# Westall railway station

Westall railway station is a commuter railway station on the Pakenham and Cranbourne lines, which are part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the south-eastern suburb of Clayton South, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Westall station is a ground-level premium station, featuring two side platforms. It opened on 6 February 1951, with the current station provided in 2010.

## History

Opening on 6 February 1951, Westall station originally comprised two workers-only platforms for staff at the adjacent Martin & King railway coach-building factory. On 1 June 1959, the station became available to the general public, and all services began stopping there. The station, like the locality itself, gets its name from an early market garden proprietor who lived in the area.
On 19 July 1975, the former timber station building on Platform 1 was damaged by fire. In 1985, boom barriers were provided at the former Westall Road level crossing, which was located at the down end of the station.
The station had a stabling yard located at its southern end, as well as a number of industrial sidings serving nearby factories. On 17 April 1998, the Westall train maintenance centre was officially opened in the former goods yard, as part of the decentralisation of train stabling and maintenance from the former Jolimont Yards. The buildings were approximately 2,850 m$^2$ in size, and permitted bogie repair and replacement, under-carriage and overhead work. The facility cost $15 million, which also included the Bayswater facility.
In 2000, the Westall Road level crossing was grade separated, and replaced with a road overpass. By 4 February 2001, the boom barriers at the former level crossing were decommissioned.
On 26 July 2006, a fire in the waiting room on Platform 1 caused major damage to half the station building, the ticket machines, seats and a section of the platform. The city-bound platform was closed off and passenger services to Flinders Street operated express from Springvale to Clayton, bypassing Westall, until temporary fencing was placed around the building. The damaged section was subsequently demolished and rebuilt.
In May 2008, the Victorian State Government announced that the Westall station precinct would receive a $151 million upgrade, which included a rebuilt station, a new third platform, a third 2.6-kilometre track between Centre Road and Springvale Road and additional storage space at the Westall stabling yard. Work commenced in January 2010, with the majority of the works completed by October of that year. Following these works, Westall was upgraded to a Premium Station.

## Platforms and services

Westall has one side platform (Platform 1) and one island platform with two faces (Platforms 2 and 3), linked by a footbridge. Access to the platforms is via stairs and lifts. The side platform features a customer service window, an enclosed waiting room and toilets, while the island platform features an enclosed waiting room. A number of services terminate at Westall and return to the city.
It is served by Pakenham and Cranbourne line trains.
Platform 1:
* Pakenham line all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street
* Cranbourne line all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street
Platform 2:
* Pakenham line all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street
* Cranbourne line all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street
* Pakenham line all stations services to East Pakenham
* Cranbourne line all stations services to Cranbourne
Platform 3:
* Pakenham line all stations services to East Pakenham
* Cranbourne line all stations services to Cranbourne
Future services: In addition to the current services, the Network Development Plan – Metropolitan Rail proposes linking the Pakenham and Cranbourne lines to both the Sunbury line and under-construction Melbourne Airport rail link via the Metro Tunnel.
* Sunbury line express services to West Footscray and Sunbury (2025 onwards)
* Airport line express services to Melbourne Airport (2033 onwards)

## Transport links

Ventura Bus Lines operates two bus routes via Westall station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:
* 704 : to Oakleigh station
* 824 : Moorabbin station – Parkmore Shopping Centre

## Gallery

* North-west bound view from Platform 2, June 2013