Redfern station upgrade six years off: RailCorp

The spokesman said construction was expected to begin in the 2011–2012 financial year and would take four years to complete.

He also said a final design was yet to be chosen.

“While plans are not currently available for distribution, the options are focusing on how best to improve capacity and platform access, while improving connections (paid and unpaid) to key destinations north and south of the rail corridor,” the spokesman said.

“A number of options are being considered, with a preferred option likely to be identified by March 2010.”
Successive plans and ideas put forward for the station since the mid 1990s have fallen by the wayside, making the upgrade long overdue.

The station, which is the third busiest on the metropolitan line, lacks even the basics of a busy rail interchange such as disabled access.

REDWatch community group spokesman Geoff Turnbull welcomed the news that a date had been given for the upgrade and said the information corresponded with a briefing already provided to the Redfern Waterloo Authority Built Environment Ministerial Advisory Committee.

“It is pleasing to see what is being said publicly accords with the BEMAC briefing,” Mr Turnbull said.

“I understand that a lot of work has been done, but none of it is publicly available.”

Mr Turnbull said RailCorp faces some significant problems in the upgrade, however.

“One of the major concerns is if and how the station upgrade and associated development of the eastern side of the track will facilitate or impede connections across the railway line,” he said.

“RailCorp’s interest is in the most efficient functioning of the station rather than the connectivity across it.”

He said RailCorp needs central loading of the platforms, but this would potentially turn one end or the other into a dead zone.

“This was our reason for highlighting the last public version of the plan for Redfern station which illustrates the problem,’’ Mr Turnbull said.

‘‘I suspect it will also show that little will have changed in the last 15 years.”

The RailCorp spokesman said RailCorp was working closely with the Redfern Waterloo Authority to chose the best possible design and determine the cost of the work.

Source: http://sydney-central.whereilive.com.au/news/story/redfern-station-upgrade-six-years-off-railcorp/