Macdonaldtown railway station

Macdonaldtown railway station, is on the Inner West and Leppington line of the Sydney Trains network. It serves the suburbs of Erskineville and Newtown. Station entry is accessed from Burren Street in Erskineville, with stairs connecting between street level and the platforms.

Macdonaldtown is staffed from 6:00am to 2:00pm on weekdays only.

History
The original Macdonaldtown station opened in 1878 at a site adjacent to the Charles Street subway. It was relocated to its present site on 3 April 1892.

The Main Suburban line through Macdonaldtown was quadruplicated in 1892, and sextuplicated in 1927 in association with electrification works.

An island platform on the middle pair of tracks was taken out of use and demolished in November 1985. The closed access stairs to this may still be seen from the underpass entrance. To the south of the station, lie the Macdonaldtown Stabling Yards. A footbridge that spanned all six lines was removed in June 1996.

On the morning of 13 July 1986 Macdonaldtown station was painted pink by then 18 year-old John Philip Baxter and his 14-year-old brother. Baxter also glued a table, two chairs and a pot-plant (also painted pink) to the platform to further his "overall effort to enhance the station". No conviction was recorded and the State Rail Authority's claim for damages was rejected by the magistrate.

In 2015, Macdonaldtown station became popular for 'Opal running', as it is only 470m from Erskineville station, allowing commuters to exploit a loophole in the Opal system that made their weekly commute much cheaper. The loophole was partially fixed in March 2016 by increasing the number of transfers allowed before a new journey was created.

Platforms and Services
The station is served by all stops trains on the T2 Inner West Line. At most times, there is a stopping train every 15 minutes in both directions. Both platforms are long enough to fit 8 car suburban trains.