# Bell railway station, Melbourne

Bell railway station is a commuter railway station located in the north-eastern suburb of Preston in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The station opened on 8 October 1889, with the former ground level station closed and demolished in May 2022 and the current elevated station provided in September 2022 by the Level Crossing Removal Project. The station initially opened as "Preston-Bell Street" upon its opening in 1889, then it was given its current name of "Bell" on 1 August 1905.
Bell is an elevated premium station, consisting of two side platforms connected by staircases, lifts and a ground level concourse. The station fully complies with the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and is accessible as there is a lift connecting to the ground level concourse and the station platforms on either side.
The station is owned by VicTrack, a state government agency and the station is operated by Metro Trains Melbourne. Bell station is currently served by the Mernda line, part of the Melbourne railway network. Additionally, the station is also served by four bus routes, it includes Dysons bus routes 513, 514, 552 and 553. The station is approximately 9 km (5.6 mi) or around a 22 minute train ride to Flinders Street.

## Description

Bell railway station is located in the north-eastern suburb of Preston in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The station is owned by VicTrack, a state government agency and the station is operated by Metro Trains Melbourne. The station is 9 km (5.6 mi) or around a 22 minute train ride to Flinders Street. The adjacent stations are Thornbury station up towards Flinders Street and Preston station down towards Mernda.
The station consists of two side platforms with two edges. As is standard in Melbourne, the platform has an asphalt surface with concrete on the edges. The side platforms are approximately 160 m (524 ft 11 in) long, long enough for a 7 car High Capacity Metro Train. The station features a ground level concourse, accessible by stairs and lifts up to the elevated platforms. There is one main station building, opened in 2022, which contains a waiting room, a customer service, PSO office and a spacious ground level concourse inside the main station building. The station building is made out of local roofscapes abstracted into three-dimensional patterns and the primary colours are pink and purple colour glazing, post-war rooftops to the main station building and references to the local art and culture scene. The elevated platforms have shelters over seating to protect from Melbourne's weather and has secure bike parking.
The station building, concourse and platform largely stayed the same since the station was rebuilt in 2022. There are 77 car and 28 protected bike parking at the station. The station is listed as fully accessible on the Metro Trains website, as there are lifts and accessible features available at the station.

## History
### Pre level crossing removal

Bell station opened on 8 October 1889. The line through the station was originally built to extend the Inner Circle line from North Fitzroy station to a new terminus at Reservoir station. The station was named after the nearby Bell Street, a major road located on the north side of the station.
The station was situated next to the former Bell Street level crossing, which was upgraded with manually operated boom barriers in 1969, replacing the previous interlocking gates. A goods yard originally served the station, however, it was removed in 1986, leaving only a siding at the up end of the station. On 17 April 1988, the double-line block signalling system between Bell and Reservoir was decommissioned and was replaced with automatic three position signalling. Also in that month, pedestrian gates were provided at the former Bell Street level crossing, in combination with the manually operated road boom barriers.
On 25 August 2008, Bell station was upgraded to a premium station, featuring the addition of customer service facilities and the conversion of the former ground-level station building into a waiting room.

### Level Crossing Removal Project

In 2014, the Andrews government announced a $2.4 billion program to remove and grade separate the Bell Street level crossing, along with 49 other level crossings in Melbourne, projected for completion by 2022. It was later formed under the Level Crossing Removal Project program in January 2016 and the time, the Bell Street level crossing had not been decided how the grade separation would be achieved.
On 30 November 2018, the Andrews government announced that the Level Crossing Removal Project would remove an additional level crossing at Oakover Road, along with 24 other level crossings in Melbourne as part of a $6.6 billion program. At the same time, the elevated railway option was chosen.
In February 2021, construction began on the project with piling works, install fencing around the construction site and foundation for temporary overhead wiring in preparation for the creation of the 2 km (1.2 mi) elevated railway bridge. During the major construction period, the Mernda line was closed for a few times at a maximum of 12 days in 2021 and 2022 to facilitate further piling and excavation works. Between 5 May to 12 May 2021, the original Bell station building was demolished to make way for the new elevated railway bridge and the Mernda line was closed for the period of that time to install temporary equipment at the station. Once the temporary station opened, major excavation works were able to begin. Construction of the first part of the U-through bridge section made up of two L-shaped beams for the elevated railway bridge installed and digging for the 114 piers also started to occur during this time.
Between 17 May to 30 May 2022, the Mernda line was shut down for 12 days to remove the Oakover Road and Bell Street level crossings, get the first part of the elevated railway bridge ready for trains to run on and demolish the old ground level station platforms. On 30 May 2022, the first part of the 2 kilometre bridge opened with only a single track temporarily until 26 August 2022 because they could not close the Mernda line for longer than 12 days due to the requirement of trains to regularly access the Epping maintenance yard facility.
On 5 September 2022, the rebuilt elevated Bell station opened to the public. The elevated station opened in a basic state, with lifts, paving and additional exits opened on the north side of the station. The rebuilt Bell station was moved 40 metres from the former ground level station site to increase the amount of community open space, forecourt and landscaping area. The station is water and energy efficient with sustainable features such as solar panels, rain water reuse, LED lighting and environmentally sustainable materials to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In late October 2022, came to the completion of the car park located south of Bell station. Around the same time, the signalised pedestrian crossing was built at the location of the former Bell Street level crossing in preparation for the opening of the 2 km (1.2 mi) shared walking and bike path. In 2023, came to the completion of the open space. The open spaces were named "Oakover Green" near Oakover Road and the Bell station area located west of Bell station. The Oakover Green space has features a playground, landscaped gardens, seating areas and a yarning circle developed by Wurundjeri artists. The Bell station area features the station building's abstract pitched roof, pink and purple colour glazing and an amphitheatre on the eastern side of the station.

## Platforms and services

Bell has two side platforms. The station is currently served by the Mernda line, part of the metropolitan railway network. The Mernda line runs from Mernda station, north-east of Melbourne, joining with the Hurstbridge line at Clifton Hill station before travelling through Flinders Street station and back through the City Loop in a clockwise direction.
Platform 1:
* Mernda line all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street
Platform 2:
* Mernda line all stations services to Mernda

## Transport links

Bell station has four bus route connections operated by Dysons and no tram connections. The route 513 and route 514 bus operates from the nearby Bell Street, north-west of Bell station. The route 513 bus operates from Eltham station to Glenroy station via Lower Plenty while the route 514 bus operates from Eltham station to Glenroy station via Greensborough. The route 552 and 553 bus operates from the nearby High Street, east of Bell station. The route 552 operates from North East Reservoir to Northcote Plaza while the route 553 bus operates from Preston to West Preston. Both bus stop locations on Bell Street and High Street have shelter and seating facilities available. Bell station also has train replacement bus stop located on High Street.
Bus connections:
* 513 : Eltham station – Glenroy station (via Lower Plenty)
* 514 : Eltham station – Glenroy station (via Greensborough)
* 552 : North East Reservoir – Northcote Plaza
* 553 : Preston – West Preston