Barangaroo railway station explained

Barangaroo
Style:Sydney Metro
Address:Hickson Road, Barangaroo
Country:Australia
Coordinates:-33.8637°N 151.203°W
Line:Metro North West & Bankstown Line
Structure:Underground
Platform:2
Tracks:2
Opened:19 August 2024
Accessible:Yes
Owned:Transport Asset Holding Entity
Operator:Metro Trains Sydney
Status:Open
Mapframe:yes
Mapframe-Caption:Location of Barangaroo station
Mapframe-Stroke-Colour:
  1. C60C30
Mapframe-Stroke-Width:3
Mapframe-Marker:rail-underground
Mapframe-Marker-Colour:
  1. 009D58
Mapframe-Zoom:13

Barangaroo railway station is an underground rapid transit station in the Barangaroo precinct of Sydney, Australia. The station was constructed as part of the Sydney Metro City & Southwest project, and is part of the Metro North West & Bankstown Line of the Sydney Metro upon opening on 19 August 2024.

Description

Barangaroo station is located in the Barangaroo district of the Sydney central business district, beneath Hickson Road and south of Munn Street. The adjacent station to the north is Victoria Cross and the adjacent station to the south is Martin Place.[1]

The northern entrance consists of separate buildings for the lifts and escalators, which connect down to the station concourse. The two buildings are on the west side of Hickson Road and were designed to be minimalist. The southern entrance will be designed and built in the future.[2] On the east side of Hickson Road are nine service pods, which are used for ventilation and emergency egress.[2]

History

Excavation

The contract for the excavation of the six stations and twin 15.5km (09.6miles) bored tunnels on the City & Southwest project was awarded to a joint venture between John Holland, CPB Contractors, and Ghella in June 2017, for A$2.81billion. To reduce traffic congestion, the crushed rock excavated from the Barangaroo station site was taken away by barge on Sydney Harbour.[3] [4] A temporary facility was built in Clyde along the Parramatta River to receive the crushed rock and load it on trucks.[5] The City & Southwest project involved two tunnels, which were bored using five tunnel boring machines (TBMs). Barangaroo station was the endpoint for the two TBMs that bored the 8.1km (05miles) tunnels from Marrickville to Barangaroo. The station was also the start point for the TBM that bored the two tunnels to Blues Point on the other side of Sydney Harbour.[6] During excavation, several archaeological remains were found, including an old wharf from the 1890s[7] and the wreck of a wooden boat built in the 1830s, which was the oldest boat of its kind discovered in New South Wales.[8]

In February 2019, the pieces of the TBM used to bore under the Sydney Harbour, TBM Kathleen, arrived at Barangaroo station to be assembled. The machine was launched from a cavern north of Barangaroo station, which had been excavated to allow for a crossover to be built.[9] TBM Kathleen began boring north in July 2019.[10] [11] The TBM reached Blues Point in December 2019, after which, the cutterhead and front end of the TBM was transported back to Barangaroo station by barge and the back end of the TBM was transported back via the tunnel.[12]

Also in December 2019, Nancy, the first of the TBMs from Marrickville, broke through the southern end of Barangaroo station.[13] The second TBM, Mum Shirl, reached Barangaroo station in January 2020. By that point, TBM Kathleen had begun boring the second tunnel between Barangaroo station and Blues Point.[14] Each TBM was lifted out of the station box by a tower crane.[15] By October 2021, station excavation was complete and the site was handed over to the station construction contractor.[16]

Station construction

Following expressions of interest, three companies were shortlisted for the station construction contract by the end of 2019: Hutchinson Builders, John Holland, and Besix Watpac.[17] In March 2021, Besix Watpac was awarded the $217million contract.[18] By April 2022, the station platform had been installed. It was made of 195 precast concrete pieces. The first four out of ten escalators, which were long, had also been installed.[19] By October 2022, two out of the five lifts had been put in place and the installation of platform screen doors was underway,[20] which was completed by April 2023.[21] All ten escalators and five lifts were complete and undergoing testing by November 2023. Other, more minor components were also complete by November 2023, including the terrazzo tiling, station signage, Opal fare gates, and sandstone wall panels.[22]

The station opened on 19 August 2024.[23] [24]

Services

Barangaroo station is served by the Metro North West & Bankstown Line.[25] This line is operated under contract by Metro Trains Sydney.[26] Upon opening, the Metro North West & Bankstown Line will run between Tallawong station to the north-west and Sydenham station to the south-west. In 2025, an extension to Bankstown station further south-west will open.

The Metro North West & Bankstown Line is planned to operate at a four-minute headway during peak and a ten-minute headway outside of peak.[27]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Barangaroo Station . Sydney Metro . 23 June 2024.
  2. Web site: Metron . Barangaroo Station Design & Precinct Plan . Sydney Metro . 23 June 2024 . June 2022.
  3. Web site: The big dig: New Harbour Metro crossing underway . Sydney Metro . 23 June 2024 . 22 June 2017.
  4. Web site: O'Sullivan . Matt . Barges to shift thousands of tonnes of rock from Sydney's new rail tunnels . Sydney Morning Herald. 23 June 2024 . 22 June 2017.
  5. Web site: Sydney Metro barging facility to help take trucks off CBD roads . Sydney Metro . 23 June 2024 . 27 April 2018.
  6. Web site: Five mega borers ordered for Sydney Metro . Sydney Metro . 23 June 2024 . 22 September 2017.
  7. Web site: Maritime history from the 1800s uncovered at Barangaroo . Sydney Metro . 23 June 2024 . 2 November 2018.
  8. Web site: Historic 180-year old boat uncovered at Barangaroo . Sydney Metro . 23 June 2024 . 14 November 2018.
  9. Web site: Mega borer Kathleen arrives to dig deep under Sydney Harbour . Sydney Metro . 23 June 2024 . 18 February 2019.
  10. Web site: TBM Kathleen prepares for historic dig under the Harbour . Sydney Metro . 23 June 2024 . 26 June 2019.
  11. Web site: Historic under Harbour rail tunnels underway . Sydney Metro . 23 June 2024 . 2 August 2019.
  12. Web site: History under Sydney Harbour . Sydney Metro . 23 June 2024 . 9 December 2019.
  13. Web site: Nancy makes history with Barangaroo arrival . Sydney Metro . 23 June 2024 . 17 December 2019.
  14. Web site: Tunnelling under city centre now complete in historic achievement . Sydney Metro . 23 June 2024 . 20 January 2020.
  15. Web site: Farewell our mega borer friends . Sydney Metro . 23 June 2024 . 24 February 2020.
  16. Web site: Barangaroo Station update . Sydney Metro . 23 June 2024 . 1 October 2021.
  17. Web site: Barangaroo Station construction update . Sydney Metro . 23 June 2024 . 13 December 2019.
  18. Web site: Barangaroo Station – update . Sydney Metro . 23 June 2024 . 15 March 2021.
  19. Web site: Platforms and escalators installed at Barangaroo Station . Sydney Metro . 23 June 2024 . 13 April 2022.
  20. Web site: Building Barangaroo Station . Sydney Metro . 23 June 2024 . 25 October 2022.
  21. Web site: All platform screen doors on city stations now compete . Sydney Metro . 23 June 2024 . 5 April 2023.
  22. Web site: Transport link to waterfront precinct taking shape . Sydney Metro . 23 June 2024 . 27 November 2023.
  23. Web site: Tregenza . Holly . Sydney Metro line between Chatswood and Sydenham to open Monday, August 19 . ABC News . 16 August 2024 . 15 August 2024.
  24. Web site: O'Sullivan . Matt . All aboard: Sydney's mega-metro rail line cleared for opening on Monday . The Sydney Morning Herald . 16 August 2024 . 15 August 2024.
  25. Web site: O'Sullivan . Matt . New name revealed for Sydney's metro line beneath harbour and CBD . The Sydney Morning Herald . 13 June 2024 . 1 May 2024 . subscription.
  26. Web site: Metro Trains Sydney (MTS) . MTR Australia . 2 November 2023 . 25 October 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231025165558/https://mtraustralia.com.au/metro-trains-sydney . live .
  27. Web site: Sydney Metro City & Southwest Final Business Case Summary . Sydney Metro . 12 March 2024 . 24 . October 2016.