Ferntree Gully railway station

Ferntree Gully railway station is a commuter railway station on the Belgrave line, part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the eastern Melbourne suburb of Ferntree Gully in Victoria, Australia. Ferntree Gully is a ground level premium station, featuring two side platforms. It opened on 5 December 1889, with the current station provided in 1976.^[4]

Ferntree Gully
PTV commuter rail station
Northbound view from Platform 1, April 2006
General information
Location	Station Street, Ferntree Gully, Victoria 3156 City of Knox Australia
Coordinates	37°52′54″S 145°17′43″E
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line(s)	Belgrave
Distance	35.89 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	2 side
Tracks	2
Connections	Bus
Construction
Structure type	Ground
Parking	415
Bicycle facilities	25
Accessible	Yes — step free access
Other information
Status	Operational, premium station
Station code	FTG
Fare zone	Myki Zone 2
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	4 December 1889; 134 years ago (1889-12-04)
Rebuilt	1976
Electrified	October 1925 (1500 V DC overhead)
Previous names	Lower Ferntree Gully (1889-1962) Ferntree Gully (1962-1972) Fern Tree Gully (1972-1977)
Passengers
2005–2006	370,614[1]
2006–2007	413,707[1]  11.62%
2007–2008	485,061[1]  17.24%
2008–2009	467,512[2]  3.61%
2009–2010	471,367[2]  0.82%
2010–2011	518,688[2]  10.03%
2011–2012	500,731[2]  3.46%
2012–2013	Not measured[2]
2013–2014	427,814[2]  14.56%
2014–2015	420,094[1]  1.8%
2015–2016	448,211[2]  6.69%
2016–2017	353,933[2]  21.03%
2017–2018	463,431[2]  30.93%
2018–2019	491,141[2]  5.97%
2019–2020	375,900[2]  23.46%
2020–2021	162,600[2]  56.74%
2021–2022	188,800[3]  16.11%
2022–2023	246,500[3]  30.56%
Services
Preceding station Metro Trains Following station Boronia towards Flinders Street Belgrave line Upper Ferntree Gully towards Belgrave Boronia towards Ringwood Belgrave line Shuttle services
Track layout Legend to Boronia Blind Creek 1 2 Alpine Street to Upper Ferntree Gully

Initially opened as Lower Ferntree Gully, the station was given the name Ferntree Gully on 1 October 1962, before it was renamed Fern Tree Gully on 29 February 1972 and finally reverted back to its current name of Ferntree Gully in May 1977.^[5]

History

Ferntree Gully station opened on 5 December 1889, when the railway line from Ringwood was extended to Upper Ferntree Gully.^[5] Like the suburb itself, the station was named after a fern tree gully that is located nearby in the Dandenong Ranges National Park.^[6]

In 1955, a goods siding at the station was abolished^[5] and, on 19 December 1959, the station was closed to all goods traffic.^[5] In 1963, flashing light signals were provided at the Alpine Street level crossing, located nearby in the down direction of the station.^[5]

In 1976, the current station buildings were provided, when the former signal panel was relocated into the new building.^[5] In 1977, the panel was abolished^[5] and, in that year, boom barriers were provided at the Alpine Street level crossing.^[7]

On 18 November 2008, it was announced that the station would be upgraded to a premium station. Work began in early 2009, and was completed by December of that year.^[8] On 31 July 2017, with a budget of $20 million, work began to add 215 new parking spaces at the station, which was completed by 1 December of that year.^[9]

South of the station, the double track railway becomes single track through to Belgrave.^[10]

Platforms and services

Ferntree Gully has two side platforms. It is served by Belgrave line trains.^[11]

Platform 1:

•  Belgrave line  all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street; all stations shuttle services to Ringwood

Platform 2:

•  Belgrave line  all stations services to Upper Ferntree Gully and Belgrave

Transport links

Ventura Bus Lines operates five routes via Ferntree Gully station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  691 : Boronia station – Waverley Gardens Shopping Centre^[12]
•  693 : Belgrave station – Oakleigh station^[13]
•  755 : Bayswater station – Westfield Knox^[14]
• Night Bus  967 : Glen Waverley station – Croydon station (Saturday and Sunday mornings only)^[15]
• FlexiRide Rowville^[16]

Gallery

• 
  Station building and entrance to Platform 1,
  April 2006
• 
  Aerial view of the Ferntree Gully Quarry Recreational Reserve, minutes away from the station, January 2019

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. Victorian Railways Weekly Notice No. 9 of 1972.
5. "Ferntree Gully". vicsig.net. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
6. "Ferntree Gully". Victorian Places. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
7. "SRS Showday Tour Notes Box Hill - Lilydale & Belgrave 3 November 1998" (PDF). VR History by Andrew Waugh. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
8. "Star News Group - Staff for station". Archived from the original on 8 October 2009. Retrieved 25 December 2008.
9. VicTrak Station car park upgrades: Ferntree Gully
10. "Belgrave Line". vicsig.net. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
11. "Belgrave Line". Public Transport Victoria.
12. "691 Boronia - Waverley Gardens via Ferntree Gully & Stud Park". Public Transport Victoria.
13. "693 Belgrave - Oakleigh via Ferntree Gully & Brandon Park". Public Transport Victoria.
14. "755 Bayswater - Knox City via Basin & Boronia & Ferntree Gully". Public Transport Victoria.
15. "967 Glen Waverley Station - Croydon Station via Knox City". Public Transport Victoria. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
16. "FlexiRide Rowville". Public Transport Victoria. Retrieved 16 April 2023.

External links

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