# Brighton Beach railway station

Brighton Beach railway station is a commuter railway station, located on the Sandringham line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the south-eastern Melbourne suburb of Brighton, opened on 21 December 1861 as Beach, and renamed Brighton Beach on 1 January 1867. Brighton Beach is a ground level premium station, featuring three platforms, an island platform with two faces, a curved face on platform 2 and a straight face on platform 1 and one side platform with a curved face, however, platform one is not in use while platforms 2 and 3 are in use. The station building is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register, noted for its unusual shape and proximity to the coastline. The Brighton Bathing Boxes are located a short walk from the station.
The station consists of three platforms, a terminating platform currently used as a siding, and two curved platforms, built in 1887 when the line was extended to Sandringham, accessed through the station building. The single station building, constructed in 1889, replaced a timber building provided when the station was first opened. The station is fully accessible.
The station is serviced by the Sandringham line, part of the Melbourne railway network. The station connects to the routes 600, 603 and 923 bus services. The journey to Southern Cross railway station is approximately 15.97 km (9.92 mi).

## Description

Brighton Beach station is located in Brighton, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. The station is located close to the beach, hence its name. Directly to the south of the station is a level crossing with South Road. The station is owned by VicTrack, a state government agency, and the station is operated by Metro Trains. The adjacent stations are Middle Brighton up towards Flinders Street and Hampton down towards Sandringham.
The station consists of three platforms: an island with a terminating platform used as a siding, and a curved platform, and a curved side platform, connected by a footbridge and the main station building. The curved platforms were built in 1887, when the line was extended to Sandringham. A stabling yard with two tracks is located adjacent to Platform 1. The yard was originally used for stabling, but was converted to a siding for the VICERS project. In 2010, the stabling facilities were reinstated. Standard in Melbourne, the platform has an asphalt surface with concrete on the edges. The station is fully accessible, and is a premium station, meaning it is staffed from first train to last.
The station building, located between platforms one and two, was designed by George Sims and built by contractor Donald Swanson in 1889, replacing a timber structure erected when the station was first opened as a terminus. Similar buildings were constructed later at North Brighton and Prahran. The Victorian Heritage Register notes its unusual shape, wedged between two platforms. It also notes its uniqueness in railway architecture, noting architectural features including "the pedimented entrance porch, the patterned brickwork, the tiled frieze below the eaves cornice, the bluestone columns at the barriers, the tessellated paving to the entrance lobby, the round brick arches and the additional red brick banding at the entry".

## History

Brighton Beach station opened on 21 December 1861, when the railway line from North Brighton was extended, with a timber station building and a single terminating platform. It was named after the nearby Brighton Beach, a popular destination at the time. It remained a terminus until 2 September 1887, when the line was extended to Sandringham, with two additional curved platforms added. In 1889, the current station building was constructed, and in 1919, the line to Sandringham was electrified using 1500 V DC overhead wires. In 1926, a signal box was constructed, located between the down end of Platform 2 and the South Road level crossing.
Since 1926, the station has stayed largely the same, with only minor changes taking place. In 1968, boom barriers replaced interlocked gates at the South Road level crossing, located at the down end of the station.
On 20 November 1995, Brighton Beach was upgraded to a premium station.
The signal box controlled the swing gates at the New Street level crossing, which were the last left in Victoria. In 2007, the swing gates were hit by a train, causing significant damage. In 2010, the level crossing was closed by the Brumby government, with plans to re-open the level crossing with boom barriers. The project, which cost $4.4 million, included the replacement of the hand-operated gates with boom barriers, installation of flashing lights and bells, and a wider pedestrian crossing. It was opened in 2013 by Brighton MP Louise Asher.
Following a 2019 commitment by the Federal Government, the station was due to receive an upgraded commuter car park. However, this was scrapped by the same government in 2021.

## Platforms and services

Brighton Beach consists of an island platform with two faces and a side platform, being the only station on the Sandringham line to have three platforms. There is a large brick building on Platforms 1 and 2 (island platform), housing an enclosed waiting area, ticket facilities and toilets. There are also ticket facilities at the up (Flinders Street) end of the island platform, for customers accessing Brighton Beach via the footbridge. Platform 3 has a smaller brick building, with a waiting area, ticket facilities and a payphone. Being a Premium Station, Brighton Beach is staffed from first to last train each day.
In 2011, a fence was erected on Platform 2 to direct passengers to the front half of the train and discourage them from boarding the rear half, because of the large gap between the train and the platform due to the station being built on a sharp curve. Additionally, station staff are required to be in attendance on Platform 2 for all train services, to ensure passengers have boarded safely, as there have been cases of passengers falling into the gap between the train and the platform.
The station is served by Sandringham line trains. Once the Metro Tunnel opens, Sandringham line trains will run through to Williamstown and Werribee.
Platform 1:
* No trains alight or board passengers from Platform 1, with the platform currently closed off to passengers, and the mainline connection out of use. The 2012 Network Development Plan – Metropolitan Rail proposed reopening this platform as a turnback, enabling a service level above that possible with the single platform terminus at Sandringham.
Platform 2:
* Sandringham line all stations services to Flinders Street
Platform 3:
* Sandringham line all stations services to Sandringham

## Transport links

Kinetic Melbourne operates three bus routes via Brighton Beach station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:
* 600 : Westfield Southland – St Kilda station
* 603 : to Burnley station
* 923 : Westfield Southland – St Kilda station
Formerly, Brighton Beach was served by a tram line from St Kilda, with the extension from Middle Brighton to Brighton Beach opening in December 1906. After a lack of maintenance causing severe issues with the line, a material and finance shortage during World War II, and finally a decrease in patronage due to bus and car competition, the line was closed between Brighton Beach and Middle Brighton in January 1956, and closed fully in February 1959, despite protests from the community.