Redfern railway station is a major railway station in Redfern which is to the south of the city centre in Sydney, Australia. It is a major connecting station for the Sydney Trains network, as well as being the closest railway station to the University of Sydney.Redfern is the 7th most patronised railway station in Sydney (out of a total of 176 stations), with an average of 22,060 passengers boarding per day.HistoryIn the early history of the New South Wales Railways, "Redfern" was the name of the principal Sydney terminus. It was located to the south of Devonshire Street and opened on 26 September 1855 in an area known as "Cleveland Fields." This original "Redfern" station comprised one wooden platform in a corrugated iron shed. As traffic increased the original station was replaced in 1874 by a brick building containing two platforms. This second station, which grew to 14 platforms, was designed for through traffic if the lines were extended in the city direction. This second station was found to be too far from the city centre, so a new station (the present Sydney Central Station) was built to the north of Devonshire Street and opened on 4 August 1906. The 1874 station was soon demolished.A station was opened in 1876 1.3 km on the Parramatta side of the "original Redfern" and called 'Eveleigh'. In 1885 Eveleigh's platforms were reconstructed at the present Redfern site, and on 21 October 1906 this station was renamed Redfern.Platforms 11 and 12, as well as the area containing the unfinished platforms (see below), were constructed in the late 1970s as part of the Eastern Suburbs Railway construction, which opened in 1979.