{"id":63653,"date":"2024-06-11T15:32:12","date_gmt":"2024-06-11T05:32:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=63653"},"modified":"2024-06-11T15:32:19","modified_gmt":"2024-06-11T05:32:19","slug":"macdonaldtown-train-station-given-2-3m-in-major-accessibility-design-overhaul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=63653","title":{"rendered":"Macdonaldtown train station given $2.3m in major accessibility, design overhaul"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A two-platform inner-city rail stop, once dubbed \u201cSydney\u2019s stupidest train station\u201d, has received $2.3m to kick off a substantial makeover.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Located in Sydney\u2019s inner west between Redfern and Newtown, and named after a now non-existent suburb, the ailing 146-year-old station will be redesigned, with the potential for construction to begin in late-2025, subject to approvals and securing funding for the build.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Accessibility concerns are a top priority.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite Macdonaldtown train station being Sydney\u2019s only station with an on-platform pay phone, which was made wheelchair accessible in 2009, trains are only accessible via a steep flight of stairs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s understood the estimated 18-month revamp will include the addition of ramps or lifts, plus improved signage, a family accessible toilet, accessible parking spaces, tactile ground surface indicators, and new platform hearing loops.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>More lighting and CCTV will also be included in the redesign, with the potential for an additional station entrance and forecourt.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/image-87.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-63655\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/image-87.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/image-87-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/image-87-768x576.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>While Macdonaldtown\u2019s on-platform payphone is accessible, the rest of the train station is not. Picture: NewsWire \/ Gaye Gerard<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Writing for The Daily Telegraph in 2009, commentator Joe Hildebrand dubbed the station as \u201cSydney\u2019s stupidest\u201d over the wheelchair-friendly payphone gaff, which was installed by Telstra as per its legal requirements.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Online detractors have also called the Macdonaldtown stop \u201clittle less than a forgotten bus station\u201d and a \u201cdesolate station, way more desolate than the Outback\u201d.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, NSW Transport Minister Jo Haylen defended the small station, which comes in at \u201cSydney\u2019s 126th most-used station\u201d out of 228 contenders across the Greater Sydney region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>News.com.au<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home to one major city\u2019s only on-platform payphone, a much-maligned train station has been promised a makeover.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":63657,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[273,163,2695],"tags":[10267,10268,2139],"class_list":["post-63653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australia","category-rail-industry-news-australia-new-zealand","category-sydney-trains","tag-macdonaldtown","tag-macdonaldtown-railway-station","tag-sydney"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=63653"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63653\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63659,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63653\/revisions\/63659"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/63657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=63653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=63653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=63653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}