Armadale railway station, Melbourne

Armadale railway station is a commuter railway station in Armadale, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.[3] The station is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register and was opened on 7 May 1879.[4] The station consists of an island platform and two side platforms, all accessed by a pedestrian bridge. There are two principal station buildings located on the central platform (platforms 2 and 3) and on platform 4, consisting of a small two and one-story brick buildings.[5] These buildings were provided in 1914 as ticketing and staff offices. The station is only partially accessible due to a multiple steep access ramps.[6]

Armadale
PTV commuter rail station
Eastbound view from Platform 1, June 2014
General information
LocationMorey Street,
Armadale, Victoria
Australia
Coordinates37°51′23″S 145°01′09″E / 37.8563°S 145.0193°E / -37.8563; 145.0193
Owned byVicTrack
Operated byMetro Trains
Line(s)Frankston
Distance8.67 kilometres from
Southern Cross
Platforms4 (2 side, 1 island)
Tracks4
Connections
  • Melbourne tram route 6 Tram
  • List of bus routes in Melbourne Bus
Construction
Structure typeBelow-grade
AccessibleNo—steep ramp
Other information
StatusOperational, host station
Station codeARM
Fare zoneMyki Zone 1
WebsitePublic Transport Victoria
History
Opened7 May 1879; 144 years ago (1879-05-07)
Rebuilt1914
ElectrifiedMarch 1922 (1500 V DC overhead)
Passengers
2017–2018660,932[1]
2018–2019582,450[1]Decrease 11.87%
2019–2020414,400[1]Decrease 28.85%
2020–2021227,300[1]Decrease 45.15%
2021–2022244,650[2]Increase 7.63%
Services
Preceding station Railways in Melbourne Metro Trains Following station
Toorak Frankston line Malvern
towards Frankston
     Pakenham line does not stop here
     Cranbourne line does not stop here
Track layout
1
2
4
3

Armadale railway station is served by the Frankston line, part of the Melbourne railway network. The station also connects to the Route 6 tram service and the route 605 bus service.[7][8] The journey to Flinders Street railway station is approximately 7.3 kilometres (4.5 mi) and takes 14 minutes.[3]

Description edit

Armadale railway station is located in the suburb of Armadale, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. The station is located nearby to the High Street shopping precinct and the heritage listed Kings Arcade.[9] The station is owned by VicTrack, a state government agency, and the station is operated by Metro Trains.[6] The station is approximately 7.3 kilometres (4.5 mi), or a 14-minute train journey, from Flinders Street station.[3] The adjacent stations are Toorak station up towards Melbourne and Malvern station down towards Frankston.[3]

 
The heritage listed station structure on Platforms 2 and 3 in 2004.

The station consists of a single island platform and two side platforms with a total of four platform edges. Standard in Melbourne, the platform has an asphalt surface with concrete on the edges. The platforms are approximately 160 metres (524.93 ft) long, enough for a Metro Trains 7-car HCMT. The station features a pedestrian bridge, accessed from the centre of the platforms by a ramp.[10] The station features two principal station buildings, both former ticketing offices which are now heritage listed staff facilities. Distinct Edwardian architectural features of the red brick station buildings include ornate parapets, cement banding, tall chimneys with terracotta pots, tiled hip roof with terracotta finials, and stucco walls.[11] An additional station building is present onsite, 14 Cheel Street. This building is a single-storey Edwardian-era shop listed as "A2" grade on the Victorian heritage register.[11][12]

The station building, platform, and overpass are largely the same as when originally built, with the main change being updated signage, technology, and the addition of one new platform canopy amongst other minor building and platform upgrades.[13] There is no car-parking available at the station.[6] The station is listed as an "assisted access" station on the Metro Trains website, as the access ramp is too steep and would require assistance for wheelchair customers to traverse.[6]

History edit

 
The heritage styled platform shelters installed in the 2010s.

Armadale railway station was opened on 7 May 1879, with the station consisting of a single platform and track for commuter and freight service. Like the suburb itself, the station was named after Armadale House the residence of former premier and attorney-general James Munro. The house was named after Armadale, Scotland, where Munro was born.[14] The first station buildings were opened on the site between 1881 and 1883 to coincide with the duplication of track between the city and Oakleigh. The current station was constructed in 1914 to provide improved and additional facilities to what had become an increasingly busy and important location on the train network. The station rebuild was part of level crossing removal works that removed all level crossings, rebuilt all stations, and quadruplicated the corridor between South Yarra and Caulfield by 1914. Later in 1922, the line was electrified using 1500 V DC overhead wires with three-position signalling also introduced.

The station has mostly stayed the same since 1914, with only minor upgrades taking place. In 1972, the island platform (Platforms 2 and 3) was extended at both ends.[15] In 1978, a former goods siding and associated point work were permanently closed before being removed.[16] In 1993, major re-signalling works occurred between Toorak and Caulfield stations. The station underwent minor upgrades with the installation of a new shelter on Platform 1 in the 2010s. In 2021, resignalling works occurred to upgrade the corridor to high capacity signalling as part of the Metro Tunnel project.[17]

14 Cheel Street edit

The single-storey shop with structural supports.
On platform level, a permanent fence and supports have been installed.

Located next to the station entrance on 14 Cheel Street is a class A2 heritage listed single-storey Edwardian-era shop. This building was previously a general store, however, in 2015 structural problems emerged inside the building forcing the closure of the store and eviction of the tenants.[11] The structure has been reenforced due to the inability to demolish the building, due to its "high local significance that act as an important milestone in the development of the region or the municipality, and that it may illustrate one or more of the key local historical themes."[12] In 2022, a permantent fence was installed on the platform replacing the existing temporary fence.

Platforms and services edit

Armadale has two side platforms and one island platform with four faces. The station is currently served by the Frankston line—a service on the metropolitan rail network. The Frankston line runs from Frankston station south east of Melbourne, joining the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines at Caulfield station before continuing onto the Werribee or Williamstown lines via Flinders Street station.[18] Despite the Pakenham and Cranbourne lines operating through the station, these services no longer stop at the station due to low station patronage, instead running express through the station.[19]

Platform 1:

Platform 2:

Platform 3:

  • No services stop at this platform. Cranbourne and Pakenham line services run express through this station.

Platform 4:

  • No services stop at this platform. Cranbourne and Pakenham line services run express through this station.

Transport links edit

Armadale station has one tram and bus connection. The route 6 tram service operates from nearby High Street up towards the city and down towards Glen Iris.[7] The station also connects to the route 605 bus service from Gardenvale to the Melbourne CBD (on Queen Street).[8] The station does not have an accessible tram platform or a bus interchange and instead is operated through on-street bus and tram stops. Armadale station also has train replacement bus stops located adjacent to the station.

Tram connections:

Bus connections:

  •  605 : GardenvaleMelbourne CBD (Queen Street)[8]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d Railway station and tram stop patronage in Victoria for 2008–2021 Philip Mallis
  2. ^ Annual metropolitan train station patronage (station entries) Data Vic
  3. ^ a b c d Public Transport Victoria. "Armadale Station". Public Transport Victoria. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  4. ^ "SHIRE OF MALVERN". Caulfield and Elsternwick Leader. 22 September 1888. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  5. ^ Armadale railway station Retrieved 27 March 2023
  6. ^ a b c d Metro Trains Melbourne. "Armadale". www.metrotrains.com.au. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  7. ^ a b c "6 Moreland - Glen Iris". Public Transport Victoria.
  8. ^ a b c "605 Gardenvale - Flagstaff Station". Public Transport Victoria.
  9. ^ "Kings Arcade – Unique Specialty Shops". www.kingsarcade.com.au. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  10. ^ "MATHS stations". Daniel Bowen. 16 September 2008. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  11. ^ a b c "Heritage citation report". heritage.vic.gov.au. 2007. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  12. ^ a b Heritage grading definitions Retrieved 27 March 2023
  13. ^ James Twining (8 January 2014). "Stonnington Council says train passengers at Toorak, Armadale, Malvern and Hawksburn could be worse off with future Melbourne Metro rail tunnel". Herald Sun. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  14. ^ Armadale Victorian Places
  15. ^ "Way and Works". Divisional Diary. Australian Railway Historical Society. March 1972. p. 6.
  16. ^ http://89.107.10.96:12900/352731b6.html
  17. ^ Victoria’s Big Build (18 March 2022). "High Capacity Signalling". Victoria’s Big Build. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  18. ^ a b "Frankston Line". Public Transport Victoria.
  19. ^ Public Transport Victoria. "New timetable train line information". Public Transport Victoria. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)

External links edit