Victoria Park railway station, Melbourne

Victoria Park railway station is a commuter railway station on the Mernda and Hurstbridge lines, part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the north-eastern Melbourne suburb of Abbotsford in Victoria, Australia. Victoria Park is an elevated unstaffed station, featuring two side platforms. It opened on 8 May 1888, with the current platforms provided in 1959 and station provided in 1981.^[4]

Victoria Park
PTV commuter rail station
Southbound view from Platform 2, June 2024
General information
Location	Little Turner Street, Abbotsford, Victoria 3067 City of Yarra Australia
Coordinates	37°47′57″S 144°59′40″E
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line(s)	Mernda Hurstbridge
Distance	5.42 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	2 side
Tracks	2
Connections	Bus
Construction
Structure type	Elevated
Accessible	No—steep ramp
Other information
Status	Operational, unstaffed
Station code	VPK
Fare zone	Myki Zone 1
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	8 May 1888; 136 years ago (1888-05-08)
Rebuilt	1959 1981
Electrified	July 1921 (1500 V DC overhead)
Previous names	Collingwood (1888-1909)
Passengers
2005–2006	342,230[1]
2006–2007	378,760[1]  10.67%
2007–2008	435,326[1]  14.93%
2008–2009	473,573[2]  8.78%
2009–2010	490,286[2]  3.53%
2010–2011	536,820[2]  9.5%
2011–2012	490,913[2]  8.55%
2012–2013	Not measured[2]
2013–2014	586,748[2]  19.52%
2014–2015	634,455[1]  8.13%
2015–2016	757,658[2]  19.41%
2016–2017	732,773[2]  3.28%
2017–2018	800,101[2]  9.19%
2018–2019	757,700[2]  5.3%
2019–2020	612,450[2]  19.17%
2020–2021	277,400[2]  54.7%
2021–2022	317,800[3]  14.56%
Services
Preceding station Metro Trains Following station Collingwood towards Flinders Street Mernda line Clifton Hill towards Mernda Hurstbridge line Clifton Hill towards Hurstbridge
Track layout Legend to Collingwood 1 2 Eastern Freeway to Clifton Hill Electrified Non-electrified

Initially opened as Collingwood, the station was given its current name of Victoria Park on 1 May 1909. A former goods yard is located adjacent to Platform 1, whilst a stabling siding, capable of holding two stabled trains, is located at the down (northern) end of the station.

History

Victoria Park station opened on 8 May 1888^[4] and, until 1901, the station was the terminus of the Collingwood to Heidelberg railway line. Until a direct connection with the Melbourne CBD was opened in 1901 between Princes Bridge and Collingwood Town Hall, the only connection to the city centre was via the indirect Inner Circle line.^[4]

On 21 March 1959, the station platforms were damaged by a fire that occurred at a nearby timber yard.^[5]

In 1981, the present pebbledash station buildings were provided,^[6] with the original timber pylons that supported the former buildings removed soon after.^[7]

The station is adjacent to Victoria Park, the former home of the Collingwood Football Club between 1892 and 1999.^[8] Large numbers of people used Victoria Park station to travel to and from AFL matches played at the stadium.

Announced as part of a $21.9 million package in the 2022/23 Victorian State Budget, Victoria Park, alongside other stations, will receive accessibility upgrades, the installation of CCTV and platform shelters.^[9] The development process will begin in late 2022 or 2023, with a timeline for the upgrades to be released once construction has begun.

Platforms and services

Victoria Park has two side platforms. It is serviced by Metro Trains' Mernda and Hurstbridge line services.^[10][11]

Platform 1:

•  Mernda line  all stations services to Flinders Street
•  Hurstbridge line  all stations services to Flinders Street

Platform 2:

•  Mernda line  all stations services to Mernda
•  Hurstbridge line  all stations and limited express services to Macleod, Greensborough, Eltham and Hurstbridge

Transport links

Kinetic Melbourne operates fifteen routes via Victoria Park station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  200 : Melbourne CBD (Queen Street) – Bulleen^[12]
•  202 : Yarra Bend Park – University of Melbourne^[13]
•  207 : Melbourne CBD (Queen Street) – Westfield Doncaster^[14]
•  246 : Elsternwick station – Clifton Hill^[15]
•  302 : Melbourne CBD (Lonsdale Street) – Box Hill station^[16]
•  303 : Melbourne CBD (Queen Street) – Ringwood North^[17]
•  304 : Melbourne CBD (Lonsdale Street) – Westfield Doncaster^[18]
•  305 : Melbourne CBD (Lonsdale Street) – The Pines Shopping Centre (peak-hour only)^[19]
•  309 : Melbourne CBD (Queen Street) – Donvale^[20]
•  318 : Melbourne CBD (Lonsdale Street) – Deep Creek Reserve (Doncaster East)^[21]
•  350 : Melbourne CBD (Queen Street) – La Trobe University Bundoora campus^[22]
• SmartBus  905 : Melbourne CBD (Lonsdale Street) – The Pines Shopping Centre^[23]
• SmartBus  906 : Melbourne CBD (Lonsdale Street) – Warrandyte^[24]
• SmartBus  907 : Melbourne CBD (Lonsdale Street) – Mitcham station^[25]
• SmartBus  908 : Melbourne CBD (Lonsdale Street) – The Pines Shopping Centre (peak-hour only)^[26]

McKenzie's Tourist Services operates one route via Victoria Park station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  684 : Eildon – Southern Cross station^[27]

Gallery

• 
  Southbound view from Platform 2, June 2014

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. "Victoria Park". vicsig.net. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
5. "From the Archives: Collingwood timber fire spreads to train station". The Age. 21 March 2019. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
6. Vincent Adams Winter (1990). VR and VicRail: 1962–1983. V.A. Winter. p. 107. ISBN 0-9592069-3-0.
7. "Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. June 1981. p. 134.
8. "Victoria Park". Collingwood Forever. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
9. "Improving transport accessibility across the state". Department of Transport (Victoria). Retrieved 7 September 2022.
10. "Mernda Line". Public Transport Victoria.
11. "Hurstbridge Line". Public Transport Victoria.
12. "200 City (Queen St) - Bulleen". Public Transport Victoria.
14. "207 City - Doncaster SC via Kew Junction". Public Transport Victoria.
15. "246 Elsternwick - Clifton Hill via St Kilda". Public Transport Victoria.
16. "302 City - Box Hill via Belmore Rd and Eastern Fwy". Public Transport Victoria.
17. "303 City - Ringwood North via Park Rd". Public Transport Victoria.
18. "304 City - Doncaster SC via Belmore Rd and Eastern Fwy". Public Transport Victoria.
19. "305 City - The Pines SC via Eastern Fwy". Public Transport Victoria.
20. "309 City - Donvale via Reynolds Rd". Public Transport Victoria.
21. "318 City - Deep Creek". Public Transport Victoria.
22. "350 City - La Trobe University via Eastern Fwy". Public Transport Victoria.
23. "905 City - The Pines SC via Eastern Fwy & Templestowe (SMARTBUS Service)". Public Transport Victoria.
24. "906 City - Warrandyte via The Pines SC (SMARTBUS service)". Public Transport Victoria.
25. "907 City - Mitcham via Doncaster Rd (SMARTBUS service)". Public Transport Victoria.
26. "908 City - The Pines SC via Eastern Fwy (SMARTBUS Service)". Public Transport Victoria.
27. "684 Eildon - Melbourne via Lilydale Station". Public Transport Victoria.

External links

• Melway map at street-directory.com.au