Sydney Olympic Park Metro Station Plans Unveiled to Ease Congestion

Plans for a new four-platform metro station at Sydney Olympic Park have been unveiled, aiming to ease transport congestion and headaches at the major events hub. The station will be designed to accommodate about 25,000 passengers per hour, in addition to the existing heavy rail station that has capacity for 40,000 passengers per hour.

New Station Design and Features

The new Olympic Park Metro Station will include a public plaza and two new high-rise residential towers. The station will have wider walkways, extra escalators, and a special configuration allowing those arriving to exit off one platform, while those waiting to board would enter from another.

Transport Minister John Graham said Olympic Park's potential had been "hampered" by a lack of transport links. "That will change as this metro opens."

"Above all, it'll mean an end to that rush for the train at the end of a big event as people try and get out of there," he said. "Instead, they'll be much more open to hanging around the precinct, staying for a good time after the event rather than racing for the train."

Benefits for Major Events and Housing Development

Business Western Sydney executive director David Borger said the four platforms would help deal with "massive crowd surges" during major events. "At the moment, we know that the loop train line that was built for the Olympics is challenging, people have to interchange at Lidcombe," he said.

"This is going to improve access for major sporting events. Olympic Park often lacks people, the people are coming and the trains are going to ensure that they come."

Mr Graham said while it was a "good start", the new metro station would make housing development in surrounding areas more attractive. "As this precinct becomes more connected, what you're going to see is it really comes to life, and that'll be true both in a sports and entertainment sense, but also from a housing point of view," he said.

Construction and Future Plans

Construction on the new metro station is expected to begin about mid-2027, with the Metro West currently slated for completion in 2032. A master plan for the wider Sydney Olympic Park contains plans for up to 15,000 homes by 2050, including up to 20 per cent affordable housing on government-owned land and five per cent on private land.

Mr Borger said once the metro opens, people living in the area would be within a half-hour commute of more than 800,000 jobs, compared with the current 70,000 jobs.