Town Hall — Local services in Sydney

This station has several issues, almost all of which would be quite easy to improve if Sydney Trains wanted to. But despite having directly lodged feedback with them over the years about some of these issues, questions have mostly been avoided or ignored.

-Limited seating -Very few rubbish bins on platforms -Confusing signage when entering/exiting platforms -Hot climate on platforms

Seating: It's unclear why (as Sydney Trains gave some unrelated answer about environmental friendliness when I submitted an enquiry about this), but over the past 5 or so years, Sydney Trains has been removing seats from all their platforms. Although not the worst station in regards to this, Town Hall is no exception. It's rare to find an available seat at Town Hall. This is unfortunate because trains are often late, so there is sometimes quite a lot of uncomfortable standing involved. There is plenty of vacant floor space on each platform but they have chosen to rip out most of the seats inexplicably.

Rubbish bins: Similar to the seating issue (and almost equally baffling) is their decision to leave almost no rubbish bins on any of the platforms. Why? I have to admit, it's strange to be standing on a platform with rubbish in my hand with not a bin in sight and audio/video notices frequently being frequently played that tell me that it's 'the right thing to do' to put that rubbish in a bin. How can they expect littering rates to go down while at the same time removing the bins?

Confusing signage: I'm no stranger to Town Hall. I've lived in Sydney my whole life and been to this station hundreds - if not thousands - of times. So this isn't a case of unfamiliarity. I'll explain why: dynamic signage. After entering the station and attempting to access the platforms, visitors must proceed down an escalator or stairs. The stairs are as you would expect but the escalators, it seems daily, get arbitrarily reversed. The digital signage above each escalator indicates which escalator entry point is open. However this digital signage is almost always obscured from most angles and worse still, it's combined with static, non-digital signage which never changes and sometimes even says something completely contrary to the digital signage near it. When exiting a platform, the exit signage is slightly more consistent in message however passengers are confronted with about 4 or 5 different styles of signage all over the place (both textual and symbolic). There are also some platforms at this station which have a set of stairs and an exit sign pointing to them... going up those stairs however, passengers quickly realize that it's technically not an exit at all and actually just leads to another platform above. And THAT platform has a direct exit. Signage here is all over the place, and not in a good way. Whoever decided on all this doesn't seem to understand that consistency is the #1 rule of design.

Hot climate on platforms: The temperature when standing on the platforms is almost always hot. Often it's humid and very hot. Why no air conditioning? I understand that each platform is a big area to cover, however I also understand that this is one of the largest and most highly-used stations in NSW. It doesn't seem to be a budget/cost issue.

I want to touch on one final thing and it's something implemented at Wynyard station. On the staircases that lead to/from the platforms, there are decals on the floor which remind people to stick to the left. This would go a long way at Town Hall as there's a big problem with people walking on the wrong side on stairs or standing to the right on escalators.

Some signage or decals at both ends of every escalator would also go a long way to tell people not to just stop and stand there when they get to the end. This particular thing seems to happen a LOT and hugely disrupts the flow of passengers going to/from the platforms. I don't know why people do it - it's really frustrating. Seems like it could be fairly...

As a student who uses Town Hall train station every day, I have come to appreciate its strengths and weaknesses. Overall, I would say that it is a convenient and efficient way to travel around Sydney, but it could be improved in a few areas.

One of the things I appreciate most about Town Hall train station is its central location. It is situated in the heart of the Sydney central business district, making it easily accessible from all parts of the city. This is especially convenient for students, as many of the city's universities and colleges are located in the CBD.

Another thing I like about Town Hall train station is its cleanliness. The station is well-maintained and clean, with clear signage and helpful staff. This makes it easy to navigate, even for first-time visitors.

However, there are a few areas where I think Town Hall train station could be improved. One of the biggest issues is overcrowding. The station is very busy during peak hours, and it can be difficult to find a seat or even a place to stand. This can be especially frustrating for students who are trying to get to class on time.

In addition to these issues, I would also like to see the station provide more amenities for students. For example, there could be more seating areas, more vending machines, and more public restrooms.

Overall, I think Town Hall train station is a good option for perople who need to travel around Sydney. However, it could be improved by addressing the issues of overcrowding...

For a crowded station, they manage to keep it reasonably clean, although it seems to be under constant construction. Last visit it was the half closed ladies loo, visit before it was one access point. Going to be pretty schmick when it's all complete. You have the choice of lift, escalators or stairs to access platforms, and once your out of state rail territory & into town Hall proper, there are a plethora of shops all along the way, ranging from newsagents to up market jewellery & everything in between. You know which floor you're on, as the aroma of freshly cooked nuts permeates the olfactory senses, titillating the taste buds...(salivating as I type🙄), the numerous coffee places offering more enticing smells...mmmm, freshly ground coffee.. not to mention the ever popular Haigh's chocolate...I could bang on, but you get the picture...I haven't even mentioned the beauty if the building itself... The old QVB above town Hall station, never tire of wandering slowly through, admiring something else every time...timeless beauty. There's just something about sandstone, wrought iron and stain glass that sets the...