall Monorail station. Dunno about the hotel bridge, but the monorail bridge isn't (meant) to be in use for a long time now but both are still up from memory.
Then there used to be a bridge over King St connecting Westfield Sydney to the MLC Centre (via H&M), which then connected to Martin Place Station, and from there to 52 Martin Place. They took that bridge down in recent times I think.
I don't think I've ever exited Town Hall station where I have originally intended in my life. Great video mate
Basically if you know cinemas, woolworths, kfc, qvb, you're fine and can get wherever you want.
And I live on Nth Coast of NSW, still know the basic geography of Sydney city. It hasn’t changed that much in 20 years!
I did a mental count of Town Hall exits and got 10. I only counted ones that I thought were pretty direct so I counted one to QVB but not every exit from QVB to outside. I like that you can avoid crossing roads if you know what you're doing.
I think there might be worse stations. I once got lost in Seoul Korea underground. I caught a train to visit a temple but, trying to work out where to exit, I walked for too long, gave up and came out at next place and realised I was a street away from my hotel. Mybe the signage was clear to people who read Korean. In tourist areas, some pictures of places of interest at that exit could help.
As a user of town hall often before I even remember I thought I knew all the exits but you taught me some however you did miss one of the myer exits
If you think Town Hall is confusing you should try navigating Shinjuku Station. If it weren't for Google Maps I think I'd still be stuck in there to this day
Agree signage could be improved with exit labels like George St West or East as well as the existing meaningless numbers. Its a challenge to orientate yourself North/South or East/West when you get up to the concourse level from the platform levels. As you say no landmarks to get a fix on. But if they had used coloured tiles instead of the bland boring beige tiles when they re-tiled it (about 10-15 years ago?) they could have split the tiling color down the North/South concourse centreline axis and had say light blue tiles for the East or ocean side (Woolworths) and maybe light green (or light red for the outback?) for the inland West side (Town Hall). Then you would know instantly which way to go so you don't end up on the wrong side of the 6 lane George St stroad!
The town hall concourse is symmetrical in a way that few of Sydney's stations are. I think the recent renovation was a missed opportunity to give it some asymmetrical feature, perhaps different colours on different sides, or tile patterns on the floor, as when it gets crowded they'd be easier to follow than the signs. Perhaps the tiling patterns of the surrounding shopping centres' could be imitated in the stations respective quadrants, at least that way you'd realise you were headed in the wrong direction before walking the length of the concourse.
My random ideas are:
I think Châtelet-Les Halles in Paris, another famously sprawling station with dozens of exits, has a really good idea in segmenting the station into zones (Forum, Rivoli, and Seine), making it easier to tell which platforms or exits are in what parts of the station, and where you need to be headed. Town Hall isn't as sprawling in terms of where its platforms are located, but I think that kind of clear separation could help people get to and from each entrance quite well.
It may be worth trying having some kind of wayfinding on the floor in the form of a trail you can follow to get to each platform, as well as when exiting how to get to the buses or Light Rail.
I like the idea of exits being numbered as '2A, 2B' etc.
In Châtelet Les Halles, the signage is meant to disorientate people in order to separate the crowd and avoid stampede. Townhall is (to me) by comparison, very easy to navigate, with clear enough signage and... way smaller! I think the signage in Paris metro is not a good reference. In that field, I heard the Swiss are the best. To me, having lived in 5 cities in 5 different countries, the signage in public transportation in Paris is just acceptable. Plenty of room to progress!
I think this video is great and I wish we had passionate people like this all around the world to help us think and shape better public infrastructures!
I got to town hall about once or twice a year. Ditto for Wynyard and Central. Town Hall is totally unintuitive and has no obvious natural flow “to the outside”. So yeah I hate it. I always go the wrong way. When I see the toilets at far end I know I am screwed.
That was the first VPN ad I’ve seen that was actually funny enough to consider. Kudos 👍
Saving this video because of your mapping - that's a service to the community.
The numbering of exits is pretty similar to Hong Kong.. you can't control the paths through other buildings.
And there are a number of other signs with maps that describe the exits more fully (and they are shown on Google Maps).
It's certainly a lot easier to navigate and less closed in than before the most recent renovations. But agree it's a very compact site and hard to do much.
Hopefully one day a future government (probably not the newly elected one) will order new ATO/Driverless trains and install Platform Screen doors to improve platform safety.
10:38 this. Just knowing which way is North and South is the biggest number one issue with Town Hall concourse coming off a train in the middle. Zero indication of which way to go to get to QVB and beyond until you get to an exit and find out it's the wrong one. Putting you back in adding to the crowd unnecessarily.
Friend, simply keep the direction your train was travelling in your short term memory while you're riding up the escalator to the concourse.
@@JC-mi8fw If your infrastructure's users have to think to properly use it that means you f'ed up. Infrastructure should be available for everyone, even idiots.
Back in high school I once got so lost in Town Hall it genuinely took about half an hour for me and my friend to find an exit. Absolute maze!
09:08 hey, we also have some 800 meters of labyrinth in the Stockholm central station, at its longest! < 3
...although both cities are amateurs compared to Toronto and its 'path', ofc = 2-3X as long, but in several directions O_O