Macaulay railway station

Macaulay railway station is a commuter railway station on the Upfield line, which is part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the inner northern suburb of North Melbourne, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Macaulay station is a ground level unstaffed station, featuring two side platforms. It opened on 1 December 1887, with the current station provided in 1976.^[4]

Macaulay
PTV commuter rail station
Southbound view from Platform 1, November 2022
General information
Location	Macaulay Road, North Melbourne, Victoria 3051 City of Melbourne Australia
Coordinates	37°47′41″S 144°56′10″E
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line(s)	Upfield
Distance	3.25 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	2 side
Tracks	2
Connections	Bus
Construction
Structure type	Ground
Accessible	Yes—step free access
Other information
Status	Operational, unstaffed
Station code	MAC
Fare zone	Myki Zone 1
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	1 December 1887; 136 years ago (1887-12-01)
Rebuilt	1976
Electrified	December 1920 (1500 V DC overhead)
Previous names	Macaulay Road (1887–1909)
Passengers
2005–2006	111,546[1]
2006–2007	125,455[1]  12.46%
2007–2008	136,978[1]  9.18%
2008–2009	155,371[2]  13.42%
2009–2010	167,037[2]  7.51%
2010–2011	179,966[2]  7.74%
2011–2012	172,612[2]  4.09%
2012–2013	Not measured[2]
2013–2014	195,887[2]  13.48%
2014–2015	205,840[1]  5.08%
2015–2016	246,887[2]  19.94%
2016–2017	243,417[2]  1.4%
2017–2018	248,158[2]  1.94%
2018–2019	289,550[2]  16.68%
2019–2020	249,450[2]  13.85%
2020–2021	101,750[2]  59.2%
2021–2022	126,350[3]  24.17%
Services
Preceding station Metro Trains Following station North Melbourne towards Flinders Street Upfield line Flemington Bridge towards Upfield
Track layout Legend to North Melbourne to Macaulay Stabling Sidings to Arden Street Sidings CityLink Arden Street Macaulay Road 1 2 to Flemington Bridge Electrified Non-electrified

Initially opened as Macaulay Road, the station was given its current name of Macaulay on 1 May 1909.

The station is located beside the Moonee Ponds Creek to its west, and surrounded mainly by factories and warehouses. Kensington, on the Craigieburn line, is only 400 m (1,300 ft) west of Macaulay, and is significantly closer to the residential area and handles a larger number of commuters.

The station is also located at ground level, beneath the CityLink tollway, which is supported atop concrete columns that are located outside the platform fencing.

History

Macaulay station opened on 1 December 1887, three years after the railway line from North Melbourne was extended to Coburg.^[4] The station is named after Macaulay Road, itself named after Thomas Babington Macaulay, a British politician and historian.^[5]

To the east of the station were a number of goods sidings, which opened after 1919, and have since been removed.^[6][7]

In May 1972, the suburban train stabling yard near the station, located towards North Melbourne, opened, as part of the City Loop project.^[8] Also in that year, automatic signalling was provided between Macaulay and Royal Park, replacing Double Line Block signalling,^[4] and boom barriers replacing interlocked gates at the Macaulay Road level crossing, located at the up end of the station,^[9] as well as the abolishment of the signal box.^[4] On 1 July 1975, parcel facilities at the station were abolished.^[10] In 1976, the current station buildings were provided.^[11]

On 17 November 1993, a light repair facility officially opened in the stabling yard, as part of the closure of the Jolimont Workshops.^[12] In 1997, a crossover at the down end of the station was abolished.^[4]

Platforms and services

Macaulay has two side platforms. It is serviced by Metro Trains' Upfield line services.^[13]

Platform 1:

•  Upfield line  all stations services to Flinders Street

Platform 2:

•  Upfield line  all stations services to Upfield

Transport links

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

•  402 : Footscray station – East Melbourne^[14]

Gallery

• 
  Northbound view from Platform 2, October 2005

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. "Macaulay". vicsig.net. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
5. "Macaulay Road". Melbourne Streets. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
6. "Victorian Railways signal diagram: Macaulay to North Fitzroy 27 13". www.signaldiagramsandphotos.com. Retrieved 15 August 2008. ^{[dead link]}
7. "Victorian Railways signal diagram: Macaulay to North Fitzroy 12 67". www.signaldiagramsandphotos.com. Retrieved 15 August 2008. ^{[dead link]}
8. SE Dornan & RG Henderson (1979). Electric Railways of Victoria. Australian Electric Traction Society. p. 93. ISBN 0-909459-06-1.
9. Andrew Waugh. "VR History by Andrew Waugh – Upfield Line" (PDF). VR History. Retrieved 24 February 2009.
10. "Traffic". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. October 1975. p. 226.
11. Vincent Adams Winter (1990). VR and VicRail: 1962–1983. p. 106. ISBN 0-9592069-3-0.
12. "News". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. August 1994. p. 251.
13. "Upfield Line". Public Transport Victoria.
14. "402 Footscray Station - East Melbourne via North Melbourne". Public Transport Victoria.

External links

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