Beneath the Street

More and more of Sydney is beneath the streets. There are road tunnels, there are shopping malls, and there are railway stations. This is one of the tunnels between St James Railway Station and street level. St James is beneath Hyde Park (North).

This tunnel leads towards Macquarie street, to St James Anglican Church, and to Hyde Park Barracks. It is a mass of city workers during the week, the Supeme Court of NSW being very close. But, I was there one Sunday morning.

Photo 1: A St James tunnel showing photos of its 1926 construction on the tiled walls. Photo 2: The steps leading from the tunnel to the plaza outside St James Church Photo 3: St James Church Photo 4: St James taken from the forecourt of Hyde Park Barracks

Hyde Park - St James Station

St James railway station commenced operation in December 1926. It is part of the small underground City Circle loop of the much broader Sydney Trains network, with 178 stations in total. It is located in the NW corner of Hyde Park. As you come up into the daylight at the Elizabeth Street entrance, you could almost imagine you are in a European city.

The neon light in the Elizabeth Street entrance is Heritage Listed. Although there are four platforms in the station, only two platforms are in use. The tunnels leading to the Macquarie Street exit have some wonderful old photographs inlaid in the tiles. This main entrance is on the intersection of Elizabeth Street and Market Street, with the platforms being below the Archibald Fountain. On the right of the Market Street scene, is the David Jones flagship department store.