Bondi Junction railway station

Bondi Junction
Bondi Junction platform terminus, June 2018
General information
Location	Grafton Street, Bondi Junction
Coordinates	33°53′28″S151°14′50″E / 33.891093°S 151.247208°E / -33.891093; 151.247208
Elevation	64 metres (210 ft)
Owned by	Transport Asset Holding Entity
Operated by	Sydney Trains
Line(s)	Eastern Suburbs
Distance	6.76 kilometres from Central
Platforms	2 (1 island)
Tracks	2
Connections	Bus
Construction
Structure type	Underground
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Status	Weekdays: Staffed: 24/7 Weekends and public holidays: Staffed: 24/7
Station code	BJN
Website	Transport for NSW
History
Opened	23 June 1979;45 years ago (1979-06-23)
Electrified	Yes
Passengers
2023 [1]	12,583,200 (year) 34,475 (daily) [2] (Sydney Trains, NSW TrainLink)
Services
Preceding station Sydney Trains Following station Edgecliff towards Waterfall or Cronulla Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line Terminus Preceding station NSW TrainLink Following station Edgecliff towards Kiama South Coast Line (morning and evening services) Terminus

Bondi Junction railway station is a heritage-listed railway station located on the Eastern Suburbs line, serving the Sydney suburb of Bondi Junction in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is served by Sydney Trains's T4 Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line services and NSW TrainLink's South Coast Line services.

History

Bondi Junction track layout

As a long-standing major commercial area in Sydney's east, a railway line had long been considered to Bondi Junction. The suburb was variously proposed to have been the intermediate or the ultimate terminus of an Eastern Suburbs Railway since 1916. In 1967, tenders were awarded for the construction of the Eastern Suburbs line as far as Bondi Junction. Construction began shortly thereafter.

Construction plans

Although a subway station, construction required the demolition of a block of mixed commercial-residential buildings to permit staging of the project, the construction of a works compound and, once the railway was completed, to be the location of the bus interchange facility.

The line was to be eventually constructed to Kingsford, but the first stage would run only so far as Bondi Junction. As the planned interim terminus of the line, terminus facilities were provided at the station. These consisted of a turnback tunnel between the main running tunnels and a trailing crossover.

An underground shopping complex was proposed to be constructed at the concourse level of the station (similar to that which exists at Martin Place). Additionally, an underground walkway would be provided to the then proposed (later constructed) Bondi Junction Plaza shopping centre.

Construction realities

Construction of the Eastern Suburbs Railway generally proceeded from the Erskineville tunnel portals to Bondi Junction. As such Bondi Junction was the last developed station site.

In 1976, the Wran Government sought to reduce costs on the railway's construction. As a result of an inquiry by an Eastern Suburbs Railway Board of Review, a number of recommendations were made and accepted by the government. ^[3] Relevantly these included:

• Eastern Suburbs Railway not be constructed beyond Bondi Junction and the route to Kingsford be abandoned
• Line be fully integrated with the Illawarra line (not be run independently)
• Shopping centre on the station concourse not be constructed
• Tunnel to the Bondi Junction Plaza not be constructed
• Level of finish at the station be reduced and only four escalators be provided from the concourse level to the platform level
• Scale of the bus interchange be reduced

As a result of these changes, Bondi Junction became the permanent terminus of the Eastern Suburbs and Illawarra railway lines. However no provision was made for an upgraded turnback facility.

Opening

The Eastern Suburbs Railway was opened on 23 June 1979 by the Premier, Neville Wran. ^{[4] [5]}

Rebuilding the bus interchange

Entrance to the station concourse from the bus interchange

The bus interchange facility opened in 1979 was basic. The location of the station meant the land and airspace on which it was located was highly valuable. This in turn led to various proposal throughout the 1990s to sell the airspace and redevelop the interchange. In 1998, Woollahra Council, then controlling the site of the bus interchange, finalised an agreement to sell the airspace above the site to Meriton who commenced construction of a new bus interchange together with two residential apartment towers and a small shopping centre in April 1999. The new interchange was temporarily opened in September 2000 for the Sydney Olympics but subsequently closed for further work. The new bus interchange, two apartment towers and the shopping centre opened in July 2001. ^[5] The shopping centre known as Tiffany Plaza (renamed to Meriton Retail Precinct Bondi Junction in 2018) featured a McDonald's outlet, a gym, a child care centre and seven other retailers. ^[6]

Reconstruction of the bus terminal altered the locations of commuter access to the station concourse. As such, alterations were required to the station concourse. The resulting renovation of Bondi Junction station primarily involved upgrading station staff facilities, the installation of toilets and the general updating of the station, hitherto a time capsule to the 1970s.

The renovation was conducted coincidentally with the Easy Access upgrade to the station and the replacement of the original incandescent lamp platform indicators with plasma display indicators.

Clearways Project upgrade

Constructed as a part of the Rail Clearways Program, a second turnback facility was built. The major work consisted of the construction of a new crossover tunnel on the city side of the station. This created an X-shaped or diamond junction allowing terminating trains to arrive at either platform. The changes allowed the full line capacity of 20 trains per hour to be turned at Bondi Junction, the prior limit being 14.

In addition, extra stabling facilities were provided by utilitising unused sections of tunnels beyond the station. These tunnels were constructed on anticipation of continued tunnelling towards Kingsford. They have had track laid and overhead wire installed for a length of two eight-car trains in each tunnel. This gives a total stabling capacity of five eight-car trains (two in each siding and one in the turnback tunnel).

Complementing the stabling capacity at the station is the erection of a staff meal and waiting room on the platform level.

Construction began on the site in October 2004 while the station was closed and trains terminated at Edgecliff. Commissioning took place in April 2006. ^{[7] [8]}

Platforms and services

Platform	Line	Stopping pattern	Notes
1	T4	terminating services to & from Cronulla, Waterfall & Helensburgh	[9]
	SCO	terminating services to & from Wollongong, Port Kembla, Dapto & Kiama	only during peak hours and weekends [10]
2	T4	starting services to & from Cronulla, Waterfall & Helensburgh	[9]
	SCO	starting services to & from Wollongong, Port Kembla, Dapto & Kiama	only during peak hours and weekends [10]

Transport links

Bondi Junction Interchange: All bus routes are operated by Transdev John Holland except routes 389 and 440 which are operated by Transit Systems.

Stand A:

• 333: North Bondi ^[11]

Stand B:

• 380: Watsons Bay ^[12]
• 381: Tamarama ^[13]

Stand C:

• 386: Vaucluse ^[14]
• 387: South Head Cemetery ^[15]

Stand D:

• 379: North Bondi ^[16]

Stand E:

• Arrivals only

Stand F:

• 313: Coogee via Randwick ^[17]
• 350: Sydney Airport via Clovelly, Coogee, Maroubra, Eastgardens and Mascot ^[18]

Stand G:

• Arrivals only

Stand H:

• 200: Gore Hill via Macquarie Street
• 326: Edgecliff station ^[19]
• 327: Edgecliff station ^[20]
• 328: Darling Point ^[21]

Stand J:

• 356: Westfield Eastgardens via Maroubra Junction ^[22]
• 360: North Clovelly ^[23]

Stand K:

• 379: Bronte Beach ^[16]

Stand L:

• 390X: La Perouse via Randwick Junction ^[24]

Stand M:

• School services only

Stand N:

• Arrivals only

Stand P:

• Arrivals only

Stand Q:

• Arrivals only

Stand R (Grafton Street):

• 333: Circular Quay ^[11]
• 352: Marrickville Metro via Taylor Square ^[25]
• 355: Marrickville Metro via Waterloo ^[26]
• 389: Australian National Maritime Museum ^[27]
• NightRide route N91: to Macquarie Park station ^[28]

Stand S (Grafton Street):

• Arrivals only

Stand T (Grafton Street):

• 440: Rozelle ^[29]

References

1. "Train Station Monthly Usage". Open Data. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
2. This figure is the number of entries and exits of a year combined averaged to a day.
3. Kennedy, Brian (1982). Subterranean Sydney. Frenchs Forest: AH & AW Reed. p. 63. ISBN   058950312X.
4. Bondi Junction Station Archived 6 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine NSWrail.net
5. Bondi Junction railway station Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine NSW Environment & Heritage
6. "[:en]Meriton Retail Precinct - Bondi Junction[:zh]Luna[:]". Meriton. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
7. Rail Clearways Program - Completed Projects Archived 11 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine Transport for New South Wales
8. Bondi Junction Turnback Project Profile Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation
9. "T4: Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra line timetable". Transport for NSW.
10. "South Coast line timetable". Transport for NSW.
11. "Transdev route 333". Transport for NSW.
12. "Transdev route 380". Transport for NSW.
13. "Transdev route 381". Transport for NSW.
14. "Transdev route 386". Transport for NSW.
15. "Transdev route 387". Transport for NSW.
16. "Transdev route 379". Transport for NSW.
17. "Transdev route 313". Transport for NSW.
18. Route 350 timetable Transport for NSW
19. "Transdev route 326". Transport for NSW.
20. "Transdev route 327". Transport for NSW.
21. "Transdev route 328". Transport for NSW.
22. Route 356 timetable Transport for NSW
23. "Transdev route 360". Transport for NSW.
24. Route 390X timetable Transport for NSW
25. "Transdev route 352". Transport for NSW.
26. "Transdev route 355". Transport for NSW.
27. "Transit Systems route 389". Transport for NSW.
28. "N91 Nightride". Transport for NSW.
29. "Transit Systems route 440". Transport for NSW.

External links

Media related to Bondi Junction railway station, Sydney at Wikimedia Commons

• Bondi Junction Station at Transport for New South Wales (Archived 10 June 2019)
• Bondi Junction station Public Transport Map Transport for NSW
• Turnback construction Flickr gallery