The opportunities and challenges in keeping over-rail developments on track

Thomas McKenzie

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

2025

Subject Area

place - australasia, mode - rail, infrastructure - station, land use - planning

Keywords

Over-rail development, over-station development, property development

Abstract

The Australian built environment adjoining rail infrastructure and rail corridors is undergoing significant transformation following government tender for several unprecedented over-station developments such as the developments along the metro in Sydney. This has led State governments to consider innovative strategies to activate railway tracks such as the mooted deck over the rail yards of Sydney's Central Station to expand the city's evolving Tech Central precinct and, more recently, exploration of a three-hectare deck to connect Flinders St with the Yarra River in Melbourne to deliver a public park, an events space, and improved pedestrian access to the Melbourne CBD. Over-rail projects provide an exciting opportunity to deliver well-located developments which re-activate underutilised public spaces and yield outstanding placemaking outcomes for the community. This article canvases some of the key considerations for these projects including the heritage aspects, public realm and ground level activation opportunities, planning risks, operational requirements, contractor and interface risks and the appropriate investment structures. The observations suggest that there are a number of gateway issues that governments and developers should address proactively to secure project objectives and public outcomes, and ultimately there is sufficient merit to re-activating these well-located sites provided the parties adopt appropriate mitigation strategies.

Rights

Permission to publish the abstract has been given by Taylor&Francis, copyright remains with them.

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