Footscray railway station

Footscray
Looking towards Newport from island platform 3, disused signal box in foreground.
Station statistics
Coordinates	37°48′06″S 144°54′09″E
Platforms	4
Tracks	4
Other information
Code	FSY
Owned by	VicTrack
Operator	Metro Trains
Myki zone	1
Station status	Premium Station
Melway map	Link
Website	Link, includes timetables
Services
Preceding station   Metro Trains   Following station North Melbourne toward Flinders Street Sunbury line Middle Footscray toward Sunbury South Kensington toward Flinders Street Werribee line Seddon toward Werribee Williamstown line Seddon toward Williamstown Preceding station   V/Line   Following station North Melbourne toward Melbourne (Southern Cross) Bendigo line Sunshine toward Bendigo Ballarat line Sunshine toward Ararat or Wendouree Geelong line Newport toward Warrnambool or Marshall
Location
Link

Footscray is a railway station in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located in the suburb of Footscray, at the junction of the Sunbury and Werribee railway lines. The Williamstown line also passes through the station, along with V/Line services to the south-west, west, and north-west of Victoria. Footscray is classed as a Premium Station and is in Myki Zone 1. It is the busiest non-CBD railway station in Melbourne based upon passenger boardings, and the sixth busiest overall, with an average of 13,700 boardings per day in 2009.

Facilities

Footbridge that links all four platforms with the surrounding streets

The South Kensington - West Footscray line cutting runs beneath the station platforms, south-western end

Footscray station is located between Irving Street and Hyde Street, with station access from Irving Street, Hyde Street, and McNab Avenue.

The station consists of an island platform and two side platforms; Platform 1 has a red brick building, platform 2 & 3 has a larger red brick building which houses an enclosed waiting area, ticket facilities and toilets, while platform 4 has a red brick building similar to that on platform 1. A large Metcard ticket vending machine is located inside the waiting area and at the entrance to platform 1, which is able to dispense most ticketing options available and also accept notes and coins. Small coin-only Metcard ticket vending machines are located inside the waiting area and at the entrance to platform 4.

Tram route 82 terminates near the station, on Leeds Street. Car parking facilities are available in Hyde Street. A footbridge is situated at the Down end of the station.

A disused signal box is located on the island platform at the Flinders Street end of the station, and a pair of dual gauge tracks form the mainly goods only South Kensington - West Footscray line under the station, running in a cutting before entering the Bunbury Street tunnel (completed in 1928), providing a rail link to the Port of Melbourne and other freight terminals, as well as access to Southern Cross Station for the CountryLink XPT, The Overland, and standard gauge V/Line trains to Albury.

Platforms and services

Platform 1:

• Sunbury line - limited stops services to Flinders Street
• Ballarat/Ararat line - intercity services to Southern Cross
• Bendigo/Echuca line - intercity services to Southern Cross

Platform 2:

• Sunbury line - all stations and limited stops services to Sunshine, St Albans, Watergardens and Sunbury
• Ballarat/Ararat line - intercity services to Melton, Bacchuss Marsh, Ballarat, Wendouree and Ararat
• Bendigo/Echuca line - interurban services to Kyneton, Bendigo, Eaglehawk and Echuca

Platform 3:

• Werribee line all stations and limited stops services to Flinders Street
• Williamstown line - weekday all stations and limited stops services to Flinders Street
• Geelong/Warrnambool line - intercity services Southern Cross

Platform 4:

• Werribee line - all stations and limited stops services to Laverton and Werribee
• Williamstown line - weekday all stations services to Williamstown
• Geelong/Warrnambool line - intercity services to Geelong, South Geelong, Marshall and Warrnambool

Bus services

• 216 Caroline Springs – Brighton Beach via Deer Park West, Sunshine, Footscray, Melbourne, St Kilda Road, Prahran (every day). Operated by Melbourne Bus Link.
• 219 Sunshine Park – Gardenvale via Sunshine, Footscray, Melbourne, St Kilda Road, Prahran (every day). Operated by Melbourne Bus Link.
• 220 Sunshine – Gardenvale via Footscray, Melbourne, St Kilda Road, Prahran (every day). Operated by Melbourne Bus Link.
• 223 Yarraville – Highpoint SC via Seddon, Footscray RS (every day). Operated by Melbourne Bus Link.
• 402 Footscray – East Melbourne via Royal Melbourne Hospital, University of Melbourne, Royal Women's Hospital, Carlton Gardens (every day). Operated by Sita Bus Lines.
• 404 Footscray – Moonee Ponds via Flemington, Ascot Vale, Newmarket (Monday to Saturday). Operated by Sita Bus Lines.
• 406 Footscray – East Keilor via Victoria University, Highpoint SC, Avondale Heights (every day). Operated by Westrans.
• 409 Highpoint SC – Yarraville via Victoria University Footscray, Footscray RS (every day). Operated by Westrans.
• 410 Footscray – Sunshine via Maidstone, Braybrook (every day). Operated by Westrans.
• 411 Footscray – Laverton via Geelong Road, Altona Gate SC, Altona, Altona Meadows (every day). Operated by Westrans.
• 412 Footscray – Laverton via Geelong Road, Altona Gate SC, Altona, Altona Meadows (every day). Operated by Westrans.
• 414 Footscray – Aircraft via Geelong Road, Laverton North (Monday to Saturday). Operated by Westrans.
• 472 Moonee Ponds – Williamstown via Ascot Vale, Flemington Racecourse, Footscray, North Williamstown RS (every day). Operated by Sita Bus Lines.

Tram services

• 82 - Moonee Ponds

History

The original stations

On 17 January 1859 the railways arrived in Footscray when the new Williamstown line opened with trains running from the new station on Spencer Street in Melbourne to the important cargo port of Williamstown. This railway connected to the 18-month old Geelong railway at the junction near where the current Newport station lies. The railway between Footscray and Melbourne, 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 ever 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 situated on Napier Street.

Shortly afterwards, Footscray became a junction station when a second railway, branching at Footscray, was opened to Sunbury. By 1862 this railway 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 other one, for services on the new railway line.

A signal box was provided at the junction from 1879.

Current station

On 16 September 1900 the current station opened, located at the precise point of junction of the two lines.[1] The two original stations were closed.

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

The two 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 the city in 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.

In 2010, as a part of the Victorian Brumby Labor Government's Footscray renewal program, 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, 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.

In 2013 the new footbridge was partially demolished so it could be rebuilt to accommodate the new Regional Rail Link platforms.

External links

• "Victorian Station Histories - Footscray" (PDF). www.vrhistory.com. Retrieved 2008-04-30. 
• "Rail Geelong - Footscray Station". www.railgeelong.com. Retrieved 2008-04-30.