Waterloo metro station

Waterloo metro station is an upcoming station on the Sydney Metro City & Southwest line of the Sydney Metro network in Sydney, Australia. It serves the suburb of Waterloo, and the surrounding suburbs of Redfern, Alexandria and Zetland.

History
During proposals for a station to be hosted between Sydenham and Central on the Sydney Metro, Waterloo and Sydney University were considered as the two major candidates for the slot. Waterloo was awarded the Metro station slot in 2015, confirming Waterloo as the 31st and final Metro station of the current Northwest, City & Southwest project.

The station's construction will be part of the NSW Government's initiative of revitalising the Redfern-Waterloo community, and due to the area's proximity to the CBD, to become a major business and residential hotspot.

Existing residency in Waterloo will be demolished to make way for higher density apartment mega-towers and new business districts as part of construction of the new station. It has been confirmed that the current population of 4,000 Waterloo housing precinct residents will be rehoused into alternative accommodation over a 10-20 year period starting in late 2019, in order for the demolitions to proceed. The affected zone is bordered by Elizabeth Street, McEvoy Street, Botany Road and Phillip Street. Displaced residents will be able to move into a new highrise apartment when completed, or stay in their new homes instead.

According to the NSW Minister for Transport, Andrew Constance, he says the reason why Waterloo was chosen to host the crucial station slot between Central and Sydenham will be to help transform a part of inner Sydney that has long been in need of change, and to take congestion pressure away from the nearby Redfern and Green Square stations. The Premier of New South Wales, Mike Baird, also stated that hosting a Sydney Metro station in Waterloo will allow for new job and residential opportunities, with new luxury highrise apartments (planned to be 30-40 storeys in height, making them the tallest apartment complexes in the Sydney suburban area) planned for the area to replace the existing public housing units. Local buses in the area will also likely be altered to cater for incoming new residents and expected high Metro service patronage.

"It's going to see a transformation of a part of Sydney which is in need of change. The station at Waterloo will make this rapidly growing part of Sydney more accessible and take the pressure off Redfern and Green Square stations." - Andrew Constance

"The metro station creates the opportunity to transform Waterloo and make it a better place to live for future and existing residents, many of whom are amongst the most vulnerable people in New South Wales" - Mike Baird

In order to compensate for Sydney University missing out on the Metro station, the NSW Government has also planned for upgrades to Redfern station as well as in the Redfern and Darlington areas, to allow better accessibility to Redfern for students.

Waterloo will serve as the Metro-only replacement for three Bankstown Line stations - Redfern, Erskineville and St Peters. Redfern will continue to be serviced by other suburban lines, while Erskineville and St Peters will be transferred to the T4 Eastern Suburbs &amp; Illawarra Line.

Configuration
Waterloo will be a fully underground station, located 25m below street level, constructed using the cut-and-cover method.

The station will be located on the corner of Cope Street and Raglan Street, in the north-western part of Waterloo. This location is near the borders of neighbouring suburbs, Redfern and Alexandria. The Waterloo station area, dubbed the “Waterloo Metro Quarter”, will be bordered by Botany Road, Raglan Street, Cope Street and Wellington Street.

The station started construction in 2017, and is expected to open in 2024. The platforms will be in an island configuration.