Footscray railway station

Footscray station is a railway station operated by Metro Trains Melbourne and V/Line on the metropolitan Sunbury, Werribee and Williamstown lines and the regional Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong lines, part of the Melbourne and Victorian rail networks. It serves the western Melbourne suburb of Footscray in Victoria, Australia. Footscray is a ground level premium station, featuring six platforms, two island platform with two faces and two side platform, connected by an accessible overground concourse. It opened on 17 January 1859, with the current location provided in 1900 and station provided in 2014. A disused signal box is located on the island platform at the up end of Platform 5. A pair of dual gauge tracks for the South Kensington–West Footscray line run in a cutting under the station before entering the Bunbury Street tunnel, providing a rail link to the Port of Melbourne and other freight terminals, as well as access to Southern Cross station for the NSW TrainLink XPT, The Overland, and V/Line Albury passenger services. The station complex, inclusive of the adjacent reserve and its octagonal band rotunda, was added to the Victorian Heritage Register on 17 June 1999 in recognition of its aesthetic, architectural, social and historical importance. History On 17 January 1859, the railway arrived in Footscray, when the Williamstown line opened, with trains operating from Spencer Street in Melbourne to the important port of Williamstown. The line between Melbourne and Williamstown, via the North Melbourne and Footscray, had been made possible by the construction of the Saltwater River Rail Bridge over the Maribyrnong River. Not long after, that line was connected to the 18-month-old Geelong line at a junction near the current Newport station. The original Footscray station opened on the first day of service. It was not where the current Footscray station is but was located at Napier Street. Less than a month later, on 10 February 1859, Footscray became a junction when a line, branching at Footscray, was opened to Sunbury, extended to Sandhurst (later renamed Bendigo) in 1862. On 1 March 1859, Footscray's second station, on the Sunbury line, opened at Nicholson Street, not far from the Napier Street location. In 1879, a signal box was provided at the junction. On 16 September 1900, a new station was opened at the present location, the junction of the two lines. The two other stations were then closed. A number of sidings once existed at the station, but that site, on the eastern side of the Newport-bound lines, is now used for car parking. In 1972, the last siding at Footscray (siding "B") was abolished. On 21 October 1928, the two tracks under the station were opened, as part of the South Kensington–West Footscray line. They 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 eliminated the switched junction and so the signal box was closed, although the building forms part of the structures included on the Victorian Heritage Register. On 31 May 1996, Footscray was upgraded to a premium station, although the enclosed waiting area and ticket facilities were built in 1993, as part of the "Travel Safe" program of the early 1990s. At around 08:30 on 5 June 2001, on Platform 4, an out-of-service train heading to Newport collided with a Williamstown-bound train carrying about 20 passengers. Three injuries were reported. In 2010, as a part of the Brumby State Government's Footscray renewal program, the footbridge over the platforms, which was accessed by ramps, was replaced with a new $15 million footbridge. The bridge, named after Indigenous activist William Cooper, had stairs and associated lifts. There were complaints that the new footbridge was less usable than the one it replaced. The roof was not weatherproof, and the lifts were prone to breakdown. During the 2017/2018 financial year, Footscray was the sixth-busiest station on the Melbourne metropolitan network, with 5.26 million passenger movements recorded. Regional Rail Link upgrade From 2012 to 2014, Footscray station underwent a major upgrade and conservation works as part of the Regional Rail Link project. An additional two platforms were provided to the north of the existing ones, to allow the separation of Sunbury Metro train services and V/Line train services to Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong. On 20 January 2014, coinciding with the opening of the new platforms, ticket office and a waiting area adjacent to Platform 1 on Irving Street, Platforms 1 to 4 were renumbered 3 to 6, with the new platforms becoming Platforms 1 and 2. At the same time, Platforms 3 and 4 were temporarily closed, so that they could be rebuilt as platforms for V/Line services. They reopened when the new Regional Rail Link tracks between Sunshine and Southern Cross were brought into service on 16 July 2014. A new waiting area and toilet facilities for regional services was provided between Platforms 4 and 5. The $15 million footbridge, erected in 2010, was partially demolished in 2013 to accommodate the works. New canopies, stairs and escalators were installed at the Irving and Hyde Street ends of the footbridge, and wider ramps were built from the footbridge to the platforms and the street level, to allow easier access to the platforms. New lifts were also added to the structure. The car-park on Irving Street was relocated to McNab Avenue, and a new forecourt, with greenery and seating areas was opened, along with two new kiosks, close to the Irving Street station entrance. By November 2014, all works at the station had been completed. Heritage structures Parts of the station complex were added to the Victoria Heritage Register in 1999 and include the four platforms and three red brick station structures, the disused signal box—all completed between 1859 and c. 1908 in the Victorian Free Classical style—and the adjacent one-hectare (two-acre) reserve and its ornamental gardens and rotunda, situated south-west of the station buildings. Common building details include cantilevered platform canopies, cement banding, bluestone quoin work around doors, arched windows and stucco cornice bands. The octagonal band rotunda was built up on cast iron columns, with brackets and friezes adorning the timber-framed sheet iron clad roof with lantern. Usage Footscray is the fifth-busiest station on Melbourne's metropolitan rail network with 4.37 million passengers in 2023-24. Platforms and services Footscray has two island platforms with four faces, and two side platforms. It is served by Sunbury, Werribee and Williamstown line trains, and V/Line Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong line trains. Current Regional From late 2026 Transport links CDC Melbourne operates six bus routes via Footscray station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria: 406 : to Keilor East 409 : Yarraville station – Highpoint Shopping Centre 410 : Sunshine station – Footscray 411 : Laverton station – Footscray 412 : Laverton station – Footscray 414 : to Laverton station Kinetic Melbourne operates three bus routes via Footscray station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria: 216 : Sunshine station – Melbourne CBD (Queen Street) 220 : Sunshine station – Melbourne CBD (Queen Street) 223 : Yarraville – Highpoint Shopping Centre Transit Systems Victoria operates four bus routes via Footscray station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria: 402 : to East Melbourne 404 : to Moonee Ponds Junction 472 : Williamstown – Moonee Ponds Junction Night Bus 947 : Footscray – Newport station (Saturday and Sunday mornings only) Yarra Trams operate one route to and from Footscray station: : to Moonee Ponds Junction Gallery See also List of railway stations in Melbourne List of places on the Victorian Heritage Register in the City of Maribyrnong References External links Media related to Footscray railway station at Wikimedia Commons Melway map at street-directory.com.au