# Fairfield railway station, Melbourne

Fairfield railway station is a commuter railway station on the Hurstbridge line, which is part of the Melbourne railway network, and serves the north-eastern suburb of the same name in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Fairfield is a ground level host station, featuring two side platforms. It opened on 8 May 1888. Originally called Fairfield Park, the station was re-named Fairfield on 14 November 1943.
Fairfield Industrial Dog Object (FIDO), a 6-metre-tall wooden sculpture of a dog, is located adjacent to the level crossing, at the eastern end of Platform 2.

## History

The station opened along with the railway between Collingwood and Heidelberg. Like the suburb itself, it was named after Fairfield Park, an estate that was subdivided on land owned by land speculator Charles Henry James. The estate is believed to have been named after Fairfield in Derbyshire, England. James built Melbourne's first tram line in 1884, a horse-drawn tram from the station northwards to the Fairfield Park Estate. The tramway had closed by 1890.
From 1891 to 1893, Fairfield was the junction for the northern end of the former Outer Circle line, and was later the junction for the APM Siding, which operated from 1919 to the 1990s and served the nearby Australian Paper Manufacturers paper mill.
The station was upgraded in the early 1910s with new timber station buildings constructed in 1911. That included replacing the former at-grade pedestrian crossing at Rathmines Street with a pedestrian footbridge, opened in March 1914.
In 1969, boom barriers replaced interlocked gates at the Station Street level crossing, at the down end of the station. In 1988, the goods siding at the station was abolished.
In 1999, the station building on Platform 1 underwent restoration.

## Platforms and services

Fairfield has two side platforms, and is served by Hurstbridge line trains.
Platform 1:
* Hurstbridge line all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street
Platform 2:
* Hurstbridge line all stations and limited express services to Macleod, Greensborough, Eltham and Hurstbridge

## Transport links

Dysons operates two bus routes via Fairfield station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:
* 567 : Northcote – Regent station
* 609 : Hawthorn Station – Fairfield

## Gallery

* Eastbound view of station buildings and platforms with an X'Trapolis train arriving at Platform 1 on a City-bound service, February 2008
* Westbound view of the station platforms, July 2018
* Eastbound view of Platform 2 with an X'Trapolis train arriving at Platform 1 on a City-bound service at night, August 2018
* Partial view of station signal box and traffic stopped at the Station Street level crossing, August 2019
* The northern side of the entrance and exit ramp to the station, partial view of Platform 2 and the nearby car park, April 2020
* Westbound view from Platform 2, November 2022
* Eastbound view of station platforms and buildings at dusk, November 2023
* Eastbound view from Platform 2, September 2024
* Westbound view of the station platforms, taken from the Station Street level crossing, September 2024
* Eastbound view of the station platforms and buildings at daytime, September 2024
* Westbound view of the station platforms, taken from the pedestrian overpass, September 2024
* Station building on Platform 1, September 2024
* Station building on Platform 2, September 2024
* The pedestrian footbridge over the station platforms, viewed from Platform 2, September 2024
* Station building and entrance to Platform 1, September 2024
* PSO box and shelter on Platform 1, September 2024
* Station Street level crossing signal box and pedestrian gates, adjacent to the station, September 2024