Ashburton railway station, Melbourne

Ashburton

Station information
Code	ASH
Distance from Flinders Street	14.2 km (8.8 mi)
Operator	Metro Trains Melbourne
Lines	Alamein
# Platforms	1
# Tracks	1
Status	Premium station
Metlink profile	Link
Melway map	Link
Google map	Link
Metlink ticket zone	1

Ashburton is a railway station on the Alamein railway line in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is located between Welfare Parade and Kelvin Grove, in the suburb of Ashburton. It also lies adjacent to High Street, where it connects with a bus to Glen Waverley and Glen Iris. Ashburton is the only Premium Station on the Alamein line, being staffed from first to last train and has toilet facilities for passengers. It is in Metlink Zone 1.

Station overview

Facilities

Ashburton consists of a large brick building, centred in the middle of the platform, which houses an enclosed waiting area, toilets and a ticket office. A large Metcard vending machine is located at the entrance to platform 1, which is able to dispense most ticketing options available and also accept notes and coins. Additional coin-only Metcard and myki ticket vending machines are located inside the waiting area.

The Alamein train line splits from one track to two just before Ashburton station, and as such the station only features a single bi-directional platform. A railway siding lies adjacent to the station, but this has been largely unused in recent years.

History

The first station on the Ashburton site opened on 30 May 1890, as part of the short-lived Outer Circle line. At the time, the railway station was called Norwood, named after Norwood Road, the old name for Toorak Road. The station only had this name for a few months, and on 12 December 1890, the station was renamed Ashburton, named for Ashburton Terrace in County Cork, Ireland.

Ashburton was part of the first section of the line to be opened. However, by 1893, the opposite end of the circle had closed, and on 9 December 1895, the stretch beyond Ashburton, connecting with Oakleigh closed. For a short period, this left the line to Ashburton (from Camberwell station) as the last remaining stretch.

On 1 May 1897, Ashburton station closed, along with the line from Camberwell. However, after an outcry from the local community, it reopened, becoming the Ashburton line once again. It was electrified on 30 October 1924. It continued as the Ashburton line until 28 June 1948, when the line was extended 600 metres to Alamein, and became the Alamein line.

Timetabled usage of the stabling siding ended in July 1989, due to vandalism of trains stabled there.

Ashburton was upgraded to a Premium Station on February 1, 1996.

A walking trail has also been constructed along part of the old Outer Circle reservation called the Anniversary Trail, which allows people to follow part of the route through to Alamein station, and then several hundred metres beyond.

On 15 October 2009, a six-month-old baby in a pram (stroller) rolled off the platform at Ashburton onto the tracks as a northbound Comeng train entered the station. The mother controlling the pram momentarily let go and by the time she noticed the pram rolling away from her, the train was already entering the station, forcing her to watch helplessly. Despite the horrific nature of the incident, the baby boy was taken to hospital, suffering only minor injuries. The incident was caught on CCTV, and the footage was released by Connex Melbourne (now Metro Trains) the day after. The footage shocked the world, and emphasised the point of safety near railway lines.

Platforms

Platform 1:

• Suburban Metro Trains services to Flinders Street Station (Peak only).
• Suburban Metro Trains services to Camberwell.
• Suburban Metro Trains services to Alamein.

Gallery

• 

  The railway tracks converge immediately north of Ashburton station

Links

• Baby hit by train survives - CNNVideo