Chalmers Street Entrance Now Open! - Sydney Metro Central Station Upgrade Almost Complete!
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- čas přidán 31. 05. 2024
- On Monday 13 November 2023, the new Chalmers Street Entrance to Sydney's Central Station opened to the public.
This is the last significant part of the Sydney Metro Central Station upgrade that started with the new Northern Concourse, followed by Central Walk and then the North-South Concourse.
I start with the Chalmers Street entrance itself, and then take the escalators down to the concourse level below, which is where the Opal gates are. And this connects very conveniently to Central Walk.
You'll see the 6 new escalators and 2 lifts that are part of this new station entrance.
I then head up to the Randle Lane entrance which is slightly higher up and is at the rear of this building. At the time of recording, this entrance hadn't yet opened, due to resurfacing work on Randle Lane.
You'll then see some footage of the opening day courtesy of Sharath @building beautifully.
Now the Chalmers Street entrance was due to open on Monday 29 May 2023, the same day as the north-south concourse, but it was delayed by the huge fire that erupted within the former RC Henderson Hat Factory building. This caused significant damage to the Chalmers Street station entrance, so I explain what happened and the repair work required.
I then finish off with 7 other things that have changed at Central Station during the last 4 months.
My spontaneous guest was Matthew from @AheadMatthewawsome
Chapters
0:00 Introduction
0:57 Chalmers Street Level
3:08 Concourse Level (includes opening day footage)
6:50 Randle Lane level
7:43 The Lifts
8:44 Damage and Delayed Opening due to Surry Hills Fire
14:08 Newish Toilets
14:46 Why the Randle Lane entrance hasn't opened yet.
15:07 Other changes at Central Station
* Mentioned in this video *
Sharath's Chalmers Street TikTok video - www.tiktok.com/@buildingbeaut.... Check out his CZcams channel too - / @building beautifully
Fire and Rescue NSW footage of Former RC Henderson Hat Factory Fire - • Footage from major bui... .
Matthews CZcams channel - / @aheadmatthewawsome
* Credits and Attribution *
Everything listed in "mentioned in this video" above, along with the following:
Bounce Hotel Image by Jan Smith
Link - www.flickr.com/photos/2608579...
Licence - creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Central Station Map - transportnsw.info/document/49...
ABC News clip of fire - • Sydney building fire c... .
A big thank you to the NSW Transport Ministers media team, the Rail, Fire and Emergency team and Sydney Metro for supplying the photo and video clips of the fire and repair work, including the CCTV footage.
www.nsw.gov.au/nsw-government...
www.sydneymetro.info/
* Patreon *
/ transportvlog
Support Transport Vlog on Patreon and get early access to videos, ad-free content, exclusive videos, Zoom chats and much more.
* Social Media *
Twitter - / transportvlog
* Equipment and Applications *
Cameras
iPhone 11 (most footage)
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ150 camera (for the serious zoomed in close-ups!)
Microphones
DJI Mic (when filming)
Blue Yeti Microphone (for voiceovers)
Editing Software
Final Cut Pro
Maps created using Affinity Designer
* Disclaimers *
Accuracy
I do my best to make the commentary in these videos as accurate as possible by checking facts on the internet and other sources. However, sometimes the information isn't available, so I'll use my railway knowledge and insight to explain something to the best of my ability. If accuracy is important, do check the comments, as other viewers will often pick up on things I've missed or any mistakes made. Also note that for older videos, things may change over time, causing some of the information to become out of date.
Construction Sites, Maintenance Facilities and other Private Property
All footage of construction sites, maintenance facilities and other private property is taken from a public vantage point. The only exception is if it's an open day or I have special permission to access the site. The iPhone's small lens and zoom function makes it easier to film through small gaps in hoardings or fencing, so it may look like I'm on site when I'm not! If you would like to know the exact filming location, then ask me in the comments.
To get in touch:
Email - paul@transportvlog.com
Twitter DM - transportvlog
You've surpassed yourself on this one Paul (if that is even possible). As an ex-airport firey I was impressed by the coverage of the fire, building collapse and firefighting activities. Also always great to see the positive collaboration with other transport You-Tubers. It's an example of what social media of this type should be.
Thanks for your lovely feedback, and wonderful to hear that you were impressed with my fire coverage, as an ex-firey yourself! The mini-collab with Matthew was totally random! He spotted me on Central Station, so we hung out for a while filming and chatting, and then I gave him a couple of my on camera bits to do!
@@TransportVlog geez, I bet when the transport minister heard about the surrey hills fire, she would have been like Holy shit, I was there only this morning. looks like they used the fire hose from the new entrance. Even Central Station had to be evacuated due to the fire disrupting many Tram services, as well as buses and Trains. Both fire, dust and water caused extensive damage. This was like Sydney's version of the World Trade Centre building collapse or the London Grenfell tower. As for the old underground walkway, I would have kept it in operation long with the central walk
@@TransportVlogI am professional Thumbnail designer.if you need any type of thumbnail.i can make
As usual sydney is excelling in every way. A magnificent modern city. The world's best city by far.. from Young Robert.
Yes absolutely! It's a wonderful place to live right now, even if it is rather expensive!
As a Melburnian, its embarrassing to see the state of both Flinders Street and Southern Cross stations compared to Sydney's Central Station. Thanks again Paul for these wonderful video's
I’ve only been to Melbourne once for Anzac Day Storm game but is it normal for how the inside of those stations are, they both look so pretty outside. I couldn’t be in southern cross much as I’m sensitive to smells like too much diesel but it’s a great idea having a shop in both of those stations and can’t wait to visit again and ride the heritage tram
Glad you enjoyed it Matthew. Yes it would be lovely to see some upgrades to both these iconic Melbourne stations!
Walking the new entrance is a literal breath of fresh air compared to the old entrance just a little south. Whoever designed it did a great job and it is amazing to see how well they recovered after the fire. Fantastic video as always Paul!
The biggest criticism I have is it still doesn't give you entrance to the station or light rail from the other side of Elizabeth Street where most people want to go.
Hi@timeimp ,Yes it certainly is! Glad you enjoyed this video. It's not often a new station entrance has a story to tell even before it opens!
Hi
@kyletopfer7818. Perhaps one for the future. Not an easy one, as it would require a passageway under Elizabeth Street.
@@TransportVlog Agreed but the return on investment mmust be pretty big given in my experience the vast majority of passengers exiting the eastern side of Central who aren't heading to the Light Rail want to get across Elizabeth St!
Congratulations Paul for another superbly produced video. That CCTV fire footage is incredible. The rail firies are a great bunch. Before medical retirement I had the privilege to work with them over the years when I was with the CSIRO fire science group. Cheers
Thanks Jim, glad you enjoyed it. Yes it was awesome to get access to the CCTV footage! Great to hear that you got to work with the Rail Firies in the past!
Well done Paul, you deserve a kiss on the lips
Thanks! 😜
Saw both of you Paul and Matthew while I was walking through Central station recently. Good to see this vid now; cheers!
Nice! It was a random encounter with Matthew, and it was nice to include him in this video!
Paul another brilliant video
Thanks Paul
Great video Paul, love the story telling and the video edit, especially the addition of the F+RNSW sound to the CCTV footage, really enhanced the video adding to the story. Well done!
Thanks Brett! Glad you enjoyed it! Yes it was awesome to be able to include this footage!
Hi Paul, great video! It was nice to be in another video again! I was just walking through Central after getting a train into the City from the CCN line after an appointment and guess who I saw just walking around Central Walk with a camera? There was also that architect who helped to build Central Walk that bumped into us and a few fans as well off camera. So thanks to them as well. Hope to see you again soon!
Glad you enjoyed it Matthew, and thanks for your contributions. Yes I connected with John, the architect on Linkedin. Apparently the Randle Lane entrance opened last Thursday!
Thank you Paul for another excellent video.
Thanks David, glad you enjoyed it.
Great video; the use of official footage to describe the story of the fire was really interesting! I was at this entrance yesterday and the back entrance onto Randle Lane was open, and the laneway itself was looking fine.
Thanks! Glad you liked the official fire scenes footage. Yes, apparently it opened on Thursday. I might do a CZcams short on it soon.
Thank you Paul
You're very welcome
Another fantastic video Paul! Beautifully detailed, I would never have noticed some of those 7 additions on my own!
Glad you enjoyed it! Yes, some of those 7 additions are quite subtle!
This video is excellent!
Thanks
I love that the white frame of the escalator reminds me of the spiral walkway in customs house. So glad this is now open
That's an interesting comparison! I often walk through Customs House, so I'll pay more attention to that spiral walkway next time.
@@TransportVlog I’ve only been inside custom house once with a school photography trip to capture film photography of the spiral but always capture the outside during vivid
As always a well presented video. Keep up the great work Paul.
Thanks Warren, yes will do!
Very interesting vlog with great commentary. I enjoyed watching it. Thanks, Paul.
Thanks Kevin, glad you enjoyed it
7:09 The Randle Lane entrance has opened since I uploaded this video. I believe it opened on Thursday 30 November 2023.
Man that footage shows how much danger fireys encounter regularly. Great video Paul. Pairing the sound to the security feed was well done.
Thanks Henry, Yes it certainly does. It was a fascinating insight into a day in the life of a firey! Glad you liked the sound pairings!
I said hello to you when you were filming this video. Great footage of the fire from inside the entrance, I had not seen that before!
Nice one! - It's always lovely to bump into people when I'm filming. Yes that fire footage was brand new! It was released on the day this entrance opened.
Superb clip Paul. Great idea to edit the sound of the falling bricks to the other footage. Some great work from the courageous firies. I don’t think they expected the bricks to fall and associated dust.
$3.2m repair bill.. wow that is expensive.
Thanks! It wouldn't have been the same without the sound effects! Yep, it cost a lot to repair!
Great video as per usual top standard Paul - congrats :-) 🎉
Thanks! I appreciate your lovely feedback!
I was in the new entrance a week or so ago. I was wondering what would be covered in an 18 minute video, but I wasn't expecting a recap of the fire and the subsequent works. Even though I thought I'd seen a lot of the original fire footage, there was a bunch here I hadn't seen before.
Yes, it was originally going to be a shorter video, and then Sharath at Building Beautifully forwarded me the media clips from the opening day media release, and that had those amazing CCTV and other clips, which I just had to include! And it completes the story of this entrance including the water damage and repair work that I hadn't covered before!
Was wondering how you could make an 18 min vlog on this entrance interesting. Inclusion of scenes from the fire was epic!
Yes, it was originally going to be a 10 minute video, and then I discovered the new fire footage! - Definitely made the video more interesting and exciting!
loving your work!
Thanks David!
What an immense improvement since I regularly used Central Station last century. Putting a modern airy concourse under the working suburban rail platforms is a fantastic achievement. Replacing the maze of cramped disorganised tunnels that often left you far from your destination with a building that understands the needs of the passengers using it is quite a step up for Sydney Trains.
Certainly more could be done. Pushing Central Walk through to Broadway in order to finish shutting down the maze for instance, but the improvements so far are more than I have expected from the NSW state government.
and build that development on top of it
Yes it is a huge improvement, and there is now one clear path through the station, which makes it much simpler to navigate. Yes its crying out for better links on the Broadway side and hopefully that will come in the future.
good job , thank you
Thanks!
Hi mate! In 2001 autumn I was living in Waterloo street close to Redfern, and I catch the train very early morning to Parliament station, before I was not sure that’s the line is this, but I was turnaround by local security at train and comes back to Central, the unknown guy leaves mobile phone Nokia black with Dragon ornaments and gave me messages thats it goes to London… do you know where in London ? Epping or others area? The train was one flooring
Great video. More exits the merrier I guess but I just wish they would now extend the short tunnel section i.e. the Eastern stairs that currently come up in front of the Dental Hospital, under Elizabeth street and exit on the eastern side near Woolworths to provide a nice, safe, weatherproof route. The crossing at Foveaux/Elizabeth is incredibly busy and dangerous.
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! Yes that would be lovely, as that is a tricky crossing!
The lifts go up as well as down..? Now there's an innovation!
@jack2453 He he! They only go down from the Randle Lane level and only go up from the Concourse level!
Brravo Paul. Very comprehensive with flashbacks to the fire. "Well done from the bridge" ( navy speak), Glad to see the inclusion of seating on the platforms. I wondered why there was such a dearth of this necessity. IAccess to the Devonshire Street pedestrian tunnel from the Southern Central walk was not considered. Or is it for future consideration? I'm training down to Canberra on the 16th of this month. I look forward to snooping around all the areas you have well presented.
Thanks Luke, glad you liked the fire flashbacks! Yes its good to see a few seats! It wasn't part of this upgrade, but improving access from the west side is definitely being looked in to, and this might include the extension of Central Walk to serve platforms 1 to 11 too.
There was an Incident with a Tangara which has broke down due to breaks at Wynyard.
Yes I heard about that.
I was at Central yesterday and the Randle ln entrance is actually open now
Thanks Shawn, I believe it opened on Thursday.
I was through Central yesterday (Friday 01/12) and saw the Randall Street entrance was open.
Also the stairs at the Southern end of the suburban platforms are now closed with work going on with both the old 'stub' tunnel from Platforms 16 to 22 and the tunnel that used to lead to the interstate platforms as well as the suburban platforms, from the Southern Concourse and Devonshire Street tunnel.
I wonder if these works will end up with access to trains from the Broadway/Railway Square end of the Devonshire Street tunnel.
Hi Tom, yes I think it opened the day before. Yes I'd heard about that. I think its just some refurbishment work.
Very informative (as usual) Paul. A couple of things I've noticed at Central are just the one southern down escalator for platform 22/23. A lack of escalators between the new central walk and the old south & north section of the station, there are only stairs & lifts. A curved central walk lift glass piece damaged & now now replaced. Still it's a big improvement, especially the platform escalators. I wonder how long it will be before that middle level of the Chalmers St entrance has a few permanent residents.
Glad you enjoyed it! Yes the south end of platforms 22 and 23 was too narrow for 2 escalators. Yes, its a shame its only steps to the northern concourse, but you can avoid those by taking the escalators up to platforms 12 instead. I guess some damage is inevitable!
I saw you at Ivy last night Paul.
Nice one Harry! Someone did shake my hand on the dance floor at a time when I was a little distracted. If that was you, apologies for not chatting! It was a top night!
@@TransportVlog HaHa. No. I just saw you from a distance. Sorry I didn’t come say hi. I was with my friends and I didn’t want to lose them.
@harrygroundwater2590, Hope you had a good time. Great music and atmosphere, so I think I might go again soon!
@@TransportVlog Thanks Paul
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Great video Paul, especially the fire coverage. I'm yet to understand though if the new entrance allows vehicular drop offs, or is Chalmers Street still only open to trams at that point? If you were dropping a friend off at Central by car, where would be the best place other than the Grand Concourse on Pitt St side?
Glad you enjoyed it. You could probably drop someone off in a vehicle on Randle Lane (or certainly Randle Street), but Chalmers Street is just for trams, cyclists and pedestrians now. That would certainly be a lot closer to the suburban platforms than Grand Concourse.
Paul, fabulous videos! All of your content is very interesting. Question, are there plans to renovate the eastern suburbs concourse and platforms in the same theme as the new concourse? Thanks
Glad you enjoyed it! No plans as yet, but it will probably happen at some stage. Same for platforms 1 to 11 which haven't really changed.
I saw you at Sydenham station on the 10 of Sunday in December
Nice - hope you enjoyed the day!
@@TransportVlog I wish I intvent at Sydenham station
The New Caf Urbos 100 are now on Service on the L1 Dulwich Hill Line back on Friday the 8th of December.
Thanks Ethan, Yes I saw Phil’s vlog covering these new trams.
Hi Paul, excellent video. Would it now be possible to walk directly from the Ranwick / Kingsford light rail line to the Dulwich Hill light rail line via Central Walk without going through any of the Opal gates? That was certainly a large fire there in Randal Lane. I am currently trying to catch up with the videos while recovering to a nasty Staph infection to my right leg..Bit by bit, I am managing to get around, though still quite slowly. Anyway, take care. Rob in Melbourne Australia.
Thanks Rob, No not quite! The Light Rail Stop is on the Grand Concourse, so is outside of the Opal gates. Interchange would be via the Northern Concourse, North-South Concourse, Central Walk and Chalmers Street entrance. Still quite a long interchange, and probably quicker to alight from the L2/3 at China Town and walk to Capitol Square for the L1. That sounds painful! Enjoy watching lots of videos while you get better!
They started to add tracks to platforms 13 and 14.
Yes I was there today! It will be next weeks video which is going to a general Sydney Metro and Central Station update.
Thanks for this detailed and contextualised look at the recent upgrades.
I'm glad there's an access point to the station from the Eastern side of those busy roads now, that makes it a lot easier, but why TfNSW chose to demolish a 4 story building and replace it with a 2 storey one is anyone's guess. If they were taking over the footprint of this building, why not use the air space above it for something useful and capture the value of the station entrance? Given that - for instance - residential properties in Sydney are getting more and more expensive, I'd imagine putting a 10 storey apartment building, or even a 20 storey residential tower right above the station entrance would be worth a mint, and would have paid for the station upgrade, and then some.
Glad you enjoyed it! I'm sure it was considered at the time, as its prime real estate around there!
Thanks for the Info Paul...I like to know what it all cost ? Lots ?
Hi Steve, it cost $1.27 billion, so it didn't come cheap, but its an investment in Sydney's future, especially as Sydney becomes a bigger city.
Paul, can you explain why the trams are so noisy as can be heard in the closing moment of the video, they have some sort of rattling noise when in motion like something is loose underneath them, is this deliberate for hearing impaired or just poor construction of something in the undercarriage of the trams, it's a very noticeable noise and detracts from the quietness of the trams when in operation.
There's also some vibrations downstairs in Central Walk from some columns.
They are a rail vehicle and are subject to the same rolling noises and rail squeal as trains are.
Hi @-PORK-CHOP-, its noisy because the trams go over a double cross-over junction, followed by turnouts that connect with the third platform. You can often hear them from down on the concourse!
@@TransportVlog Thanks Paul for the reply, the noise I am talking about is what sounds like a set of loose Santa's bells, it's quite noticeable which makes me think it's part of the design to help hearing impaired people as the carriages are very quiet normally except when crossing over a junction, it's not a rolling noise rather like something is loose, it sort of detracts from the normal quietness of the carriages when they are not travelling over any rail junctions.
I think the Randle Lane entrance is open now. I was on a train at Central today and saw someone walking down the stairs to get to the escalator.
Yes, I believe it is now open! Going to take a look shortly, but I think it opened last Thursday!
Is the new metro line opening next year and what is happening with metro West and the new western Sydney airport line
Yes, the City & Southwest line opens next year, between Chatswood and Sydenham. Bankstown conversion will be completed in 2025, the Western Sydney Airport line is progressing well and is on track to open in late 2026 (I have done a couple of videos on this recently), and tunnelling has started for Sydney Metro West which will open around 2030.
Pretty hard to find the Light Rail Stop there is very little signage!
It should be fairly obvious if you're coming out of the Chalmers Street entrance. There is probably limited (or no) signage from some of the other entrances.
I was coming out of one of the eastern side platforms having just arrived from Gordon. A friend of mine agreed with the lack of signage direction for the light rail
If you think about it, we are lucky that the Chalmers St Entrance was closed, because if people were going through it, things might have ended a bit differently.
I had been thinking about that! I reckon it would have been evacuated in plenty of time (in the same way as the surrounding buildings were), so I doubt any passengers would have been in the concourse by the time the fire really took told, and that wall fell. I guess the construction workers in the station at the time, had plenty of time to get out as well!
Paul how long will it take for Sydney metro to get to Bankstown complete”
Its going to take about 1 year to convert the Sydenham to Bankstown section, and that's from when it closes fully later this year.
The tiled risers on the steps leading up to the back entrance look pretty dirty and the grouting damaged. Looking at the video of the fire and the water and debris coming in the back entrance I guess they got a bit dirty on that day but you would think they would’ve cleaned it up better than they have. Maybe the tiling will need redoing.
Hi Rob, I didn't particularly noticed this, but I'll look more closely when I'm next there.
Imagine all that asbestos spreading through the ventilation system, causing a refrigerant leak. They would have had to gut all the pipes out of the building to have the building decontaminated and the pipes replaced
Very good point! - I hadn't thought about that!
The randle lane entrance has opened yesterday 30/11
Thanks for letting me know! I had a feeling it might open before my video came out! I checked on Tuesday before uploading this video to my Patreon's, and it was still closed then! Sods law! One for my next update!
where is platform 15?
Platform 15 used to be next to Platform 14. It was demolished to make way for the services facility for the metro and there’s not enough room to put it back.
Thanks Matthew! - Perfect answer!
@@AheadMatthewawsome Thanks!
How long before someone is injured walking out straight across the bike lane without looking.
There are further measures being put into place to reduce this risk, as it is quite an obvious conflict!
The new Central station design is a wayfinding mess. I've used it several times now and each it has taken me several minutes to try and find what platform I should be on. It's worse than the old one in that regard.
Most people seem to find it easier to get around, so maybe it just takes some time to get used to it. I thought the signage was pretty good, so if you follow the signs, that will help,
The Problem is that on the Train Annoucement. *This Train will Stop At Central* It forget to Say.... *Change at Central for Regional and Interstate Trains, Light Rail and Metro Services*
Hopefully they will update them in time for the metro opening next year.
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