Sydney’s Central Station – revitalised as a major interchange with Sydney Metro and Light Rail

The Central Station Main Works (CSM) is part of the $20 billion Sydney Metro project and includes the construction of new Sydney Metro underground platforms and Central Walk, comprising two concourses that link the new metro line platforms with the existing station and suburban railway platforms.

GHD and Aurecon Australasia formed a joint venture (AGJV) to provide design development and coordination services to Laing O’Rourke for the delivery of CSM across architectural and engineering disciplines and in collaboration with the front-of-house architects.

The CSM is the most significant upgrade of the historic terminal, designed by the government architect, Walter Liberty Vernon, since its completion in 1906.

The design of the upgrade has a clear relationship to the original architecture. The design of the tall, clear span Grand Concourse and North Concourse canopies that respect the heritage building, required significant structural design effort and rerouting of building services. 

Coordination between stakeholders is crucial to the success of this project. Dedicated interface management resources manage stakeholders such as Sydney Trains, other Sydney Metro contractors and utility service providers.

At the forefront of digital design, the federated 3D building information model (BIM) for the CSM project is fully integrated with asset classification, shared metadata and 4D/5D capabilities.

Our ‘build it first - digitally’ methodology enables collaboration with stakeholders and design visualization, from the initial project stages through design evolution, as each discipline’s components are added to the 3D model. Used as a communication tool, BIM fosters a collaborative environment for informed and timely decision-making, to achieve quality, time and budget requirements.

Our integrated and coordinated 3D model increases the accuracy of the construction documentation and has resulted in significantly reduced coordination related clarifications during construction. The fully integrated model also has reporting benefits allowing the commercial team to rapidly capture bills of quantity and report on variations.

The metro line will connect north to Chatswood and south to the existing Bankstown Line and is planned to open in 2024. According to Transport for NSW, more than 270,000 people a day use Central Station, a figure expected to rise to 450,000 within 20 years.