Williamstown railway line

Williamstown railway line, Melbourne
Line details
Commenced	1857
Completed	1859
Tracks	Double track, except for terminus
Used by	Metro Trains Melbourne
Service pattern	Most weekday services through to City. Shuttle to Newport at night and on weekend.
Rolling stock	Hitachi, Comeng, Siemens
Connections	Werribee line
Former connections	Williamstown Pier station
Railways in Melbourne
	List of stations; Freight railways; Closed railways; Proposed railways;

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The Williamstown railway line is a suburban railway in Melbourne, Australia. It has 10 stations, all in Metlink ticketing Zone 1.

[edit] Operation

Services on the Williamstown line travel all the way to the inner city only on weekdays. A shuttle service between Newport and Williamstown operates at all other times. Trains also do not always enter the underground portion of the City Loop, often travelling directly to Flinders Street and then changing directions and returning along the direct route. The line is operated as a shuttle service between Newport and Williamstown stations during off-peak periods.

[edit] Description

The Williamstown line runs across flat coastal land and therefore, has no significant earthworks. From the junction at Newport to the next station of North Williamstown, it runs beside the Newport Railway Workshops, and from there through mainly old residential areas. The line used to continue a short distance to Williamstown Pier, around which there is heavy industrial areas including shipbuilding.

[edit] Infrastructure

The line is double track throughout, except for Williamstown station, and provided with automatic block signalling. There are no intermediate terminating facilities. Stabling facilities are provided within the grounds of the Newport workshops.

[edit] History

Although it is now operated as a branch from the main Werribee/Geelong line at Newport, the line was originally built from the city, with the Geelong line being the branch. The line officially opened in January 1859, but the section between the vicinity of the Newport workshops and Williamstown Pier was in use by Geelong-line trains from October 1857 (see the history of the Werribee line for more information).

The line was electrified in August 1920, but little further change to the infrastructure took place until the section from Williamstown to Williamstown Pier closed in March 1987. Automatic Block signalling was provided in August 1997.

With the electrification of the Werribee line in 1983, many of the Williamstown Pier services became shuttle services from Newport instead of through services from Flinders Street.