Merri railway station
Merri | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Building on platform 1 in May 2014 | |||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||
| Location | Railway Street, Northcote Australia | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 37°46′40″S 144°59′35″E / 37.7778°S 144.9931°E | ||||||||||
| Owned by | VicTrack | ||||||||||
| Operated by | Metro | ||||||||||
| Line(s) | South Morang | ||||||||||
| Distance | 8.04 kilometres from Southern Cross | ||||||||||
| Platforms | 2 side | ||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||
| Connections | Bus Tram | ||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||
| Structure type | Ground | ||||||||||
| Parking | 6 | ||||||||||
| Accessible | Yes | ||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||
| Status | Unstaffed station | ||||||||||
| Station code | MER | ||||||||||
| Fare zone | Myki zone 1 | ||||||||||
| Website | Public Transport Victoria | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
| Opened | 8 October 1889 | ||||||||||
| Electrified | Yes | ||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Merri railway station is located on the South Morang line, in Victoria, Australia. It serves the north-eastern Melbourne suburb of Northcote. It opened on 8 October 1889 as Northcote, and was renamed Merri on 10 December 1906.[1]
The original conception of the station was to act as a major junction in a planned "North Suburban Railway System". The Argus reported in 1887 that; "The Station at Union-street, as shown on our plan, must necessarily be the most important in the Northern System, as lines branch from this point to Preston and Whittlesea on the north ; Heidelberg, Kew, &.c., on the east; Carlton, Royal-park, North Melbourne, and Spencer-street on the south-west; Fitzroy, East Melbourne, and Flinders-street on the south; and if the alternative route is adopted, Clifton-hill, Collingwood, Richmond, and Flinders street on the south east.",[2] while land sale plans advertised the upcoming construction of the "Grand Central Junction Station".[3]
The station building was rebuilt in 1910, to accommodate an increased population in the area.[4]
The nearby level crossing at Charles Street had hand operated gates until 1924, when they were replaced with interlocked gates, operated from the nearby signal box, following several serious traffic accidents.[5] These gates were replaced with boom barriers in 1986.[6]
During October 1987, the double line block system between Merri - Northcote was abolished, and replaced with three positioning signalling, [7] with all two position signals between Merri and Thornbury also abolished.[7]
Platforms & services
Merri has two side platforms. It is serviced by Metro Trains' South Morang line services.[8]
Platform 1:
- South Morang line: all stations services to Flinders Street
Platform 2:
- South Morang line: all stations services to South Morang
Transport links
Moonee Valley Coaches operates one route via Merri station:
Yarra Trams operates two routes via Merri station:
- 11: West Preston – Victoria Harbour (Docklands)[10]
- 86: Bundoora RMIT – Waterfront City (Docklands)[11]
References
- ^ Merri Vicsig
- ^ The Argus 9 December 1887
- ^ "Fitzroy Junction Estate" land sale advertisement 1887
- ^ Darebin Heritage Study 2000 - Merri - Northcote
- ^ The Argus, 13 Nov 1924
- ^ "Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. March 1987. p. 89.
- ^ a b "Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. January 1988. p. 27.
- ^ South Morang Line timetable Public Transport Victoria
- ^ Route 506 Moonee Ponds - Westgarth timetable Public Transport Victoria
- ^ Route 11 West Preston - Victoria Harbour Docklands timetable Public Transport Victoria
- ^ Route 86 Bundoora RMIT - Waterfront City Docklands timetable Public Transport Victoria