Blackburn railway station, Melbourne

Blackburn

Eastbound view from Platform 3 in February 2013
Location Railway Road, Blackburn
Coordinates 37°49′12″S 145°09′00″E / 37.8201°S 145.1500°E / -37.8201; 145.1500Coordinates: 37°49′12″S 145°09′00″E / 37.8201°S 145.1500°E / -37.8201; 145.1500
Owned by VicTrack
Operated by Metro
Line(s) Lilydale
Belgrave
Distance 18.67 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms 3 (1 island, 1 side)
Tracks 3
Construction
Structure type Ground
Other information
Status Premium station
Station code BBN
Fare zone Myki zone 2
Website Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened 25 December 1882
Electrified Yes
Services
Preceding station   Metro Trains   Following station
Lilydale line
toward Lilydale
Belgrave line
toward Belgrave

Blackburn railway station is located on the Lilydale and Belgrave lines in Victoria, Australia. It serves the eastern Melbourne suburb of Blackburn opening as Blackburn Creek on 25 December 1882, being renamed Blackburn.[1]

History

The temporary walkway connecting the central platforms to the bus interchange north of platform 3, during the Middleborough Road works in January 2007

On 1 December 1882, the railway from Melbourne to Camberwell was extended to Lilydale.

At this time, the Lilydale line had only a single track, and used a token-based system of signalling. On 12 August 1889, Blackburn was designated a 'crossing station', meaning that it had a loop line to allow trains to pass each other. In December 1891, a second track was added to the section of the Lilydale line between Box Hill and Ringwood stations. At this time, Blackburn had two platforms.

Services terminating at Blackburn began in the late 1890s, due to the large number of passengers visiting the Blackburn Lake Sanctuary. However, there were relatively few trains passing through Blackburn - around two trains per hour in 1901.

The Lilydale line was electrified as far as Box Hill station on 17 December 1922. By the end of January 1923, electrification had proceeded past Blackburn as far as Ringwood.

Automatic signalling, which had reached Box Hill in 1929, was finally extended to Blackburn on 13 July 1958. However, automatic signalling was not installed between Blackburn and Mitcham stations until 13 November 1960. Boom barriers replaced hand gates at Blackburn Road in 1970.[2]

In 1980, the goods siding was removed and the old station was demolished (although part of the south platform building remains). It was replaced with a three-platform station so trains could terminate while Box Hill station was being rebuilt. A new ramp from the old tunnel now provides pedestrian access to the central island platforms. Victorian Railways' plan in the late 1970s was to add the third track to the south, but Nunawading Council objected because it would destroy the park there. By 2001, all services that formerly terminated at Box Hill had been extended to Blackburn.

It was upgraded to a Premium station in 1996.[3]

Platform 3 is only used on weekdays during peak hours (when trains are being terminated on Platform 2). This typically occurs from early morning 7am-12:30pm and mid afternoon 15:30-18:30.

In late 2006 and early 2007, grade separation works at the nearby Middleborough Road level crossing led to the closure of the line between Box Hill and Blackburn, and the construction of a temporary bus interchange at Blackburn for the bus services which replaced the trains. The carpark immediately to the north of platform 3 was converted into the interchange, and a walkway was constructed to allow passengers to cross from the central platforms to the interchange.[4] Blackburn again performed the role in early 2010 as grade separation was undertaken near Nunawading station at Springvale Road and again in 2014 when Mitcham Road and Rooks Road at Mitcham was separated.

In May 2014, the State Government announced a grade separation project to replace the nearby Blackburn Road level crossing, with a completion date of 2017.[5]

Vicroads are planning to start construction by the end of 2015, with an estimated completion time of 12-18 months.[6]

Facilities, platforms & services

Blackburn has one island platform with two faces and one side platform. The island platform features a ticket office and toilets. It is serviced by Metro Trains' Lilydale and Belgrave line services.[7][8]

Platforms 1:

Platforms 2:

Platforms 3:

Transport links

Transdev Melbourne operate three routes via Blackburn station:

Ventura Bus Lines operate three routes via Blackburn station:

References

  1. ↑ Blackburn Vicsig
  2. ↑ VR History by Andrew Waugh
  3. ↑ "Upgrading Eltham to a Premium Station". Newsrail. Australian Railway Heistorical Society. October 1997. p. 310.
  4. ↑ Middleborough Road Project Vicsig
  5. ↑ Three more notorious level crossings to be removed Premier of Victoria 2 May 2014
  6. ↑ Blackburn Road, Blackburn level crossing removal Vicroads - planned works
  7. ↑ Lilydale Line timetable Public Transport Victoria
  8. ↑ Belgrave Line timetable Public Transport Victoria
  9. ↑ Route 271 Box Hill – Ringwood timetable Archived 27 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Public Transport Victoria
  10. ↑ Route 279 Box Hill – Ringwood timetable Public Transport Victoria
  11. ↑ Route 901 Frankston - Melbourne Airport timetable Public Transport Victoria
  12. ↑ Route 703 Middle Brighton - Blackburn timetable Public Transport Victoria
  13. ↑ Route 736 Mitcham - Blackburn timetable Public Transport Victoria
  14. ↑ Route 765 Mitcham - Box Hill timetable Public Transport Victoria

External links

Media related to Blackburn railway station, Melbourne at Wikimedia Commons

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