Watsonia railway station

Watsonia railway station is a commuter railway station on the Hurstbridge line, which is part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the north-eastern suburb of Watsonia, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Watsonia station is a ground level unstaffed station, featuring an island platform. It opened on 23 June 1924, with the current station provided in 1977.^[5]

Watsonia
PTV commuter rail station
North-east bound view of station building and Platform 2, May 2014
General information
Location	Greensborough Highway, Watsonia, Victoria 3087 City of Banyule Australia
Coordinates	37°42′40″S 145°05′02″E
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line(s)	Hurstbridge
Distance	19.92 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	2 (1 island)
Tracks	2
Connections	Bus
Construction
Structure type	Ground
Parking	350
Accessible	No—steep ramp
Other information
Status	Operational, premium station
Station code	WAT
Fare zone	Myki Zone 2
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	23 June 1924; 100 years ago (1924-06-23)
Rebuilt	11 December 1977
Electrified	April 1923 (1500 V DC overhead)
Previous names	Collina (during construction)
Passengers
2005–2006	510,050[1]
2006–2007	527,193[1]  3.36%
2007–2008	578,149[1]  9.66%
2008–2009	598,000[2]  3.43%
2009–2010	632,000[2]  5.69%
2010–2011	655,000[2]  3.64%
2011–2012	619,000[2]  5.5%
2012–2013	Not measured[2]
2013–2014	669,000[2]  8.08%
2014–2015	643,585[1]  3.79%
2015–2016	710,845[3]  10.45%
2016–2017	711,914[3]  0.15%
2017–2018	614,113[3]  13.74%
2018–2019	715,500[4]  16.5%
2019–2020	577,000[4]  19.36%
2020–2021	242,150[4]  58%
2021–2022	303,800[4]  25.45%
Services
Preceding station Metro Trains Following station Macleod towards Flinders Street Hurstbridge line Greensborough towards Eltham or Hurstbridge
Track layout Legend to Macleod 1 2 to Greensborough

History

Watsonia station was provisionally known as Collina during construction.^[5] Like the suburb itself, the station is named after Frank Watson, a local landowner who subdivided his property, Grace Park, into the Grace Park Station Estate.^[6][7]

The current station dates back to 1977, when that section of the railway line was lowered to remove a number of level crossings.^[8] In 1979, the line between Macleod and Greensborough stations was duplicated.^[5]

During 1988-1989, the present Greensborough Highway overpass, located nearby in the down direction from the station, was provided.^[9]

In December 2007, Watsonia was upgraded to a premium station.^[10]

Facilities, platforms and services

Watsonia is located in a deep cutting, between the Greensborough Highway and Watsonia Road. It has one island platform with two faces, with access to the platforms provided by a pedestrian overpass and a ramp. The station features a customer service window, a coffee shop, an enclosed waiting room, and toilets.

It is served by Hurstbridge line trains.^[11]

Platform 1:

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

Platform 2:

•  Hurstbridge line  all stations services to Greensborough, Eltham and Hurstbridge

Transport links

Dysons operates two bus routes via Watsonia station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  514 : Eltham station – Glenroy station^[12]
•  566 : Lalor – Northland Shopping Centre^[13]