# Epping railway station, Melbourne

Epping railway station is a commuter railway station on the Mernda line, which is part of the Melbourne railway network, and serves the northern suburb of the same name in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It opened on 23 December 1889 and, since 2011, it has been a below-ground, premium station, with an island platform.

## History

Epping station opened as a stop on the line to Whittlesea, with trains designated as country services. From 1924, an AEC railmotor shuttle service operated from Reservoir to Whittlesea, until the line was closed north of Lalor on 29 November 1959.
On 30 November 1964, a new station opened a little further down the line, as part of the electrification of the line from Lalor to Epping. The station building was relocated from Glen Waverley, which was being rebuilt at the time. On 1 January 1971, the building was damaged by a deliberately lit fire.
During the late 1980s, the station was rebuilt, in conjunction with the construction of the adjacent train depot, with the north face of the former ground level island platform brought into use in July 1987, along with temporary station buildings. The new platform was built on a new alignment, with 200 metres of new track needed to link to the existing line. By the end of that month, the former platform and station building, dating from 1964, were demolished, along with the former alignment of the track and overhead wiring. The south face of the former ground level island platform (Platform 1) was brought into use nine months later, in April 1988. In 1989, new Solid State Interlocking was commissioned, which was the first fully computerised system in Melbourne.
In 1990, the suburban train depot opened, which was a replacement for the Jolimont Workshops in central Melbourne. The depot covers 10.8 hectares, and can accommodate 31 trains, with the facility including a main workshop building, four elevated tracks, two lifting tracks and a train wash. On 23 July 1998, Epping was upgraded to a premium station.
At about 0914 on 18 June 2002, two Comeng train sets collided approximately 1 km south of the station.
In 2010, construction commenced on a new, below-ground island platform north of Cooper Street, as part of a grade separation project in conjunction with the duplication of the line from Keon Park and its extension to South Morang station. The rebuilt station opened on 28 November 2011. The former ground level island platform and building were demolished soon after and, in early 2012, a number of stabling sidings were built on that site.

## Platforms, facilities and services

Epping has one island platform with two faces and is served by Mernda line trains. Access to the platforms is provided by stairs and a lift. The station concourse contains a customer service window, an enclosed waiting room, toilets and a kiosk.
Platform 1:
* Mernda line all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street
Platform 2:
* Mernda line all stations services to Mernda

## Transport links

Dysons operates six bus routes via Epping station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:
* 356 : to Wollert East
* 357 : Wollert West – Thomastown station
* 358 : to Wollert
* 556 : Pacific Epping – Northland Shopping Centre
* 569 : Pacific Epping – South Morang station
* 577 : Pacific Epping – South Morang station
Kinetic Melbourne operates one SmartBus route via Epping station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:
* SmartBus 901 : Frankston station – Melbourne Airport

## Gallery

* Westbound view from Platform 2, May 2014