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Footscray railway station

Coordinates: 37°48′06″S 144°54′09″E / 37.8016°S 144.9024°E / -37.8016; 144.9024
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Footscray
Regional and commuter rail station
Looking south from platform 6 in April 2010, with disused signal box on platform 5 in the foreground
General information
LocationIrving Street, Footscray
Australia
Coordinates37°48′06″S 144°54′09″E / 37.8016°S 144.9024°E / -37.8016; 144.9024
Owned byVicTrack
Operated byMetro Trains
Line(s)Sunbury
Werribee
Williamstown
Serviceton
Warrnambool
Distance5.62 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms6 (2 side, 2 island)
Tracks6
Construction
Structure typeGround
AccessibleYes
Other information
StatusPremium station
Station codeFSY
Fare zone1
WebsitePublic Transport Victoria
History
Opened17 January 1859
Rebuilt2012-2014
ElectrifiedYes
Passengers
2008-20093.705 million[1]
2009-20103.648 million[1] Decrease 1.54%
2010-20113.856 million[1] Increase 5.7%
2011-20124.199 million[1] Increase 8.9%
2012-2013Not measured[1]
2013-20143.767 million[1] Decrease 10.29%
2014-2015Not measured[2]
2015-20165.01 million[2] Increase 32.99%
2016-20175.10 million[2] Increase 1.81%
2017-20185.26 million[2] Increase 3.08%
Services
Preceding station   V/Line   Following station
Template:Victoria lines
Template:Victoria lines
Template:Victoria lines
Metro Trains
Template:Victoria lines
Template:Victoria lines
Template:Victoria lines

Footscray railway station is located on the Sunbury, Werribee and Williamstown lines, in Victoria, Australia. It serves the western Melbourne suburb of Footscray, and opened on 17 January 1859.[3][4]

It is also serviced by V/Line Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong services. In 2017/18, it was the sixth busiest station on Melbourne's metropolitan network, with 5.26 million passenger movements recorded.[2]

A disused signal box is located on the island platform at the Up (Flinders Street) end of Platform 5, while a pair of dual gauge tracks form the mainly freight only South Kensington-West Footscray line under the station, running in a cutting before entering the Bunbury Street tunnel,[5] providing a rail link to the Port of Melbourne and other freight terminals, as well as access to Southern Cross for the NSW TrainLink XPT, The Overland, and V/Line Albury services.

History

On 17 January 1859, the railways arrived in Footscray, when the new Williamstown line opened, with trains running from Spencer Street in Melbourne to the important cargo port of Williamstown. This railway line connected to the 18-month-old Geelong railway at the junction near where the current Newport station lies.[6] The line between Melbourne and Footscray, via the new station at North Melbourne, had been made possible with the construction of a railway bridge over the Maribyrnong River. The first station to open in Footscray opened on this line on the opening day of service; it was not, however, where the current Footscray station lies, but was located on Napier Street.

Shortly afterwards, Footscray became a junction station, when a second railway line, branching at Footscray, was opened to Sunbury. By 1862, this railway line had been extended to Sandhurst (later renamed Bendigo). Therefore, on 1 March 1859, less than two months after the first, Footscray's second railway station opened on Nicholson Street, not far from the original Napier Street location, for services on the new railway line.[7] A signal box was provided at the junction from 1879.

On 16 September 1900, the current station opened, located at the precise point of junction of the two lines.[8] The two original stations were then closed.[7]

A number of sidings once existed at the station, now covered by car parking on the eastern side of the Newport bound lines.

The dual gauge tracks under the station were opened on 21 October 1928, as part of the South Kensington-West Footscray line, and were dual-gauged in the early 1960s, as part of the construction of the Melbourne-Albury standard gauge line. Quadruplication of the tracks towards Melbourne in November 1976 put an end to the junction and closed the signal box. The building is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.

It was upgraded to a Premium station on 31 May 1996, although the enclosed waiting area and ticket facilities were built in 1993, as part of the 'Travel Safe' program in the early 1990s.[9]

On 5 June 2001, at around 08:30, two suburban Comeng trains collided on Platform 4. An out of service train heading to Newport collided with a Williamstown bound train, carrying around 20 passengers, with 3 injuries reported.[10]

In 2010, as a part of the Brumby State Government's Footscray renewal program,[11] the existing footbridge over the platforms, which was accessed by ramps, was replaced with a $15 million footbridge. The bridge, named after indigenous activist William Cooper,[12] has stairs and associated lifts. Complaints have been made that the new footbridge is less usable than the one it replaced. It has a roof, but that has not been designed to be weatherproof, and the lifts are prone to breakdown.[13]

From 2012-2014, Footscray station underwent major upgrade and conservation works as part of the Regional Rail Link project.

An additional two platforms were built to the north of the existing platforms, to separate Metro Trains Sunbury services from V/Line services to Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong. On 20 January 2014, Platforms 1 to 4 were renumbered 3 to 6, with the new platforms commissioned as Platforms 1 and 2.[14] At the same time, Platforms 3 and 4 were closed to be rebuilt as dedicated platforms for V/Line services, reopening on 16 July 2014.

The existing footbridge, erected in 2010 at a cost of $15 million, was also partially demolished in 2013 to help accommodate the works.[15] New canopies, stairs and escalators were erected at the Irving and Hyde St ends of the footbridge, and new wide ramps were built from the footbridge to the platforms and street level, to help people access the platforms with greater ease. New lifts were also added to the structure.

All works at the station were complete by November 2014.[16]

Platforms & services

Footscray has six platforms. It is serviced by Metro Trains' Sunbury, Werribee and Williamstown services[17][18][19] and V/Line Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong services.[20][21][22]

Platform 1:

Platform 2:

Platform 3:

Platform 4:

Platform 5:

Platform 6:

CDC Melbourne operates six routes via Footscray station:

Dysons operates three routes via Flinders Street:

Sita Buslines operates four routes via Footscray station:

Transdev Melbourne operates four routes via Footscray station:

  • 216: Sunshine station – City via Dynon Road[36]
  • 220: Sunshine station – City via Footscray Road[37]
  • 223: Yarraville – Highpoint Shopping Centre[38]

Yarra Trams operates one route to and from Footscray station:

  • to Moonee Ponds Junction[39]
  • Footbridge that links all platforms taken from Irving Street in December 2011
    Footbridge that links all platforms taken from Irving Street in December 2011
  • The same view from Irving Street in May 2014
    The same view from Irving Street in May 2014
  • Westbound view from Platform 2 in May 2014
    Westbound view from Platform 2 in May 2014
  • The South Kensington - West Footscray railway line cutting runs beneath the south-western end of Platforms 5 and 6 in September 2008
    The South Kensington - West Footscray railway line cutting runs beneath the south-western end of Platforms 5 and 6 in September 2008

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "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 [1] Archived 3 November 2016 at the Wayback Machine)
  2. ^ a b c d e "Station Patronage Data 2013-2018". Philip Mallis. Transport for Victoria. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  3. ^ Footscray Vicsig
  4. ^ Footscray Station Rail Geelong
  5. ^ Lucas, Clay (15 June 2010). "$4.3b link won't cut travel times". The Age. Retrieved 19 February 2013.
  6. ^ "Rail Geelong - Geelong Line History". railgeelong.com. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
  7. ^ a b Infrastructure - Footscray Vicsig
  8. ^ "The New Footscray Railway Station". The Independent. 9 December 1899. p. 3.
  9. ^ "Upgrading Eltham to a Premium Station". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. October 1997. p. 310.
  10. ^ "Operations". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. July 2001. p. 218.
  11. ^ "Transport Projects eNews". Department of Transport, Victoria. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  12. ^ Lucas, Clay (2 November 2010). "The great disconnect". The Age. Melbourne.
  13. ^ "Colander Bridge". Fair-go for Footscray Rail Residents. Retrieved 19 February 2013.
  14. ^ Major access changes V/Line January 2014[dead link‍]
  15. ^ Millar, Benjamin (6 February 2013). "Footscray commuters face long wait for station works completion". Maribyrnong Weekly. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  16. ^ https://twitter.com/rrlproject/status/532680247510986752?s=21
  17. ^ "Sunbury Line". Public Transport Victoria.
  18. ^ "Werribee Line". Public Transport Victoria.
  19. ^ "Williamstown Line". Public Transport Victoria.
  20. ^ Ballarat - Melbourne timetable Public Transport Victoria
  21. ^ Bendigo - Melbourne timetable Public Transport Victoria
  22. ^ Geelong - Melbourne timetable Public Transport Victoria
  23. ^ "406 Keilor East - Footscray via Avondale Heights and Maribyrnong". Public Transport Victoria.
  24. ^ "409 Yarraville to Highpoint SC via Footscray". Public Transport Victoria.
  25. ^ "410 Sunshine Station - Footscray via Ballarat Road". Public Transport Victoria.
  26. ^ "411 Laverton Station - Footscray via Altona Meadows & Altona & Millers Rd". Public Transport Victoria.
  27. ^ "412 Laverton Station - Footscray via Altona Meadows & Altona & Mills St". Public Transport Victoria.
  28. ^ "414 Laverton Station - Footscray via Geelong Rd". Public Transport Victoria.
  29. ^ "941 Night bus: City - Footscray - Sunshine North - Taylors Lakes - Watergardens". Public Transport Victoria.
  30. ^ "942 Night bus: City - Footscray - Sunshine - Deer Park - St Albans". Public Transport Victoria.
  31. ^ "952 Night bus: City - Footscray - Maribyrnong - Airport West - Gladstone Park - Broadmeadows". Public Transport Victoria.
  32. ^ "402 Footscray Station - East Melbourne via North Melbourne". Public Transport Victoria.
  33. ^ "403 Footscray Station - Melbourne University via Royal Melbourne Hospital". Public Transport Victoria.
  34. ^ "404 Footscray - Moonee Ponds via Newmarket". Public Transport Victoria. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  35. ^ "472 Williamstown - Moonee Ponds via Footscray". Public Transport Victoria.
  36. ^ "216 Sunshine Station – City via Dynon Rd". Public Transport Victoria.
  37. ^ "220 Sunshine Station - City via Footscray Rd". Public Transport Victoria.
  38. ^ "223 Yarraville - Highpoint SC". Public Transport Victoria.
  39. ^ "82 Moonee Ponds - Footscray". Public Transport Victoria.
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