Central Station Sydney: Which Platforms Go Where

Central Station sorts its platforms into five separate systems, not one. Suburban trains use one block. Country and intercity trains use another. The airport line has two underground platforms, and Sydney Metro has two more, deeper still. Light rail stops outside, at street level, on Chalmers Street. Which entrance a visitor walks in by decides how many stairs stand between them and the right platform.

How Central’s platforms are grouped

Central is not one station but several, laid side by side under one roof. Transport for NSW groups the platforms by operator and by line. That grouping, not the platform number alone, decides where a passenger needs to walk.

Suburban Sydney Trains services use the lower-numbered platforms, roughly 1 to 16. They are reached from the Grand Concourse, at the Eddy Avenue end. NSW TrainLink’s regional and intercity trains use a separate block of elevated platforms. These are numbered from the high teens up to 23, behind the suburban block. Two underground platforms, 24 and 25, carry the Airport Line and the T8 service toward East Hills. Sydney Metro added two more platforms, far below ground, when its City and Southwest line opened in August 2024. They are reached from escalators and lifts near the Chalmers Street end. Light rail does not share the building at all. The L2 and L3 lines stop outside, at street level, on Chalmers Street.

Platform numbers shift slightly as the network changes over time. Treat the ranges above as the shape of the system, not an exact map. Transport for NSW publishes the live groupings, platform numbers and connections on its own site.

From Eddy Avenue: the main entrance

Eddy Avenue is the grand sandstone front, the one with the clock tower. The tower was completed in 1921, on a station building that dates largely from 1906, and Heritage NSW lists the whole complex on the State Heritage Register. The entrance opens straight onto the Grand Concourse, the station’s main indoor space.

• To suburban platforms (1–16): stairs or escalators lead down directly from the concourse. Lifts are also provided. Not every suburban platform has one at this end, so check signage or ask staff.
• To country and intercity platforms (high teens–23): walk the length of the concourse toward the southern end. These platforms sit above ground level. Stairs, escalators and a lift near the NSW TrainLink booking office all reach them.
• To the Airport Line platforms (24–25): follow signage down to concourse level, then underground. This route has escalators and a lift, which matters for anyone moving luggage toward the airport.
• To Sydney Metro: the metro entrance is not at this end. From Eddy Avenue, the shortest route is through the Grand Concourse toward Chalmers Street.

From Elizabeth Street

The Elizabeth Street entrance sits on the station’s western side, facing the city rather than Eddy Avenue. It feeds into the suburban concourse and into the top of the Devonshire Street pedestrian tunnel.

• To suburban platforms: stairs lead down into the tunnel. A lift at tunnel level then reaches every suburban platform.
• To country and intercity platforms: there is no direct tunnel link. The route doubles back through the main concourse at Eddy Avenue.
• To the Airport Line or Sydney Metro: continue through the tunnel toward Chalmers Street rather than crossing at concourse level.

From the Devonshire Street Tunnel

This tunnel runs beneath the platforms, from Elizabeth Street in the west to Chalmers Street in the east. It is the single most useful route for anyone moving a wheelchair, a pram or heavy luggage through the station. It was rebuilt and widened as part of the Sydney Metro project, and Sydney Metro describes step-free access being added to every suburban platform as part of that work.

• Suburban platforms (1–16): lift access from tunnel level to every platform.
• Country and intercity platforms: not reachable from this tunnel. Use the Grand Concourse instead.
• Sydney Metro: the tunnel connects to the metro concourse near Chalmers Street, with lifts and escalators down to the metro platforms.

From Chalmers Street

Chalmers Street runs along the station’s eastern edge, facing Prince Alfred Park and Surry Hills. It is the entrance closest to both the light rail stop and the Sydney Metro platforms.

• Light rail (L2, L3): stops sit at street level outside the building. No stairs, no lift, because there is no change of level at all.
• Sydney Metro: escalators and lifts lead down from this end to the metro platforms. The whole metro station was built to current accessibility standards, having opened in 2024.
• Suburban or country platforms: reachable via the Devonshire Street Tunnel or the Grand Concourse, both a longer walk from this side than from Eddy Avenue.

Stairs or lift: the short version

For anyone moving a wheelchair, a wheeled suitcase or a pram through Central, the pattern looks like this:

• Light rail on Chalmers Street: step-free by default.
• Sydney Metro: step-free throughout, being the newest part of the station.
• Suburban platforms (1–16): lift access confirmed via the Devonshire Street Tunnel, even where the Grand Concourse route involves stairs.
• Airport Line platforms (24–25): escalators and a lift from the Grand Concourse.
• Country and intercity platforms (high teens–23): the most stair-dependent group. Lifts exist but are fewer, so it is worth confirming the current layout before a trip with heavy luggage.

Transport for NSW publishes a current accessibility map for the whole station. It is worth checking before a visit, since lift locations have moved more than once as the metro project has progressed.

Paying at the gates

Central has Opal gates at several points, not one single barrier line. A reader tapping on at Eddy Avenue and tapping off at the airport platforms is on the same fare system regardless of entrance. A contactless bank card works at any of these gates exactly as an Opal card does, and choosing between an Opal card and a bank card really comes down to how long the visit runs. What matters everywhere in the station is tapping off as well as on. Missing it charges the maximum possible fare for the line, a rule explained in full here, alongside how the daily, weekly and Sunday caps are worked out.

Connecting onward

Central is also where several separate journeys start. Visitors heading to Sydney Airport can use the Airport Line platforms inside the station, or a public bus that avoids the private station access fee charged at the airport’s own two stations — that fee is explained here, alongside four ways of making the same trip, compared. Regional and intercity NSW TrainLink services from the elevated platforms often run past the edge of the Opal network, covered in the guide to where the Opal network ends. For the wider mechanics of fares, caps and gates across the rest of the city, the Getting Around archive covers the system station by station.

Access Sydney is an independent guide written from published, checkable sources. We have not visited the places described here and we do not publish personal recommendations or invented ‘local favorites’ — where something is singled out as notable, we say who says so. Opening times, fares, closures and prices change at short notice, so treat everything here as a starting point and confirm with the museum, operator or venue directly before building a day around it. We give no advice on visas, insurance, health or safety; use your own government’s official guidance for those.

Featured image: Photo by Dietmar Rabich, source, CC BY-SA 4.0