North Melbourne railway station

North Melbourne railway station is located on the northern edge of the central business district of Melbourne, Australia. The station is a major interchange point with the Craigieburn, Flemington Racecourse, Sunbury, Upfield, Werribee and Williamstown lines all servicing the station. It opened on 6 October 1859,[2][3] and is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.[4]

This article is about the existing above-ground station. For the underground station under construction, see Arden railway station, Melbourne.

North Melbourne
Commuter and regional rail station
Station front in November 2009
LocationRailway Place, West Melbourne, Victoria
Australia
Coordinates37°48′23″S 144°56′28″E
Owned byVicTrack
Operated byMetro Trains Melbourne
Line(s)Craigieburn
Flemington Racecourse (special events only)
Sunbury
Upfield
Werribee
Williamstown
Distance1.68 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms6 (2 side, 2 island)
Tracks6
Construction
Structure typeGround
Disabled accessYes
Other information
StatusPremium station
Station codeNME
Fare zone1
WebsitePublic Transport Victoria
History
Opened6 October 1859
ElectrifiedYes
Passengers
2008-20090.686 million[1]
2009-20100.845 million[1]  23.18%
2010-20111.091 million[1]  29.11%
2011-20121.258 million[1]  15.38%
2012-2013Not measured[1]
2013-20141.479 million[1]  14.94%
Services
Preceding station Metro Trains Following station
Southern Cross or Flagstaff
towards Flinders Street
 Craigieburn line Kensington
towards Craigieburn
Upfield line Macaulay
towards Upfield
Sunbury line Footscray
towards Sunbury
Southern Cross
towards Flinders Street
 Flemington Racecourse line Showgrounds
towards Flemington Racecourse
Southern Cross
towards Frankston via Flinders Street
 Werribee line South Kensington
towards Werribee
Williamstown line South Kensington
towards Williamstown
Preceding station V/Line Following station
Southern Cross
Terminus
 Seymour line Broadmeadows
towards Seymour
Essendon
Peak service only
towards Seymour
Shepparton line Broadmeadows
towards Shepparton

Station overview

Facilities
Schematic diagram of the station

Located in West Melbourne, the main station entrance is at the south end of the platforms at the intersection of Adderley and Dryburgh Streets. This building contains the main booking office, public toilets and a kiosk, with platform access via escalators and lifts. From the north end brick ramps links the platforms, and platforms 2 through 6 have heritage listed verandas and brick waiting rooms.

At the north end of the station are 1970s era brown brick buildings built over the former Dynon Road overpass, which contains public toilets and a former railway parcels office. Until November 2009 this building also housed the main exit to Ireland Street and Railway Place, along with the booking office and kiosk, until they were moved to the current concourse at the south end. The north end also has exit leading west to the Melbourne Yard rail freight terminal, which is not open to public access.[5]

History
Construction work on the new southern concourse in February 2008
View from Platform 6 in May 2007

The first railway through the site of North Melbourne station was today's Williamstown line and the first section of the Melbourne, Mount Alexander and Murray River Railway Company line (to Sunbury), both opened on 13 January 1859. The first passenger station with two platforms was opened on 6 December 1859, and the present six platform station was opened on 9 June 1886.[6]

The new station was of free classical architecture, with red brick was used with cream brick banding, along with verandas and cast iron lace work.[4] As built in 1886 North Melbourne had six platforms, with four platform buildings containing ladies toilets and a ladies waiting room. The main booking office, waiting room, and station master's office was located near the ramp to platform 1, and men's toilets and porters' offices were located under the ramps themselves.[4]

The suburban train stabling yard near the station was opened in December 1973 as part of the City Loop project.[7] The footbridge that links the sidings with the Macaulay maintenance centre also opened around this time.[8] The washing plant and additional sidings in Melbourne Yard were made operational in May 1995, as part of the Jolimont Yard rationalisation.[9]

The station buildings on the northern concourse were constructed in 1974,[4] and in the 1980s as part of the construction works for the City Loop the ramps to Platforms 1 and 2 were altered, and the platform extended north.

It was upgraded to a Premium station on 19 July 1996.[10]

In May 2006, it was announced that the station was to be redeveloped as part of a $36 million project.[11] Work included a new main entrance at the southern end of the station with escalators, stairs and lifts installed for quicker access to other platforms and to help disabled passengers. Work started in May 2007 and was completed on 16 November 2009.[12][13] To aid construction and avoid disruption to train passengers a crash deck was erected over the tracks, to permit trains to continue running normally underneath while building work continued overhead.[3]

In March 2008 Sita Buslines' route 401 started operating from North Melbourne station to the Royal Melbourne Hospital and University of Melbourne in Carlton and Parkville, enabling commuters to avoid travelling via the City Loop.[14][15]

From December 2013, V/Line Geelong and Warrnambool services no longer stopped at the station, due to the opening of the first section of the Regional Rail Link between Southern Cross and South Kensington, which by-passed North Melbourne.[16] On 11 July 2014, Ballarat, Ararat, Bendigo, Swan Hill and Echuca line services also ceased stopping at North Melbourne, having been switched to the Regional Rail Link tracks[17]

In November 2017, the state government announced that as part of the Metro Tunnel project, North Melbourne would be renamed West Melbourne, to better reflect its geographical location, and to allow a nearby new station to be named North Melbourne.[18] The name change plan was later abandoned.[19]

Platforms & services
Station platform in 2017

North Melbourne has six platforms. It is serviced by Metro Trains' Craigieburn, Sunbury, Upfield, Werribee and Williamstown services[20][21][22][23][24] and V/Line Seymour and Shepparton services.[25][26][27]

Platform 1:

Platform 2:

Platform 3:

Platform 4:

Platform 5:

Platform 6:

Sita Buslines operates one route to and from North Melbourne station:

References
  1. "Train Station Patronage FY2008-2014". Public Transport Victoria. 14 May 2015. Archived from the original (XLS) on 30 March 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2016. (access from Archived 3 November 2016 at the Wayback Machine)
  2. North Melbourne Vicsig
  3. North Melbourne Station Rail Geelong
  4. "North Melbourne Railway Station Complex (listing VICH1582)". Australia Heritage Places Inventory. Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. Retrieved 21 May 2008.
  5. Connex Melbourne (16 October 2009). "News: North Melbourne Station – Closure of footbridge". www.connexmelbourne.com.au. Retrieved 16 November 2009.
  6. Turton, Keith W (1973). Six And A Half Inches From Destiny. The first hundred years of the Melbourne-Wodonga Railway 1873-1973. Australian Railway Historical Society. p. 86. ISBN 0-85849-012-9.
  7. SE Dornan & RG Henderson (1979). Electric Railways of Victoria. Australian Electric Traction Society. p. 93. ISBN 0-909459-06-1.
  8. "Way & Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. February 1974. p. 43.
  9. Daryl Dedman (October 1998). "Farewell to Melbourne Yard". Newsrail. www.series567railvideo.com.au. Archived from the original on 4 January 2006. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
  10. "Upgrading Eltham to a Premium Station". Newsrail. Australian Railway Heritage Society. October 1997. p. 310.
  11. "Station to get $36m revamp - Herald Sun". www.news.com.au. 15 May 2006. Retrieved 21 May 2008.
  12. "Public transport - Metropolitan railway station projects". www.doi.vic.gov.au. Archived from the original on 7 October 2006. Retrieved 21 May 2008.
  13. Concrete Concepts Archived 13 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine Cement Concrete & Aggregates Australia
  14. "Media Release: New Shuttle Service Provides Vital Link for Commuters". www.dpc.vic.gov.au. 3 March 2008. Archived from the original on 20 July 2008. Retrieved 21 May 2008.
  15. North Melbourne Shuttle Service a Hit with Commuters Archived 13 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine Minister for Public Transport 13 March 2008
  16. Changes to Geelong line services from Sunday 22 December 2013 Archived 13 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine Public Transport Victoria
  17. Major Regional Rail Link signalling works planned for June and July Premier of Victoria 13 June 2014
  18. Lillebuen, Steve; Jacks, Timna (29 November 2017). "Metro Tunnel: New train station names revealed". The Age. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  19. New North Melbourne Metro Tunnel station renamed due to emergency fears Herald Sun 25 January 2020
  20. "Craigieburn Line". Public Transport Victoria.
  21. "Sunbury Line". Public Transport Victoria.
  22. "Upfield Line". Public Transport Victoria.
  23. "Werribee Line". Public Transport Victoria.
  24. "Williamstown Line". Public Transport Victoria.
  25. Seymour - Melbourne timetable Public Transport Victoria
  26. Bendigo - Melbourne timetable Public Transport Victoria
  27. Shepparton - Melbourne timetable Public Transport Victoria
  28. "401 North Melbourne Station - Melbourne University Loop via Royal Melbourne Hospital". Public Transport Victoria.
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