Balaclava railway station, Melbourne

Balaclava railway station is a commuter railway station on the Sandringham line, which is part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the south-eastern suburb of Balaclava, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Balaclava station is a ground level premium station, featuring two side platforms, with a customer service desk on platform 1. It opened on 19 December 1859, with the current station provided in 2014.^[4]

Balaclava
PTV commuter rail station
Northbound view from Platform 2, March 2024
General information
Location	Carlisle Street, Balaclava, Victoria 3183 City of Port Phillip Australia
Coordinates	37°52′10″S 144°59′36″E
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line(s)	Sandringham
Distance	9.09 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	2 side
Tracks	2
Connections	Tram
Construction
Structure type	Elevated
Accessible	Yes—step free access
Other information
Status	Operational, premium station
Station code	BCV
Fare zone	Myki Zone 1
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	19 December 1859; 165 years ago (1859-12-19)
Rebuilt	1981 10 October 2014
Electrified	May 1919 (1500 V DC overhead)
Passengers
2005–2006	794,072[1]
2006–2007	893,591[1]  12.53%
2007–2008	981,598[1]  9.84%
2008–2009	1,098,892[2]  11.94%
2009–2010	1,151,160[2]  4.75%
2010–2011	1,163,197[2]  1.04%
2011–2012	1,046,436[2]  10.03%
2012–2013	Not measured[2]
2013–2014	1,106,583[2]  5.74%
2014–2015	1,098,253[1]  0.75%
2015–2016	1,212,350[2]  10.38%
2016–2017	1,271,058[2]  4.84%
2017–2018	1,309,198[2]  3%
2018–2019	1,114,565[2]  14.86%
2019–2020	923,000[2]  17.18%
2020–2021	416,700[2]  54.85%
2021–2022	468,900[3]  12.52%
Services
Preceding station Metro Trains Following station Windsor towards Flinders Street Sandringham line Ripponlea towards Sandringham
Track layout Legend to Windsor 1 2 to Ripponlea

Balaclava is an elevated station, and is located above the Carlisle Street rail overpass.

History

Balaclava station opened on 19 December 1859, when the railway line from Windsor was extended to North Brighton.^[4] Like the suburb itself, the station was named after the Battle of Balaclava, which occurred during the Crimean War in 1854.^[5][6]

On 3 December 1977, the station was damaged by fire.^[4] In 1981, the station buildings were rebuilt.^[7]

In 1996, two men found $200,000 in a drum buried beneath one of the platforms.^[8] They handed the money in to the police and the find was reported in the media. In the same week, another man found a second drum under the platform, containing a similar quantity of money, which he also turned in to the police. Because no one claimed it, the men were granted ownership of the money they found, despite being considered trespassers on land owned by the then Public Transport Corporation.^[9]

In June 2012, a $13.3 million upgrade to the station was announced. It involved widening the platforms, improving stair and ramp access, signage, booking office facilities, waiting rooms, wheelchair shelters and toilets, and the provision of new station canopies to increase weather protection.^[10] CCTV cameras were added, as well as provision for future lifts. In October 2014, construction works were completed, with Balaclava upgraded to a premium station.^{[11][12][13][14]}

Following a 2019 commitment by the Federal Government, the station was due to receive an upgraded commuter car-park. However, this was scrapped by the same government in 2021.^[15]

Platforms and services

Balaclava has two side platforms. It is served by Sandringham line trains.^[16]

Platform 1:

•  Sandringham line  all stations services to Flinders Street

Platform 2:

•  Sandringham line  all stations services to Sandringham

Transport links

Yarra Trams operates two routes via Balaclava station:

• : Melbourne University – East Malvern^[17]
• : Melbourne University – Kew^[18]

Gallery

• 
  North-west bound view from Platform 1, January 2007
• 
  Southbound view from Platform 1, October 2017
• 
  Southbound view from Platform 2, October 2021