Re: Sydney's Railway Tunnels

[ROY HOWARTH <rhowarth@tig.com.au>]

dbromage@fang.omni.com.au (David Bromage) wrote:
>There are also some disused tram tunnels still around the Sydney CBD.
>
Correct. These are located at Wynyard where former platforms 1 & 2 were 
the city terminus of the North Sydney tram lines until 29th June 1958.

Most of the tunnels and stations platforms now form part of the bi-level 
Menzies Hotel Car Park, which is accessible from the Wynyard station 
concourse. The actual platforms were demolished, but the staircases 
remain but boarded up. 

Only the "up" tunnel is accessible as this leads to the car park's exit 
ramp halfway between the station site and the tunnel portal. North of 
this exit, the rest of this tunnel is used as a pistol shooting range. 
The portals are clearly seen from the eastern walkway at the top of the 
Bridge Stairs.

The dead-end tunnels at the southern end of the station are used for 
document storage. Some years ago, the foundations of buildings above 
the tunnels at this end were adjusted to allow any future tunnel 
extensions southwards.

There have been a few pie-in-the-sky plans to re-use these tunnels by 
buses, but it seems unlikely. Any future use will depend on the future of 
the Cahill Expressway, which travels directly above the tunnel portals.

Roy H