Macdonaldtown railway station

Macdonaldtown railway station is a partially heritage-listed railway station located on the Main Suburban line, serving the Sydney suburb of Eveleigh. It is served by Sydney Trains' T2 Leppington & Inner West Line and occasional T3 Liverpool & Inner West Line services.

Macdonaldtown
Eastbound view from Platform 1, February 2023
General information
Location	Burren Street, Eveleigh
Coordinates	33°53′48″S 151°11′11″E
Elevation	27 metres (89 ft)
Owned by	Transport Asset Holding Entity
Operated by	Sydney Trains
Line(s)	Main Suburban
Distance	2.48 kilometres from Central
Platforms	2 (1 island)
Tracks	6
Construction
Structure type	Ground
Accessible	No
Other information
Status	Weekdays: Staffed: 6am-2pm Weekends and public holidays: Unstaffed
Station code	MAC
Website	Transport for NSW
History
Opened	1878
Rebuilt	3 April 1892
Electrified	Yes
Passengers
2023[1]	585,880 (year) 1,605 (daily)[2] (Sydney Trains, NSW TrainLink)
Services
Preceding station Sydney Trains Following station Newtown towards Parramatta or Leppington Leppington & Inner West Line Redfern towards City Circle Newtown towards Liverpool Liverpool & Inner West Line      North Shore & Western Line does not stop here      Northern Line does not stop here

History

The original Macdonaldtown station opened in 1878 at a site adjacent to the Charles Street subway. It was relocated to its present site on 3 April 1892.^[3][4][5]

The Main Suburban line through Macdonaldtown was quadruplicated in 1892,^[6] and sextuplicated in 1927 in association with electrification works.^[7]

An island platform on the middle pair of tracks was taken out of use and demolished in November 1985.^[8] The closed access stairs to this may still be seen from the underpass entrance. To the south of the station, lie the Macdonaldtown Stabling Yards. A footbridge that spanned all six lines was removed in June 1996.^[9]

On the morning of 13 July 1986 Macdonaldtown station was painted pink by then 18 year-old John Philip Baxter and his 14-year-old brother. Baxter also glued a table, two chairs and a pot-plant (also painted pink) to the platform to further his "overall effort to enhance the station". No conviction was recorded and the State Rail Authority's claim for damages was rejected by the magistrate.^[10]

• 
  Westbound view from the island platform
• 
  Entrance from Burren Street underpass

Platforms and services

Platform	Line	Stopping pattern	Notes
1	T2	services to Central & the City Circle	[11]
	T3	services to Central & the City Circle (weekday early morning, late night and weekends only)	[11]
2	T2	services to Homebush & Parramatta	[11]
	T3	services to Liverpool via Regents Park (weekday early morning, late night and weekends only)	[11]

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. "'Station Information G to M"' State Rail Authority 1998
4. Macdonaldtown Station NSWrail.net
5. Macdonaldtown (Burren Street) Railway Underbridge NSW Environment & Heritage
6. "NSW Railway Passenger Services 1880-1905" Australian Railway History issue 810 April 2005 page 141
7. "Sydney Electric Trains from 1926-1960" Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin April 2001 page 128
8. "Stations & Tracks Volume 1 – Main Suburban and Branches" State Rail Authority 1988
9. "Signalling & Safeworking" Railway Digest July 1996 page 42
10. Victory for John, station Picaso Sydney Morning Herald 19 September 1986 page 3
11. "T2: Inner West & Leppington line timetable". Transport for NSW.

External links

• Media related to Macdonaldtown railway station at Wikimedia Commons
• Macdonaldtown station details Transport for New South Wales