# Geelong railway station

Geelong railway station is a regional railway station on the Warrnambool line, part of the Victorian railway network. It serves the city of the same name, in Victoria, Australia. The original station opened on 1 November 1856.
Together with Ballarat, it is one of only two stations in Victoria to retain its 19th-century train shed. The station has been listed by the National Trust of Australia as being of state-level significance, and is on the Victorian Heritage Register.

## History

The first Geelong station was built as the terminus of the Geelong and Melbourne Railway Company line. It was a dead-end terminus, located on the site of the present law courts complex. In November 1876, the railway was extended south to Winchelsea, necessitating the relocation of the station to the west and, between 1877 and 1881, the current station building was constructed.
In 1975, the station received a minor upgrade to the refreshment rooms, and was also provided with a waiting room around that time. In 1988, the station received a more significant upgrade, which included new passenger waiting areas and booking offices.
Until the 1990s, there was a goods yard, including a large goods shed, located on the eastern side of the station. That area is now the site of Geelong's law courts and police station. A locomotive depot remains to the north, and carriage stabling sidings are to the west.
In March 2015, a further upgrade to the station was completed, which included the installation of a new DDA-compliant pedestrian overpass to connect all platforms, which included lifts, avoiding the need to use the original heritage-protected pedestrian bridge, which only has stairs.

## Platforms and services

Geelong has one island platform with two faces, and one side platform, and is served by V/Line Geelong and Warrnambool line trains.
Prior to the opening of the Regional Rail Link in 2015, almost all trains used Platform 1, and Platforms 2 and 3 were only used if Platform 1 was occupied:
Platform 1: up services to Southern Cross and down services to South Geelong, Marshall, and Waurn Ponds.
Platform 2: Up and down Warrnambool services, terminating services, and other services if Platform 1 was occupied.
Platform 3: Terminating services, special heritage services, and other services if Platform 1 was occupied.
After the opening of the Regional Rail Link, three times as many services were run, requiring trains to cross at Geelong on a regular basis. The platforms have now been divided into up and down platforms:
Platform 1: Down services to South Geelong, Marshall, Waurn Ponds, and Warrnambool
Platform 2: Up services when Platform 3 is occupied, special heritage services
Platform 3: Up services to Southern Cross, terminating services
It is common for a trains to be in all three platforms e.g.:
Platform 1: Down Waurn Ponds service
Platform 2: Up service, stopping all stations
Platform 3: Up express service from Warrnambool
Platform 1:
* Geelong line services to South Geelong, Marshall, Waurn Ponds and Southern Cross
* Warrnambool line services to Warrnambool and Southern Cross
Platform 2:
* Geelong line services to Southern Cross
* Warrnambool line services to Southern Cross
Platform 3:
* Geelong line services to Southern Cross; peak hour terminating services
* Warrnambool line services to Southern Cross

## Transport links

CDC Geelong operates seven bus routes via Geelong station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:
* 1 : North Shore station – Deakin University Waurn Ponds Campus
* 19 : Geelong – Bannockburn
* 20 : to Corio Shopping Centre
* 22 : to North Shore station
* 24 : to North Geelong station
* 25 : to Bell Post Hill
* 43 : to Deakin University Waurn Ponds Campus
McHarry's Buslines operates twelve routes via Geelong station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:
* 30 : to Whittington
* 31 : to St Albans Park
* 32 : to Leopold
* 40 : to Deakin University Waurn Ponds Campus
* 41 : to Deakin University Waurn Ponds Campus
* 42 : to Deakin University Waurn Ponds Campus
* 50 : to Jan Juc
* 51 : to Jan Juc
* 55 : to Ocean Grove
* 56 : to Queenscliff
* 60 : to St Leonards
* 61 : to Drysdale
V/Line operates road coach services from Geelong station to Apollo Bay, Ballarat, Colac and Warrnambool.

## Gallery

* Southbound view from Platform 1 with all three platforms occupied, October 2006
* Side entrance to platform 3, April 2022