South Morang railway station

South Morang

Station information
Distance from Flinders Street	24.7 km
Operator	Metro Trains Melbourne
Lines	South Morang
# Platforms	2
# Tracks	2
Status	Proposed Premium Station (Due to be completed by late 2012)
Melway map	183 A11
Metlink ticket zone	2

South Morang was a steam-era railway station on the Whittlesea line in South Morang, Victoria, Australia. It is due to be rebuilt as an extension of the Epping line, albeit in a different location to the original, after the setting aside of funds in the 2009 state budget.[1] A campaign promise was made to rebuild the station made when the Bracks Labor government first came to power in 1999.

History

South Morang station operated until the closure of the line beyond Lalor Station in the 1950s, after the electrification of the line to Lalor. Epping Station was then re-opened in the 1960s with the electrification of that section of the line. The remaining section of track from Epping to Whittlesea was then dismantled in the 1970s, with the former right-of-way remaining intact. All that remains of this station now is the platform mound.

Epping Line upgrade

Following the election of the Bracks Government in 1999 a promise was made to restore the service to South Morang by 2003. In May 2006, the situation was revised and the extension was delayed until 2021. As a result of this decision, the local community joined together to form the South Morang Rail Alliance (now known as the South Morang & Mernda Rail Alliance) to lobby the Bracks/Brumby Government to bring forward the construction date. As a result of the GFC, the Brumby Labor government made a decision to spend heavily in major infrastructure projects and as part of this program, announced in December 2008 that construction will be brought forward to 2010, with the new station set to open to the public in April 2012.

The Victorian Transport Plan

Melbourne's north, including the areas around Lower Plenty and South Morang, is booming. To serve some of the area near South Morang, the Epping line will be extended to the border of South Morang and Mill Park, about 2 km short of the original station site. Five kilometres of track will be duplicated between Keon Park and Epping, and a second platform built at Thomastown. Thomastown and Epping stations will also receive upgrades to improve accessibility. Three and a half kilometres of new double track will be laid beyond Epping, and a new fully staffed, premium station will be built at the border of South Morang and Mill Park. Services will run from this station every 10 minutes in the peak and every 20 minutes at off-peak times. The new station will include 450 car parks, a safe drop off area, taxi rank, bus facilities and bike lockers. A new bridge has been built between Clifton Hill and Westgarth, overcoming a bottleneck on the Hurstbridge line near its junction with this line. Preliminary design work on the Keon Park – Epping duplication and South Morang extension is well advanced.