History
The station was built as part of the Airport link, which opened in 2000. The name derives from a local creek branching from the Cooks River, and Wolli Junction is the name of the original junction point for the East Hills line from the Illawarra line at this site. In the initial concept for the Airport Line, no station was to be provided at this site, however the State Rail Authority (now RailCorp) decided to construct a station here as an interchange point with the new Airport line and the Illawarra line. The station, unlike the others built on the line, was constructed with government finance and hence is owned by RailCorp. In the initial concept and design phase, the station was designated as 'North Arncliffe', however this was changed to Wolli Creek in 1998 before it opened in 2000. During construction, a set of points allowing the cross-over of trains from the 'Illawarra local' lines to the 'Illawarra main' lines was moved further south. The Airport line tracks are designated as the 'New Southern Railway', this was the original name for the Airport line, and is still the technical name for it.
A secondary motivation was to promote urban renewal around the station site. The station is located on a former industrial site and siding, and the area around the station was occupied by light industrial businesses when the station opened in 2000. Since the station's opening, the suburb has been significantly redeveloped with high density housing which as of 2011 is ongoing. As part of this development, the Airport line platforms have been partially covered over.
Read more about this topic: Wolli Creek Railway Station
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“... in a history of spiritual rupture, a social compact built on fantasy and collective secrets, poetry becomes more necessary than ever: it keeps the underground aquifers flowing; it is the liquid voice that can wear through stone.”
—Adrienne Rich (b. 1929)
“We don’t know when our name came into being or how some distant ancestor acquired it. We don’t understand our name at all, we don’t know its history and yet we bear it with exalted fidelity, we merge with it, we like it, we are ridiculously proud of it as if we had thought it up ourselves in a moment of brilliant inspiration.”
—Milan Kundera (b. 1929)
“Don’t you realize that this is a new empire? Why, folks, there’s never been anything like this since creation. Creation, huh, that took six days, this was done in one. History made in an hour. Why it’s a miracle out of the Old Testament!”
—Howard Estabrook (1884–1978)