A two-platform inner-city rail stop, once dubbed “Sydney’s stupidest train station”, has received $2.3m to kick off a substantial makeover.
Located in Sydney’s inner west between Redfern and Newtown, and named after a now non-existent suburb, the ailing 146-year-old station will be redesigned, with the potential for construction to begin in late-2025, subject to approvals and securing funding for the build.
Accessibility concerns are a top priority.
Despite Macdonaldtown train station being Sydney’s only station with an on-platform pay phone, which was made wheelchair accessible in 2009, trains are only accessible via a steep flight of stairs.
It’s understood the estimated 18-month revamp will include the addition of ramps or lifts, plus improved signage, a family accessible toilet, accessible parking spaces, tactile ground surface indicators, and new platform hearing loops.
More lighting and CCTV will also be included in the redesign, with the potential for an additional station entrance and forecourt.
While Macdonaldtown’s on-platform payphone is accessible, the rest of the train station is not. Picture: NewsWire / Gaye Gerard
Writing for The Daily Telegraph in 2009, commentator Joe Hildebrand dubbed the station as “Sydney’s stupidest” over the wheelchair-friendly payphone gaff, which was installed by Telstra as per its legal requirements.
Online detractors have also called the Macdonaldtown stop “little less than a forgotten bus station” and a “desolate station, way more desolate than the Outback”.
However, NSW Transport Minister Jo Haylen defended the small station, which comes in at “Sydney’s 126th most-used station” out of 228 contenders across the Greater Sydney region.
News.com.au