Sandown Park railway station, Melbourne

Sandown Park 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 Springvale, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Sandown Park station is a ground-level unstaffed station, featuring an island platform. It opened 19 June 1965.^[4][5]

Sandown Park
PTV commuter rail station
South-east bound view from Platform 2, October 2024
General information
Location	Lightwood Road, Springvale, Victoria 3171 City of Greater Dandenong Australia
Coordinates	37°57′24″S 145°09′48″E
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line(s)	Cranbourne Pakenham
Distance	25.68 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	2 (1 island)
Tracks	2
Construction
Structure type	At-grade
Parking	250 spaces
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Accessible	No — steep ramp
Other information
Status	Operational, unstaffed
Station code	SNP
Fare zone	Myki Zone 2
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	19 June 1965; 59 years ago (1965-06-19)
Electrified	December 1922 (1500 V DC overhead)
Previous names	Oakleigh Racecourse (1889-1892)
Passengers
2005–2006	415,698[1]
2006–2007	466,021[1]  12.1%
2007–2008	455,989[1]  2.15%
2008–2009	404,270[2]  11.34%
2009–2010	440,579[2]  8.98%
2010–2011	443,853[2]  0.74%
2011–2012	411,211[2]  7.35%
2012–2013	Not measured[2]
2013–2014	526,464[2]  28.02%
2014–2015	504,513[1]  4.16%
2015–2016	571,573[2]  13.29%
2016–2017	607,300[2]  6.25%
2017–2018	527,513[2]  13.13%
2018–2019	537,382[2]  1.87%
2019–2020	443,950[2]  17.38%
2020–2021	178,800[2]  59.72%
2021–2022	189,600[3]  6.04%
2022–2023	315,850[3]  66.58%
Services
Preceding station Metro Trains Following station Springvale towards Flinders Street Pakenham line Noble Park towards Cranbourne or East Pakenham Cranbourne line
Track layout Legend to Springvale 1 2 to Noble Park

History

1889-1955

Sandown Park originally opened on 12 August 1889 as Oakleigh Racecourse.^[5] It was renamed Sandown Park in 1892.^[4] Named after Sandown Park in Surrey, England,^[6] the station was built to service the nearby Sandown Racecourse, and was only used for racecourse traffic.

Upon opening, the station did not feature in any timetables for the Eastern line.^[5] By 1892, it was featured in timetables for the first time.^[5]

By 1909, in addition to the two main lines, there was a signal box and booking office located at the up end of the station,^[5] and two sidings each over 600 metres long on the eastern side of the tracks,^[5] for the stabling of special race services. The station had no platform on the up track, instead having an island platform on the down track, with the other face serving one of the sidings on the eastern side.^[5][7]

By 1929, four sidings existed at the down end of the station, parallel to the main lines.^[5] In 1937, a crossover at the down end of the station was abolished^[4][5] and, in 1943, three sidings that adjoined the back platform road were abolished.^[4][5] By 1954, the back platform road and the remaining siding were placed out of use.^[4][5] On 16 May 1955, Sandown Park was closed.^[4][5]

1965-present

On 19 June 1965, Sandown Park reopened as an island platform,^[4][5] coinciding with the first race day meeting at the adjacent racecourse.^[8][9] Like the first station, it was open for passengers on race days only.^[4][5] On October 4 of that year, it was opened for general passenger traffic.^[4][5]

The station once had a second exit and a pedestrian underpass at the up end of the platform, but that has since been closed and filled in.

Nearby, towards Noble Park, the Corrigan Road level crossing was removed in 2018, as part of the Victorian Government's Level Crossing Removal Project (LXRP).^[10]

Platforms and services

A PID on Platform 2 displaying an East Pakenham-bound service, October 2024

A High Capacity Metro Train on a Flinders Street via City Loop-bound service arrives at Platform 1, October 2024

Sandown Park has one island platform with two faces. It is serviced by Metro Trains' Cranbourne and Pakenham line services.^[11][12]

Platform 1:

•  Cranbourne line  all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street
•  Pakenham line  all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street

Platform 2:

•  Cranbourne line  all stations services to Cranbourne
•  Pakenham line  all stations and limited express services to East Pakenham

Future services:
In addition to the current services, the PTV Network Development Plan proposes linking the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines to both the Sunbury line and under-construction Melbourne Airport rail link via the Metro Tunnel.^[13]

•  Sunbury line  express services to West Footscray and Sunbury (2025 onwards)
•  Airport line  express services to Melbourne Airport (2033 onwards)

Gallery

• 
  South-east bound view from Platform 2, June 2014
• 
  North-west bound view from Platform 1, October 2024
• 
  Station building on Platform 2, October 2024
• 
  A V/Line VLocity set on a Traralgon-bound service passes Platform 2, October 2024
• 
  Station entrance and interior building to the platforms, October 2024
• 
  The entrance ramp to the platforms from the underpass, October 2024
• 
  Station entrance and underpass to the platforms, October 2024