Parramatta Rail Link, Sydney
2000

As a new local railway line, the Parramatta Rail Link will serve the whole of Sydney's north and west side in what is part of a long overdue extension to Australia's railway network. Without a comprehensive railway system, western Sydney has become dislocated from the city centre, resulting in the need for full-scale urban regeneration. The railway project provides the suburb of Parramatta with an opportunity to upgrade its present fragmented centre to an influential central business district that will, in turn, ease pressure on Sydney's city centre.
Instead of creating dividing walls between the northern and southern city districts, the new stations along the railway line are designed to become the central focus of each district. In addition to providing an efficient transport system, the aim of the project is to create a greatly enhanced public realm at street level. This will be achieved by careful urban planning, sensitive architectural treatment and a good balance of development uses.

Terry Farrell and Partners, in conjunction with Sydney-based Conybeare Morrison & Partners, submitted an urban design strategy for the Parramatta Rail Link, which was shortlisted in competition. The core of the £100 million contract covers 27 kilometres of commuter railway running west of Sydney from Parramatta to Chatswood. The railway is intended to become a catalyst for the growth of new communities in Sydney's otherwise lightly populated suburbs. The project involves the implementation of a new railway link and the design of 12 railway stations, both above and below ground. Several of the stations form part of complex interchanges with existing lines and bus stations. Each station is envisaged as a 'place-maker', enhancing and responding to its context, as well as redefining the character of the urban fabric. Iconic entrances to each station will create a unified identity for the line.

As part of its submission, TFP designed the Parramatta Station Transit Interchange – a point of arrival in the town and a new civic focus. The new interchange offered an opportunity to reconfigure the heart of Parramatta's central business district. TFP's design removes the barrier effect of the present station and railway line, opening up a large-scale plaza and transit mall at ground level that improves north–south pedestrian and vehicle connections. It re-establishes the importance of the station's hilltop site overlooking the Parramatta River, with the historic railway building and barracks combining to form a heritage precinct towards the eastern end of the plaza. The design consists of an open station, naturally ventilated and admitting sunlight through an apparently floating glass-and-metal roof structure.

The 12 stations have several different functions. They are transport hubs; centres that are well integrated with their surrounding areas, making visible and direct connections through a permeable edge; and mixed-use magnets for pedestrian activity. The objective is to integrate transport design with the existing and new urban development.