EDIT: A lot of people have asked so here is the list of most to least busiest stations which I compiled myself a few days ago: docs.google.com/document/d/1EjV7DUisEMupyxfa1EnONEC8fPtNqbIO/edit Hey! Been too long since I did a video for my "Explore" series, so I decided it was time to fix that. Amy/girl who looks like Amy and I went and had lunch right after she got off the train haha. Although, actually, I only just got my wisdom teeth out so my lunch was a milkshake 😃. I really don't know how I filmed this entire video two days after a wisdom teeth surgery. In other news, I said about a month ago that I wanted to get to 20k subs by the middle of the year. Well, we're running 5 months early on that goal. Exciting!! Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this one! Back to a serious topic in the next video, if my schedule doesn't change.
The MacDonaldtown to Erskineville walk was a fan for many Opal Card runners in circa 2015. On a Monday people would run, skate, scoot and ride between the two station to get their 8 weekly trips up and then be able to use the Sydney network for the rest of the week for free. So for cost of around $15 you could travel anywhere on the network for the rest of the week at no extra cost. Pyrmont Bridge and Star City on the light rail was another busy route on a Monday. 😊
I was too late for the Opal hack, but I would run to MacDonaldtown from Ersko (and up the train to get out at Redfern) if I missed my train in the mornings, kept my sprinting skills up nicely then.
@@M077Y it was really good times .. if you were a city commuter it gave you reason to exercise on a Monday and save yourself some money for the rest of the week
HappyChef! I remember them, had a similar menu to something you would find in Chinatown Sussex st food court, another restaurant to have lost its life on King Street Newtown, I blame the American burger food trend that’s currently cursed Newtown, bring back the Thai food trend of the 00s!
Back in the day when you used to buy weekly tickets MacDonaldtown was a favourite for city workers who had to get through ticketing gates in the city but didn’t have to use a ticketing gate at there home station.
You are so right. The people from the Blue Mountains did that for many years. The Government decided to have a blitz on the Blue Mountains line and put ticket inspectors on every train on one particular day. Every passenger had a ticket but almost 80% had weekly tickets from Macdonaldtown to Central and the city. Most Blue Mountains train stations had no ticket barriers or staff after 3pm.
Couple more interesting facts: - Macdonaldtown Erskineville was a common route for Opal running before the loophole was closed - Macdonaldtown's trackwork bus stop is at Erskineville as the streets are too narrow for buses to get in - In the past, Macdonaldtown had a minibus to Newtown during trackwork
Yep. Sydney Uni students were pretty good at maxing out their 8 journeys on a Monday thanks to the triangle.. and same with Light Rail stops in Pyrmont
This was a great way to avoid the crowded trackwork buses to Newtown on trackwork days. Just get off at Redfern and get the minibus to Macdonaldtown. It was literally the size of a personal van. Nobody ever got on it as opposed to the crowded to capacity Newtown bus. Then just walk 5 mins
A note on density and Erskineville station. It’s not all doom and gloom, over the last few years the remaining industrial area to the south east of the station are being changed to higher density apartment blocks. So hopefully it will climb that usage chart over the next few years.
Indeed. Ashmore Estate is 2 minutes down the road and by 2035 is estimated to add 6,000 new residents to Erskineville, doubling the suburb's population: www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/building-new-infrastructure/planning-for-ashmore-precinct.
@@GarySmith-me5hz based on how construction has been going so far if they complete Ashmore estate by 2025 i will be shocked 😂😂 I’m looking forward to it completion though, the additional retail/hospitality will be nice.
I was once on a country train going up the Blue Mountains and it was sitting stationary at Clyde Station for over 2 hours due to an accident further up the line. I have a bad association to that station because of that reason.
Ah, good old Mactown. My dad has quite fond memories of this little place, especially in the uni years. He remembers when the whole station was painted pink, and rocking up there with some mates to make a short film, Hell's Half Hectare.
The closeness of MacDonaldtown and Erskineville stations is the reason why MacDonaldtown these days does not get a train replacement bus service. Up to the late 1990's (or thereabouts) full size buses operated through MacDonaldtown on train replacement services. But after a concrete median was installed on Erskineville Rd removing the right turn that buses made, buses bypassed MacDonaldtown and they started running a minibus shuttle between Redfern & MacDonaldtown. It carried almost no one so in the late 2010's (IIRC) it was cancelled. The all stations buses now stop for MacDonaldtown at Erskineville shops - but they still pickup/set down almost nobody there as they instead catch a train from Erskineville.
Haha yeah, I have realised I am pretty bad at spontaneous humour so I scripted all my jokes this time and they all landed much better 😃 I’ll be doing that from now on for sure
As a former USYD student, Macdonaldtown station was my go to station when I forgot my paper train ticket at home, just to avoid the transit officers at Redfern (the days before Opal) LOL On another note, thanks to my weird mind, Macdonaldtown for me isn't complete until there is a Maccas in the area! :P On a serious note, I have been to all three stations for various reasons and the walks in between them are quite nice. I'm always on the T2 line (heading to Parramatta) and in the off chance I don't pay attention and take the wrong train instead heading south, I stop at Erskinville and just walk to Newtown to resume my journey, or if Newtown is busy, I walk to Macdonaldtown to take the train home :3
@@BuildingBeautifully Something else you didn't mention is: Drugs. There are lot of drug users in this area, obviously, and a lot of them know to get off at Macdonaldtown to avoid cops. There's often cops with sniffer dogs at Newtown station but they never bother with Macdonaldtown, because nobody does. Cops and transit officers in general are obsessed with visibility. They only turn up at stations that some old grandma has "heard about on the news, I'm glad to see police doing something about it." Hence they'll show up at Parramatta, but not Harris Park. Newtown, but not Macdonaldtown. Cronulla, but not Woollooware. Etc. Real heads know this and work around it
Great vid mate. Back in 1986 to 87 I used to travel from Museum station to Auburn on the train for work - yes the old red rattlers were still running and freezing in winter. At that time over one weekend Macdonaldtown was completely painted pink and remained that way for a year at least. Going through the station on the Monday was WTF??? Amazing. Don't know by who or why.
July 13th, 1986. The persons responsible were John Baxter (18) and his younger brother, for the sake of beautification because he found the station so ugly. Even gluing pink chairs, a table, and a potplant to the platform. SRA took him to court, trying to get a *lot* of money (at the time) for repainting the station, to which the judge scoffed at the amount, and decided that what John had done was actually quite pleasant and let him off.
I was meant to mention this!!!! I fully intended to and then it just completely slipped my mind when writing the script. Urgh. Thank you for sharing though!
Hey mate great video! I always saw the triangle as a meme when I lived there but its nice to understand it better. It would be quite interesting to see a video on the vast tram system Sydney use to have. Keep up the good work mate.
Yeah a story on Sydneys Trams would be cool, from memory one of my relatives on my Grandma's side of the family worked on the last tram as Conductor & got his photo in the paper.
@@shaneeslick there was even a Tram route between Erskineville MacDonaldtown and the Everleigh Yards. Erskineville line This line branched from tracks at Regent Street in Chippendale, and passed west along Meagher Street, then south into Abercombie Street, across the junction with Cleveland Street through Golden Grove, before swinging south into Golden Grove Street then right into Wilson Street. The line then passed under the railway lines at Burren Street, adjacent to the entrance to Macdonaldtown railway station. The line then became a single track loop passing up Burren Street to Erskineville Road, then west to Septimus Street, then Albert Street before rejoining the tracks at Burren Street. Services operated from Circular Quay using the Pitt and Castlereagh Street lines. The line opened as an electric double track tramway in 1909. The line south of Cleveland Street closed in 1940, with the northern section used by other services until its closure in 1958.
Considering what was around McDonald's own station when it was conceived and built nearly 150y ago is more useful than what is around it now. It was the closest station to Sydney University and RPA hospital - built without diverging from the Newtown line. In those days also the area was full of market gardens for the city so there were undoubtedly a concentration of suppliers in the MEN precinct needing to transport wares . Also: Happy Chef did a wonderful Singapore Noodles that I miss ...
I once studied Transport Management at Sydney Uni. Classes were held in a building on Burren St just up from Macdonaldtown Station. They've since moved the ITLS to another location.
Regarding Leightonfield, industrial workers deserve transit too. It’s common in other parts of the world to cater for that. In Australia we seem to forget that people work in industrial areas
Having lived and spent a lot of time in Newtown and Erskineville, I love that I can choose which station to use depending on where I'm going, especially when the Illawarra line stops at Erko to get to the south of Sydney. I think it's also important to note that yes, they may not be the three busiest stations separately, but if there was only one station in the area instead of three, it would be super busy - so it makes sense to have a few in this area to thin out the crowds (it can also be a nightmare trying to board during peak hour in the morning heading to the CBD). It's super handy to use Macdonaltown when you're going to the northern area of King St, instead of going all the way to Newtown and having to walk back. I also agree with another comment, that back in the day, these areas were very working class and full of industry, and people didn't have the money for a car, so to get around the train lines (and trams) were required. Think 2 adults and 7 kids to a 3 bed terrace, that's the density of the properties back in the 50s/60s (my own family). I wish everywhere had this density of stations, as it would encourage more people to use the train to get around, because there's always one around the corner. You're more likely to use it if you don't have to hike for miles or drive to get to it. It also means there's much less car traffic in the area than there might be otherwise (I mean, it can be terrible - think how much worse it would be!). Jenny Leong, the local state MP is asking for ideas on what to do with the Tram Sheds, so... hopefully that is productive (there is a community garden in part of the fenced area atm). Nice video, keep it up :)
Great video, you missed an opportunity to explain why these stations were wanted and needed. There was so much industry work in these areas ranging from everything you could think of, even Sydney Park was a brick works, all the people who worked there also lived nearby so the amount of stations was a necessity, its kind of sad to see just how much of a shadow these areas have become over the years. An idea I have for a future video is, could you do some old convict built roads and train stations, you can still see the pick marks on a lot of them, it could take you a while to make but I think it would be very interesting to see whats become of those old roads. New subscriber too and looking forward to the next one :)
A couple of suggestions...the former Line that ran from Mortuary / Regent Street Station to Rookwood cemetary station. The history of the northern line which required a trip on a steamer boat from Hawkesbury Wharf Station to Woy Woy while the original H R bridge, Woy Woy tunnel and the track along Mullet Creek were under construction. The construction of Joll's Bridge section of road for the F3 is also fascinating.
My brother was a railway man and at one stage the signalman at Erskineville. He told me with some authority that Macdonaldtown station was for the workers at the Eveleigh railway yards of which there were thousands. Using tunnels they could access the main yards (south of the line) without crossing the tracks or walking through some pretty mean streets. Have a vague memory trains stopped at Macdonaldtown around Eveleigh shift changes but not other times. Between shift changes you had to go to Redfern or Newtown. Eveleigh in its heyday was vast - everything north of Henderson Road and stretched from Redfern to Erskineville. There were carriage sheds north of the line too where anyone right into the 1970s could come and take free coal to burn in home fireplaces. The railways were apparently still taking coal deliveries long after steam trains finished. It would be piled up west of the carriage sheds. Between shift changes you had to go to Redfern or Newtown. There is always a reason for things. You really need to dig deeper when you make these videos.
The other day, a young lady stopped at Macdonaldtown station while carrying a large suitcase and didn't realize that there were no escalators nor elevators to exit at street level. I willingly helped her carry the suitcase down the stairs. She said that Macdonaldtown had been the closest station to her destination and that she would have otherwise dropped off at Newtown. For first-timers in Sydney, unless you have a pretty good reason, stay away from Macdonaldtown if you've got large suitcases or bicycles. Newtown or Redfern is your best option.
Uh no. Redfern only has one operational lift (down to 6-7) and only one operational escalator (up from 11-12, no down) at the moment. Hopefully the new ones will be completed this year.
There's actually a LOT of high density housing near Erskineville. Just to the south of the station, where warehouses used to be (and jobs), and to the east bordering Alexandria (same thing). The village part remains the same as much as possible. Once you lose that, you lose what makes these places what they are. McD-Town has always been incredibly handy, especially for poor folk. I lived a few blocks away until recently and used the station quite regularly. Always have a soft spot for the underdog of the T2. I don't think your idea of these suburbs is really understanding of the essence that is the suburbs themselves. Everything you like about Newtown is the sum of its parts, it used to be an incredibly poor and dodgy area, but also heavily alternative, before gentrification came in and got rid of the poor and dodgy, the alternative is all that is left. This happened to Paddington in the 80's. Once a teeming alternative center, now a beautiful but culturally hollow stretch of unaffordable housing and yuppies.
You missed the facts that Mac/Town used to have a much larger use when they used to have the old eastern exit & bridge to both sides of Eveleigh workshops - handy little exit to the north side when dodging fares!!
Living around the corner from Erskineville station I'd sometimes get up late for work and after realising i'd miss the city train at Erskineville station, sprint down the street to catch one from Macdonaldtown haha
May not be exactly urban planning related but a video on the desalination plant pipeline could be interesting. Going from Kurnell, under botany bay, around the airport by the bike path, then going underground along Euston Rd to Sydney park Rd and then to a pumping station in Erskineville at purhonen's pathway to join the water supply. Many people would see the pipeline but would have no idea it's desal water
Thanks for reviewing these 3 train stations all within a quick walk of each other. I've only ever been to Macdonaldtown station out of these 3, and it's my favourite station in Sydney because of it's uniqueness. But I just wish it had amenities. Fun fact: I actually drove past Denistone station today for the first time.
Before NSW government closed the loophole, Erskineville to Macdonaldtown was the best Opal card speed run in Sydney, it's a 600 metre walk so lots of people used to tap on at each station, Opal would mark it as an actual trip, so you could log 8 trips in half an hour for $15 and the rest of your Sydney public transport week was free! You can still do it but now Opal charges half fare for all trips after that, it's still worthwhile if you're going long distance to Newcastle or Wollongong or Katoomba or Bowral.... I get off at Erskineville regularly as coming from Sydenham it's much easier than having to change trains to head to Newtown, I probably use Macdonaldtown more than Newtown station itself
Mate champion ive watched about 7 of your vids and a simple token gesture to subscribe right here and now thank you and keep the content pumping out fantastic efforts!
I love the little suburban Erskineville. I used to get of at Erskineville to spend the weekend stay over at my friends house. Until she sold her house and moved out. Minutes walk to shops. It was fun back then.
Well done! Macdonaldtown did have a purpose when it was built, especially if you were a railway worker at the carriage sheds. It kept its second island platform in 1927 when Newtown lost its one. Next time have a look at street level, the old booking office is still there. There was a bell tower on top but it was decapitated in 1927 to put the sixth track through.
Never visited any of the stations, but I do recall the 'long way' to city from Liverpool, via Regents Park, used to stop at Newtown and Mactown, quite annoying as then I never saw anyone get off or on. When I worked at USyd, mid 2010s, I did like our team lunches, outside of class periods, in Newtown. I was considering looking to move there, to avoid the commute from Campbelltown, but tiny houses and expensive rent was enough for a hard no.
I think they're constructing an extra entrance at the other end of Erskineville station because of people that live at the bottom of bridge street who have to walk all the way up to get to the station, like I used to
In Amsterdam they transformed old tram yard buildings into a hotel, library, cinema, food hall and small artisanal work spaces, with a car garage and bicycle garage newly constructed beneath it. It is a very busy spot, during the day and during the night.
One time I did Redfern - St Peters for Sydney Park, walked to Newtown and then took the train towards the city for other things. Very interesting distances.
My local neighbourhood. Funny seeing my local next to Erskineville station, the bike path I ride my e-scooter on in Burren st next to Macdonaldtown station, and Newtown, where I am a regular at a few of the pubs along king street, and usually take my e-scooter on the train there as the station has a lift.
Yes!!! Macdonaldtown was my relatively quick way of getting to RPAH when I used to work there-much more reliable than changing at central for the 412 or god forbid a Parra Rd or King St bus!
So Erskineville station used to be on the north side of the road? That would have meant that there were once three stations in the suburb of Eveleigh, including Redfern and Macdonaldtown. That's a decent level of stationage for a suburb that's not really on many people's radar.
I live very close to it, from the train line it seems lost in the everleigh yards but it is in a very suburban area. It moved location in 1890's when the housing estate was built to service the workers to the train yard.
I grew up in the Parramatta area - went to school at MBP long before they built a hospital in Westmead - and the absolute worst part of any weekend trip to the city was stopping at those stations between Strathfield and Central - little wonder the express trains were packed. Even when I moved to Erskineville briefly in the mid-80s, I either drove or caught a bus - it was only when I found myself in Kogarah that I felt train travel was a viable option. Obviously Sydney has exploded since then, and proximity to the CBD means big $$$, but you can keep that 'triangle' to yourself.
I love this content so much. These are places that need more exposure and also the recognition of amazing architecture of train stations... please do the south southernds highlands line... The Goulburn Melbourne is interchange from the south coast...
The Moss Vale to Unanderra line still operates...with coal trains. I had to wait at the crossing lights at Robertson a week ago while one monster passed through.
You never realise how close these all are until you do, and here I though Campbelltown and Macarthur were impressive or even Wolli Creek and arncliffe or wolli Creek and tempe
@@abiramen I know that, but you can't walk between them quickly which makes it quite unique. As someone who changes trains at Wolli Creek daily I always find myself looking at Tempe, mostly because I look out for my train south to hurstville
Due to Sydney's urban sprawl and resulting low population density, finding several rail stations within a 10 minute walk of each other is indeed a unique experience. I lived in Hamburg, Germany for a few years and that city had a relatively high population density when compared to Sydney. As a result it was not uncommon at all when travelling on the city's U-Bahn network (similar to Sydney's Metro system but a far more extensive and higher frequency service) to see the platform of the next station on the line when standing on the end of preceding station's platform; you could almost have a shouted conversation with someone standing at the next stop. That was one city alright that was extremely over-serviced with public transport when compared to Sydney; pretty much wherever you were in the Hamburg, you were literally never more than a minute or two's walk from a bus-stop, S-Bahn (heavy rail) or U-Bahn (metro) station. In fact, the bus network's main purpose seemed to be to fill in all the gaps between where the rail lines ran (this role once filled by trams until they were replaced by busses in the 50's) and thus busses were utilised more as a way just to connect you to the nearest rail station or undertake short local trips of a few stops. As a result, I never owned a car in the five years I lived there and never missed having one either.
Love this video, I really like learning about Sydney infrastructure since it makes something mundane like taking the train to work much more interesting, can't wait to see more great content from your channel
I love your video sharath!!!! I have been here since 8k keep up the good work you videos are amazing! If I can find the money I will definitely be subbing on Ko Fi
I some how stumbled on your channel and I like how you present the information, so of cause I've subscribed. I was wondering if you could do something about Campsie Station, it was my childhood/early teen suburb in the 90's and something about that place always felt like a mystery like why was there an extra platform that no civilian could access, also interested in how the new metro line is going to effect access to the station and a normal train line. Also I use to live in Earlwood and I always wondered why it didn't have a train line.
