Revitalising Australia's busiest commuter hub.

In 2018, Laing O’Rourke was awarded a $955 million contract to transform Sydney’s Central Station, delivering new Sydney Metro platforms beneath the station and an extensive pedestrian concourse, known as Central Walk. The project was completed in 2023 ahead of metro services starting in 2024. 

Laing O’Rourke’s design team introduced initiatives to find efficiencies, dramatically reduce materials required and improve customer experience. In doing so, they offered the client greater certainty around the project and its outcomes, including outperforming on sustainability.

Designing certainty into the project

Since being awarded the Central Station Metro contract in 2018, Laing O'Rourke has successfully delivered:

• A revitalised Northern Concourse, with transformed pedestrian thoroughfares and a landmark roof canopy. The roof has been built three times, once virtually, a second time offsite at Kurri- Kurri (Hunter Valley) and for the final time at Central Station (in just three weekend possessions of 48-hour periods and short night work sessions of 3-hour periods.
• Engineering marvel Central Walk, a new 80-metre-long by 19-metre-wide underground pedestrian concourse connecting all areas of the station and enabling easy interchange between modes of transport, including trains, buses, light rail, and in 2024, metro services.  
• A brand-new North-South Concourse where, in 2024, commuters will have access to metro platforms and metro services every four minutes in the peak. 
• A new entrance at Chalmers Street providing direct access from the east and allowing easy interchange from the CBD and South-East Light Rail services.
• New underground Sydney Metro platforms 27m beneath Platforms 13, 14 and 15.      
• Significant accessibility upgrades as a result of the installation of 14 new lifts and 42 new escalators, including escalator access to suburban rail platforms 12 to 23 for the first time in the station’s history. 

Successful delivery

The team maintained their focus on delivering the project in the most sustainable way. In May 2021, the project achieved a 6 Star Green Star Design Review rating from the Green Building Council of Australia, representing World Leadership in sustainable building design. Through this process, several outcomes were recognised, including: a 90% reduction in potable water consumption; implementation of a Climate Adaptation Plan; and a 123% total cumulative saving across 13 Life Cycle Environmental indicators (such as climate change and ozone layer depletion) associated with materials selection and operational energy efficiency, compared to a reference project.