Circular Quay light rail station
Circular Quay | ||
|---|---|---|
.jpg) Circular Quay in 2022 | ||
| Location | Alfred Street, Sydney CBD Sydney, New South Wales Australia | |
| Coordinates | 33°51′41.74″S 151°12′35.52″E / 33.8615944°S 151.2098667°E Fatal error: The format of the coordinate could not be determined. Parsing failed. | |
| Owned by | Transport NSW | |
| Operated by | Transdev Sydney | |
| Line(s) | CBD and South East Light Rail | |
| Platforms | 3 (1 island, 1 side) | |
| Tracks | 3 | |
| Connections | Circular Quay Circular Quay  Bus | |
| Construction | ||
| Structure type | Ground | |
| Other information | ||
| Website | Transport for NSW | |
| History | ||
| Opened | 23 December 1861 7 December 1899 14 December 2019 (as light rail) | |
| Closed | 1 January 1867 28 February 1960 | |
| Electrified | Yes | |
| Services | ||
|
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Circular Quay light rail station is a light rail station and the terminus of the CBD and South East Light Rail, serving Circular Quay at the northern end of the Sydney CBD. It provides an interchange with suburban trains, ferries and buses.
The current light rail station opened on 14 December 2019, and is the third iteration, with the original tram stop opening in 1861.
History
First iteration
The first tram stop to open at Circular Quay was the terminus of the horse-drawn Pitt Street tramway line, located in front of the Commissariat Stores in Argyle Street. The singular line was opened on 23 December 1861, however was generally unsuccessful. After only five years, the original Circular Quay tram stop served passengers for the final time on 31 December 1866, and closed alongside the line the following day on 1 January 1867.[1]
Second iteration
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Trams were reintroduced to Circular Quay with the opening of the George Street tramway line, on 7 December 1899. The line was the first electric passenger tram in the Sydney CBD.[2] The double-track line from George Street was laid with a wider distance between the two tracks at Circular Quay, to decrease the chance of pedestrians being caught between trams.[3]
The Pitt & Castlereagh Streets tramway line was extended to Circular Quay in 1901, followed by the Elizabeth Street tramway line on 19 December 1902.[2]
Trams running to Millers Point branched from those running to Circular Quay on the George Street line after Bridge Street, with Millers Point trams continuing up George Street and through The Rocks. Due to reconstruction of the wharves at Circular Quay and the construction of the railway, this junction was repositioned multiple times. The last repositioning occurred in May 1954, less than five years before the George Street line was closed on 21 November 1958.[3] All tram services to Circular Quay ceased with the closure of the Elizabeth Street line north of Hunter Street on 28 February 1960.[4]
Most tram services not terminating in Railway Square ran to Circular Quay, as it formed a major interchange with the Circular Quay ferry wharves. By the mid-1930s, 246 trams passed through Circular Quay within a single hour at peak times.[5]
The George Street line originally terminated at Circular Quay East when it opened in December 1899, and was designed as a balloon loop to efficiently turn terminating trams around. It served services running from the western suburbs known as the "Red Lines". When the George Street line was extended to Fort Macquarie, opening on 15 September 1912, the balloon loop at Circular Quay East was closed.[6][7] However, growing congestion at Fort Macquarie in the following decades resulted in the reconstruction and reopening of the balloon loop on 24 June 1935, with the majority of services terminating at Circular Quay rather than at Fort Macquarie.[8] The loop was met with criticism due to the effect of terminating the majority of George Street line services in close proximity to the ferry wharves. Passengers complained that the loop banked trams back therefore making it difficult and dangerous to cross the tracks to the ferry.[5] The tram stop and balloon loop were closed in 1946 and all services returned to terminating at Fort Macquarie.[7]
A tram stop at Circular Quay (Young Street) opened with the extension of the Elizabeth Street tramway line from Bridge Street to a open loop facing Circular Quay, on 19 December 1902.[9] Though it was a terminus, facilities were originally minimal. Continuous agitation for greater provisions beginning as early as 1904 resulted in the construction of a wooden waiting shed.[10][11][12] The stop served trams on the "Green Lines", running from Newtown and the Eastern Suburbs up Elizabeth Street. Circular Quay (Young Street) was the last remaining stop in Circular Quay, and was closed with the Elizabeth Street line in February 1960.[7][4]
Trams running on the George Street line also stopped at Parramatta Jetty, North Sydney Jetty and Mosman Jetty (originally named Cremorne Jetty) respectively,[13] which opened with the extension to Fort Macquarie on 15 September 1912.[14]
Third iteration
Metro Transport Sydney, the private owner of the contemporary light rail system before it was acquired by the Government of New South Wales, advocated in the early 2000s for its extension to Circular Quay. The precise location of the proposed terminus would have depended on whether the preferred route via George Street or the alternative via Castlereagh Street was opted for. The proposals featured a balloon loop on which the Circular Quay stop would have been situated.[15] Engineering studies commissioned by the Government in 2004 found a number of routes to Circular Quay to be feasible, including via George or Castlereagh streets.[16]
On 13 December 2012, the O'Farrell ministry announced a commitment to build a light rail line from Circular Quay down George Street to Central station, then across to Moore Park and down Anzac Parade with branches to Kingsford and Randwick.[17] The first L2 passenger service to Randwick departed Circular Quay just after 10:00 on 14 December 2019, after a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the station. It was the first time trams had travelled from Circular Quay down George Street in 61 years.[18][19]
Services
| Line | Stopping pattern | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| services to Randwick via Central | [20] | |
| services to Kingsford via Central | [21] |
Transport links
Circular Quay is also served by a heavy rail station and ferry wharves, as well as buses. The precinct serves as an interchange between these modes.[22]
Trackplan
The station comprises one island platform and one side platform, with three tracks.[23] The side platform is served by a siding which branches off the northern track right before the platform; the line is henceforth from the station double-tracked. The tracks reach a dead-end at the eastern end of the platforms.[22]
Gallery
-
A Randwick service crosses to the out-bound track west of the terminus -
The island platform with both sides occupied -
A terminating service crossing to the southern track before the station -
The station at night
References
- ↑ McCarthy, K. When "Horse Power" Meant "The Horse". Trolley Wire No. 197. December 1981, p.3-17
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Circular Quay via George Street. Trolley Wire No. 125. December 1969, p.8-10
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Budd, D. Wilson, R. & Willson, R. George Street, Sydney, 1899-1958: A Pictorial Review. Trolley Wire No. 279. November 1999, p.16
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Willson, R. SYDNEY’S TRAMWAYS: DATES OF CLOSURE TO TRAFFIC, 1895 to 1961. Trolley Wire No. 324. February/March 2011, p.17-20
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 CIRCULAR QUAY The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW: 1842–1954). Trove, National Library of Australia. 13 July 1935. p.19, accessed 26 August 2025
- ↑ FORT MACQUARIE TRAMS. The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW: 1842-1954). Trove, National Library of Australia. 14 September 1912. p.20, accessed 26 August 2025
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Prescott, T. Sydney's Tramway Turning Loops. Trolley Wire No. 359. November 2019, p.3-15
- ↑ NEW TRAM LOOP The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW: 1883-1930). Trove, National Library of Australia. 22 June 1935. p.5, accessed 26 August 2025
- ↑ NEW SOUTH WALES GOVERNMENT TRAMWAYS: EXTENSIONS - BRIDGE STREET TO CIRCULAR QUAY Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales (Sydney, NSW: 1901-2001). Trove, National Library of Australia. 16 December 1902. Issue No. 271. p.9003, accessed 26 August 2025
- ↑ CIRCULAR QUAY TRAM TERMINUS The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW: 1883-1930). Trove, National Library of Australia. 22 December 1904. p.4, accessed 26 August 2025
- ↑ TRAM SHED AT CIRCULAR QUAY. Evening News (Sydney, NSW: 1869-1931). Trove, National Library of Australia. 26 March 1909. p.3, accessed 26 August 2025
- ↑ QUAY TRAMS The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW: 1842-1954). Trove, National Library of Australia. 1 December 1948. p.2, accessed 26 August 2025
- ↑ "1 map ; 39 x 29 cm, on sheet 43 x 31 cm", Sydney tramways 1921, [Sydney], 1921, nla.obj-371208079, retrieved 26 August 2025 – via Trove
- ↑ Government Tramways: EXTENSION OF TRAMWAY SERVICES FROM CIRCULAR QUAY TO FORT MACQUARIE Sunday Times (Sydney, NSW: 1895-1930). Trove, National Library of Australia. 15 September 1912. p.4, accessed 26 August 2025
- ↑ "Light Rail Extension - UPDATE". Metro Transport Sydney. 2004. Retrieved 2025-08-26.
- ↑ "In the fight to clear the streets, light rail is streets ahead". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2006-01-13. Retrieved 2025-08-26.
- ↑ "Sydney's Light Rail Future". Transport for NSW. 13 December 2012. pp. 9, 13, 14–17, 24. Archived from the original on 10 April 2013. Retrieved 14 December 2012. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Raper, Ashleigh (13 December 2019). "Sydney light rail opens and takes passengers down George Street again after 58 years". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
- ↑ Light rail opens in the heart of Sydney, NSW Government. Trove, National Library of Australia. 14 December 2019, accessed 29 August 2025
- ↑ "Randwick Line". Transport for NSW. Retrieved 2024-12-28.
- ↑ "Kingsford Line". Transport for NSW. Retrieved 2024-12-28.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 "Circular Quay" (PDF). Transport for NSW. 25 October 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
- ↑ Parsons Brinkerhoff. "Chapter 5 – Part A" (PDF). CBD and South East Light Rail – Environmental Impact Statement. pp. 5–18 to 5–57. Search this book on
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