Spending your spare time underground will no longer be relegated solely to the residents of towns like Coober Pedy, but may soon be on the horizon for Sydney residents. For the NSW Government is passionate about repurposing the abandoned train tunnels that lie below the surface of the central St James Station.

Currently Sydney is home to more than 6000 square metres of abandoned underground tunnel, space that the council hopes to transform into the harbour city’s latest dining precinct. If approved, the council will see its plan come to life; the space transformed into a pedestrian-only expanse of bars, eateries and retail outlets.

The northern section of the tunnel network would be reborn, a precinct that sits 30m below street level and is wedged between Hyde Park and Macquarie Street. The two tunnels were originally built in the 1920s but were only ever used as air raid shelters during World War II, as a mushroom farm in the 1930s, and briefly as studio lots for films including The Matrix Revolution.

Now the precinct is set to become a major new tourism drawcard for Sydney NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance told news.com that a tunnel-based complex could bring around $2 million annually.

“We’re going to open this train line in a way that was never expected. To take these 100 year old disused rail platforms and tunnels and turn them into opportunities for everyone to enjoy. In London they opened up some of their disused tunnels and there are generating something in the region of a million pounds a year (AU$1.8 million) for the state,” he said.

The council has taken inspiration from the development from the likes of New York’s Grand Central Station, and Washington DC where disused tram and train tunnels have been repurposed into bars and galleries.

“Spaces like the St James tunnel are rare,” he continues. “Around the world, hidden spaces are being converted into unique experiences and we want St James station to be part of that. That’s why we’re casting the net right across the world. Better to take that history, protect it, clean it up, scrub graffiti of the walls and turn it into something everyone can enjoy. What a wonderful gem this could be.”