Work on building new Sydney Metro underground platforms at Central Station and the landmark Central Walk will begin immediately, after Laing O’Rourke was awarded a $955 million contract to transform Sydney’s busiest station.

Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Andrew Constance said the massive upgrade to Central Station represents the biggest improvement to the station in decades – making it easier for customers to connect between light rail, suburban and inter-city trains, the new Sydney Metro and buses.

“This is the start of Central’s long-awaited renewal, bringing new entrances and simpler interchanges that will make life so much easier for customers,” Mr Constance said.

“Central Station is the gateway to our great city, and we are working to develop a station that blends heritage with innovative design on par with other grand stations around the world. “Labor failed to deliver Sydney Metro after promising it five times over 16 years in office.

Next year, the NSW Government will open the revolutionary Sydney Metro in North West Sydney – transforming the daily commute for Sydneysiders forever.” Sydney Metro is supporting more than 17,000 jobs, helping NSW achieve its enviable record of Australia’s lowest unemployment rate for 32 consecutive months.

The Central contract includes:

• The excavation and construction of the new underground Sydney Metro platforms at Central beneath platforms 13 and 14;
• Central Walk – a new 19-metre wide underground concourse from Chalmers Street, connecting customers to suburban rail platforms, Sydney Metro platforms, the new light rail and buses;
• For the first time, customers will be able to use escalators to get to platforms 12 to 23;
• Completion of the Central Walk and Central Station metro upgrade contract is expected in 2022, with Central Walk open to customers.

Once the Central contract is complete, work will continue along the 30km length of the Sydney Metro City & Southwest project to lay tracks and fit out stations before services start in 2024.

This is the first step in the renewal of Central Station, creating a new pedestrian gateway to the east and better linking the suburban rail network. More than 270,000 people use the station daily, with that number expected to rise to 450,000 in the next two decades. Work to build the Sydney Metro platforms at Central will happen underground and during Sydney Trains’ scheduled maintenance shutdowns.

“As customers get on with their daily lives at Central Station, the Sydney Metro platforms will be constructed right under their feet,” Mr Constance said. “We’ll be working hard to minimise impacts as much as possible, but we are committed to making this station better, and easier to navigate for the hundreds of thousands customers who travel through it every day.”

The first part of the Sydney Metro City & Southwest project at Central has been completed with major construction finished on a rail access bridge which will be used to safely deliver Sydney Metro, and improve access for ongoing maintenance work at Central. The bridge was built in 10 months and connects Regent Street with Sydney Yard, allowing trucks easy access within the confines of a working railway. The first of five mega tunnel boring machine will be in the ground before the end of this year to deliver the twin 15.5km metro rail tunnels between Chatswood and Sydenham.