In May 2001 the State Government declined to give guarantees to the promoters of the Bondi extension. Instead CityRail has enhanced the role the Eastern Suburbs Railway plays as a means of carrying Illawarra line trains through the CBD by having more storage tunnels at Bondi Junction. In the middle of 2001 I posted the diagram at right to show how such tunnels could start the slow extension of rail service. Since then we have seen renewed agitation for trams from Bondi to Randwick and the University of NSW to somewhere (I hope it is Central as well as the CBD). The "Southern Courier" of 30 May 2006 had a story about students in the school of Surveying and Spatial information at UNSW planning both an extension from Bondi Junction and an Anzac Parade tram to their campus. At June 2007 we have little hope of any light or heavy rail extensions in the Eastern suburbs, so single track heavy rail, one station at a time , may be the way to promote.

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	At left is the station location I propose for a single station extension of the Eastern Suburbs Railway from Bondi Junction. Also shown are the bus routes it would feed or relieve. (A similar terminus could be constructed on the Macquarie consortium's alignment with the ocean end concourse under the Fletcher/Denham intersection and a western concourse with exits into Phillip Street.)
EXTENDING 389 BUS ^ NORTH ^	Terminating buses from North Bondi would use the existing circle of bus routes, approaching via Dudley,Fletcher and Denham streets. They would set down in Denham Street before turning right into Bondi Road to pick up.
The bright green areas represent streets around the intersection of Denham St and Bondi Road. The platform and track are under Bondi Road, only part of which is green. The two concourses are under intersections. By utilising slopes to the north and east, no mechanical devices should be needed for most pedestrians to reach the surface. Possible variations include having the Castlefield St concourse off a low level platform and the Royal Hotel concourse off a second platform closest to the surface. This would allow a third uphill concourse and exits.
The heights station on a two station extension might be further up the rise towards Bondi Junction (as advocated by Peter Debnam MP), but the terminal would need to be as far north as possible to tap into the dense population of North Bondi. Probably in the sand flats between the pavilion and public school.

Advantages of this scheme over a beachfront station include-

1. The whole of the walking radius is built up, much of it high density.
2. Giving direct pedestrian access to both the heights and the sand (Forest Knoll Ave) furthers the pedestrian radius.
3. My scheme is much shorter, hence cheaper.
4. Points one and two will give greater patronage and coupled with the lower cost should enable the Government to build it without a surcharge.
5. My scheme assists beachgoers to Bronte as well as Bondi.

The benefits would also flow to the consortium's preferred option of a single exit beach station. In that case the 389 would terminate at the new roundabout (Campbell & Lamrock). RETURN to DIAGRAMS