Sydney's abandoned rail tunnels

These forgotten tunnels and station platforms, built decades ago to accommodate for a much greater suburban network, never had an active train run through them. And never will.

John Bradfield, the man who designed the suburban network, the City Circle underground and the Harbour Bridge, wanted lines to Bondi, Randwick, Balmain and the Northern Beaches, among others. When the current City Circle and Central to North Sydney lines were being built in the 1920s, Bradfield added small sections of tunnel to allow for the these other lines, if they were ever built.

Two single line tunnels run from St James Station, each a kilometre long, lie beneath Hyde Park for the proposed Bondi and Randwick lines. North of St James, a tunnel was built for the Balmain line. It now sits under Macquarie Street and terminates under the Botanic Gardens.

The tunnels run into two centre platforms at St James, complete with tiles, now hidden from the public gaze.

Sydney Trains director of operations Tony Eid, took the 'Today' show on to Central's platforms 26 and 27, built at the same time as the Eastern Suburbs line, which opened in 1979. The platforms, just concrete shells, sit above the underground platforms 24 and 25 on the Eastern Suburbs and Illawarra lines.

Here is a little sneak peak, behind closed doors!

** Sourced: ABC Radio National, Australia For Everyone

- Tim