Albion railway station, Melbourne

Albion railway station is a commuter railway station on the Sunbury line, which is part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the western suburb of Albion, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Albion station is a ground level unstaffed station, featuring an island platform. It opened on 5 January 1860, with the current station provided in 1919. The station was originally closed on 1 January 1861, then reopened on 24 March 1891.^[4]

Albion
PTV commuter rail station
South-east bound view from Platform 1, December 2013
General information
Location	St Albans Road, Albion, Victoria 3020 City of Brimbank Australia
Coordinates	37.7772°S 144.8244°E / -37.7772; 144.8244
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line(s)	Sunbury
Distance	13.65 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	2 (1 island)
Tracks	4
Connections	Bus
Construction
Structure type	Ground
Parking	567
Bicycle facilities	18
Accessible	No—steep ramp
Other information
Status	Operational, host station
Station code	ALB
Fare zone	Myki Zone 1/2 overlap
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	5 January 1860; 164 years ago (1860-01-05)
Closed	1 January 1861
Rebuilt	24 March 1891 24 November 1919
Electrified	October 1921 (1500 V DC overhead)
Previous names	Albion and Darlington (1860-1861)
Passengers
2005–2006	609,932[1]
2006–2007	706,570[1]  15.84%
2007–2008	759,149[1]  7.44%
2008–2009	785,147[2]  3.42%
2009–2010	808,922[2]  3.02%
2010–2011	802,370[2]  0.8%
2011–2012	679,577[2]  15.3%
2012–2013	Not measured[2]
2013–2014	801,210[2]  17.89%
2014–2015	796,442[1]  0.59%
2015–2016	766,337[2]  3.77%
2016–2017	660,670[2]  13.78%
2017–2018	667,975[2]  1.1%
2018–2019	686,100[2]  2.71%
2019–2020	537,450[2]  21.66%
2020–2021	204,500[2]  61.95%
2021–2022	203,100[3]  0.68%
Services
Preceding station Metro Trains Following station Sunshine towards Flinders Street Sunbury line Ginifer towards Sunbury or Watergardens
Track layout Legend to Sunshine 1 2 to Albion–Jacana line to Ginifer Broad gauge, electrified Broad gauge, non-electrified Dual gauge, non-electrified

Initially opened as Albion and Darlington, the station was given its current name of Albion on 24 March 1891, upon its reopening.^[4]

The Melbourne – Sydney standard gauge line passes to the east of the station and, along with the Albion – Jacana freight line, branches off north of the station.

History

The Melbourne & Murray River Railway (now the Bendigo line) opened in 1859, operating from Footscray to Sunbury. By the early 1860s, the line had been extended to Bendigo. A station named Albion and Darlington was built on the site of the current station, opening on 5 January 1860. Albion and Darlington only remained open for a single year. In 1891, a new station, named Albion, opened to the west of the previous station. In 1919, Albion was relocated to its current site.^[4]

In 1961, the former Ballarat Road level crossing was grade separated, and was replaced with a road overpass, just north of the station.^[5]

Until 1961, the station had a signal box to control of the junction with the Albion – Jacana freight line, after which it was replaced by a signal panel, which was moved to the Sunshine signal box in 1965.^[5] In 1972, both platforms were extended.^[6] In 2022, both platforms were again extended at the up end.^[4]

As part of the Melbourne Airport rail link project, Albion is scheduled to be rebuilt. An 18-metre high flyover will be built above the station and Ballarat Road.^[7][8][9]

Platforms and services

Albion has one island platform with two faces. It is served by Sunbury line trains.^[10]

Platform 1:

•  Sunbury line  all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street

Platform 2:

•  Sunbury line  all stations services to Watergardens and Sunbury

By June 2025, it is planned that services on the Sunbury line will be through-routed to the Pakenham and Cranbourne lines, via the new Metro Tunnel.

Transport links

Kinetic Melbourne operates two bus routes via Albion station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  215 : Caroline Springs – Highpoint Shopping Centre^[11]
•  426 : Caroline Springs – Sunshine station^[12]

Transit Systems Victoria operates one bus route via Albion station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  456 : Sunshine station – Woodgrove Shopping Centre (Melton)^[13]

Gallery

• 
  South-east bound view from Platform 2,
  December 2013
• 
  North-west bound view from Platform 2 with a Comeng train at Platform 2 on a Sunbury bound service, December 2013

References

1. Estimated Annual Patronage by Network Segment Financial Year 2005-2006 to 2018-19 Department of Transport
2. Railway station and tram stop patronage in Victoria for 2008-2021 Philip Mallis
3. Annual metropolitan train station patronage (station entries) Data Vic
4. "Albion". vicsig.net. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
5. Dornan, S.E.; Henderson, R.G. (1979). Electric Railways of Victoria. Australian Electric Traction Society. p. 68. ISBN 0-909459-06-1.
6. "Weekly Notices-New Works". Divisional Diary. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division). September 1972. p. 7.
7. "Delivering New Stations For The West | Premier of Victoria". www.premier.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
8. Build, Victoria’s Big (6 October 2022). "New Station for Albion". Victoria’s Big Build. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
9. "Albion Station rebuild and flyover". Victoria's Big Build. State Government of Victoria. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
10. "Sunbury Line". Public Transport Victoria.
11. "215 Caroline Springs - Highpoint SC". Public Transport Victoria.
12. "426 Caroline Springs - Sunshine Station". Public Transport Victoria. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
13. "456 Sunshine Station - Melton via Caroline Springs". Public Transport Victoria. Retrieved 15 May 2023.

External links

• Media related to Albion railway station, Melbourne at Wikimedia Commons
• Melway map at street-directory.com.au