Circular Quay ferry wharf

Circular Quay
View towards the wharf, railway station and surrounding buildings from Sydney Cove
General information
Location	Alfred Street, Sydney New South Wales Australia
Coordinates	33°51′40.267″S 151°12′38.539″E / 33.86118528°S 151.21070528°E / -33.86118528; 151.21070528
Owned by	Transport for NSW
Operated by	Transdev Sydney Ferries
Platforms	5 wharves (10 berths)
Connections	Circular Quay Circular Quay Circular Quay
Construction
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Status	Staffed
History
Previous names	Circular 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 towards Cockatoo Island F9 Watsons Bay Rose Bay towards Watsons Bay

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.

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

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.

External image
Map of Circular Quay Interchange (PDF) by Transport for New South Wales, updated 2020.

The transport facilities in the Circular Quay precinct

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.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Circular Quay ferry wharf, Sydney.

• Circular Quay at Transport for New South Wales (Archived 10 June 2019)
• Circular Quay Public Transport Map Transport for NSW