Circular Quay ferry wharf

Circular Quay ferry wharf is a complex of wharves at Circular Quay, on Sydney Cove, that serves as the hub for the Sydney Harbour ferry network.

Circular Quay
View towards the wharf, railway station and surrounding buildings from Sydney Cove
General information
LocationAlfred Street, Sydney
New South Wales
Australia
Coordinates33°51′40.267″S 151°12′38.539″E / 33.86118528°S 151.21070528°E / -33.86118528; 151.21070528
Owned byTransport for NSW
Operated byTransdev Sydney Ferries
Platforms5 wharves (10 berths)
Connections
Construction
AccessibleYes
Other information
StatusStaffed
History
Previous namesCircular Quay Ferry Terminal (–2013)
Services
Preceding wharf Sydney Ferries Following wharf
Terminus F1 Manly Manly
Terminus
F2 Taronga Zoo Taronga Zoo
Terminus
F3 Parramatta Milsons Point
towards Parramatta
F4 Pyrmont Bay Milsons Point
towards Pyrmont Bay
F5 Neutral Bay Kirribilli
towards Neutral Bay
F6 Mosman Bay Cremorne Point
towards Mosman Bay
F7 Double Bay Garden Island
towards Double Bay
F8 Cockatoo Island Balmain
F9 Watsons Bay Rose Bay
towards Watsons Bay
Time-lapse of boat and ferry traffic at Circular Quay.

It is adjacent to Circular Quay railway station, which serves as an interchange for Sydney Trains services.

Layout

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The Circular Quay ferry wharf complex consists of five double-sided wharves at 90 degrees to the shoreline, numbered 2 to 6. Wharves 3 to 5 are used exclusively by Sydney Ferries, wharf 2 west is used by Sydney Ferries, wharf 2 east is used by Manly Fast Ferries by while wharf 6 is used by other operators including Captain Cook Cruises. Each wharf has ticket selling facilities on both sides of the barriers as most other wharves do not have such facilities.

On the eastern side alongside Bennelong Apartments, is the Eastern Pontoon used by charter operators. On the western side, lie the Commissioners Steps and Harbour Masters Steps that charter operators and water taxis use.

When the Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company introduced hydrofoils to the Manly service in the mid-1960s, a pontoon was attached to the eastern side of wharf 2 to allow the hydrofoils to berth without their foils fouling the wharf. This was removed when the hydrofoils were replaced by JetCats in 1991.

Wharf 3 is exclusively used by ferries on the Manly service. When the Freshwater class ferries were introduced in the 1980s, the wharf was rebuilt to accommodate their onboard gangways. It has a mezzanine level allowing ferries to disembark passengers from their upper decks. It also houses an office for Transdev Sydney Ferries. To better accommodate the larger ferries, wharf 3 is built higher from the water and this combined with differently configured Opal card readers and gates, means only Manly ferries can use the wharf.

Wharves 2 West, 4 and 5 are used interchangeably by Sydney Ferries.

Ferry services

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Platform Line Stopping pattern Notes
2
[1]
[2]
  • Fast ferry shuttle to Manly
[3]
3
[4]
4
[5]
  • All stops to Mosman Bay
  • Limited stops to Mosman Bay
[6]
[7]
5
[8]
[9]
[10]
6 [11]
Harbour Explorer
[12]
  • Captain Cook Cruises Watsons Bay Rocket
[13]
  • Tourist Hop on/Hop off service around Sydney Harbour
  • During evenings only Manly Darling Harbour Loop Service
[14][15]
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External image
  Map of Circular Quay Interchange (PDF)
by Transport for New South Wales, updated 2020.

The Circular Quay ferry wharf complex is adjacent to an elevated railway station of the same name. The station is served by Sydney Trains services on the T2 Leppington & Inner West Line, T3 Liverpool & Inner West Line and T8 Airport & South Line.

South of the railway station is the Alfred Street bus terminus. A number of Transdev John Holland routes originate from there while two Big Bus Tours routes depart from George Street just north of Alfred Street. There is also the terminus of the L2 and L3 Sydney Light Rail services, located west of the bus terminus, but still on Alfred Street.

References

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  1. ^ "F2 Taronga Zoo ferry timetable". Transport for NSW.
  2. ^ "F9 Watsons Bay ferry timetable". Transport for NSW.
  3. ^ "Manly Fast Ferry timetable". Transport for NSW.
  4. ^ "F1 Manly ferry timetable". Transport for NSW.
  5. ^ "F5 Neutral Bay ferry timetable". Transport for NSW.
  6. ^ "F6 Mosman Bay ferry timetable". Transport for NSW.
  7. ^ "F7 Double Bay ferry timetable". Transport for NSW.
  8. ^ "F3 Parramatta River ferry timetable". Transport for NSW.
  9. ^ "F4 Pyrmont Bay ferry timetable". Transport for NSW.
  10. ^ "F8 Cockatoo Island ferry timetable". Transport for NSW.
  11. ^ "Lane Cove Ferry timetable". Transport for NSW.
  12. ^ "Harbour Explorer timetable" (PDF). Captain Cook Cruises. 15 December 2018.
  13. ^ "Watsons Bay Rocket timetable" (PDF). Captain Cook Cruises.
  14. ^ Circular Quay Sightseeing Cruise Archived 12 January 2019 at the Wayback Machine My Fast Ferry
  15. ^ "Manly Darling Harbour Loop timetable". Transport for NSW.
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