Central platforms 2 and 4 are essentially passing loops in the current track configuration anyway (there’s only 4 through tracks on either side), so with the traffic going onto CRR, there may be a rationale to reduce the number of platforms there with reduced traffic. It would reduce the functionality to essentially hold trains at Central though, so Roma St would have to do more of the heavy lifting in that respect if network issues arise. That’s not an endorsement on my part, I haven’t given enough thought to the question at hand as to what a good remodel of Central should look like (but it is a rather drab and sad looking station; and some days I miss my Thursday afternoon schooner at the Whistle Stop, which has been closed since COVID 
).
What I would really REALLY like to see (and hear) is if they’re gonna go ahead with a reduction of platforms from 6 to 4, then also do a good deal of straightening with the tracks.
My watch constantly tells me the screech from Plat1 reaches up to 100dB which is genuinely horrifying.
ANZAC Square [ex Central Station] needs more lifestyle, accommodation, ie apartment tower (Northern End) to give it a “sunk effect” and brining to life the valuable space above. Also better connectivity options, underground mall etc…..great redevelopment-retail-lifestyle opportunities!
Is this pie in the sky kind of stuff or are the Government open to this? I have not seen or read the article.
I’d lean towards pie in the sky unfortunately. It’s not a Government proposal.
I figured that might be the case. I would however expect a more modest upgrade of central station as was originally planned prior to the Commonwealth Games.
Ideally, but I think the geometry of the tunnels and the platforms would make that difficult. And I’m not sure you could really justify the disruption of the works at Central for very little actual benefit, as the two platforms for sector 2 are enough to run 20tph in each direction pretty reliably, which should be enough for quite a while.
I would be careful about reducing the capacity of Central Station too much. While using 4 lines for Ferny Grove & Cleveland are complete overkill today, I would much rather the station retain added capacity for future upgrades, even if they are 50 years down the track.
I agree. Given that Cross River Rail leaves sector 3 with arguably more capacity than it needs, that seems to be a great place to look for extensions. A branch from Ferny Grove to the Everton Hills and Macdowall, and a branch somewhere off the Cleveland line to serve the eastern suburbs would both be worth exploring. If we could achieve that we might be happy to have kept the platform capacity at Central and Roma St.
I think the extra capacity for the Cleveland line would be beneficial in increasing the long-term capacity of the line if there’s an eventual duplication between Manly-Cleveland as you can have more services
Would be really nice to see Central no longer be a dark, dingy, and loud pit in the ground!
It’s also a goddamn hot, stinking box in Summer. It’s an awful station to return home via as most passengers are walking uphill in the afternoon heat and if it rains it’s a humid hot box with absolutely no ventilation below a big heat sink and a stinky carpark. I loathe Central. I don’t think QR actually does understand their customer experience. Also closing the underground connection at night via the memorial square means you’re transiting via the intersections on most likely Edward and I find most heavy surface crossings in the CBD are poor and preference cars / buses too frequently at too high a speed with virtually no engineering or even enforcement of the supposed 40 zones. You’re more likely to get pinged for doing 15km on a bike in a 10km path than 20 over in a car in the CBD.
This is honestly the biggest thing I’m looking forward to about Cross River Rail. When I’m working in our CBD office I usually time my arrival at central or roma street so that I get there a minute or two before the train to avoid steaming or roasting myself.
Having two proper underground climate controlled stations servicing the CBD will be so welcome on humid afternoons.
At least Roma St gets a bit of ventilation, being outdoors. Central (and Fortitude Valley) are like saunas.
Central station is honestly fine. Just needs a fresh coat of paint and more bins please, that poor bin at the Maccas gets smashed all the time
Central station is the bin 
Central needs bins
Ditto Roma Street
So does King George Square Busway station.
And all city stations would need to have their platforms raised for level boarding as well, especially for platforms 1-4 at Central station. To have a massive gap between the train and the platform at the metropolitan area’s busiest station is laughable.
I reckon that they would raise the platforms at the current city stations after the completion of CRR; rather than force all the train lines to cross over travel through a single track pair (if they want to do it now), there will only be four lines pairs running through the corridor with one track pair only being taken be one line pair (FGCL sector 3), so the trains crossing over to a single track pair will be less disruptive post CRR.
A full upgrade of central (and any inner city station) should have platform screen doors too. This should line up with long term plans to have etcs network wide.