Baxter railway station

Baxter railway station is a commuter railway station on the Stony Point line, which is part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the town and suburb of Baxter, in Victoria, Australia. It opened on 1 October 1888, with the current station provided in 1984. The station was initially closed on 22 June 1981, then was reopened on 27 September 1984.^[3]

Baxter
PTV commuter rail station
Westbound view of the station platform, April 2008
General information
Location	Baxter-Tooradin Road, Baxter, Victoria 3911 Shire of Mornington Peninsula Australia
Coordinates	38°11′39″S 145°09′38″E
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line(s)	Stony Point (current) Mornington (formerly) Frankston (proposed)
Distance	51.97 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	1
Tracks	1
Connections	Bus
Construction
Structure type	Ground
Parking	Yes
Accessible	Yes—step free access
Other information
Status	Operational, unstaffed
Station code	BXR
Fare zone	Myki Zone 2
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	1 October 1888; 136 years ago (1888-10-01)
Closed	22 June 1981
Rebuilt	27 September 1984
Previous names	Mornington Junction (1888-1918)
Passengers
2015–2016	5,759[1]
2016–2017	5,057[1]  12.19%
2017–2018	4,695[1]  7.15%
2018–2019	3,397[1]  27.64%
2019–2020	2,000[1]  41.12%
2020–2021	1,850[1]  7.5%
2021–2022	1,500[2]  18.91%
2022–2023	2,150[2]  43.33%
Services
Preceding station Metro Trains Following station Leawarra towards Frankston Stony Point line Somerville towards Stony Point
Former services Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station Junction   Mornington branch   Moorooduc   List of closed railway stations in Melbourne
Track layout Legend to Leawarra Langwarrin (Demolished) Robinsons Road Golf Links Road 1 Baxter - Tooradin Road to Mornington railway line Watsons Creek Frankston - Flinders Road to Somerville

Initially opened as Mornington Junction, the station was given its current name of Baxter on 6 May 1918.^[3]

Langwarrin, a now demolished station on the Stony Point line, was located between Leawarra and Baxter.^[4]

History

Baxter station opened on 1 October 1888, when the railway line from Frankston was extended.^[3] It remained a terminus until 10 September 1889, when the line was extended to Hastings and Mornington.^[3] Like the town itself, the station was named after Captain Benjamin Baxter, who was the proprietor of the nearby Carrup Carrup pastoral run.^[5][6]

In 1972, flashing light signals were provided at the Baxter-Tooradin Road level crossing, located nearby in the Stony Point (down) direction of the station.^[7]

Baxter was formerly the junction for the Mornington line, which was closed to traffic in 1981.^[3] The junction, which was relocated in 1962,^[3] existed at the down end of the station, though the points were spiked and the line baulked just after the level crossing. In the near future, this junction will be reinstated by the extension of the Mornington Railway, a heritage railway organisation.

On 22 June 1981, the passenger service between Frankston and Stony Point was withdrawn and replaced with a bus service.^[3] On 16 September 1984, promotional trips for the reopening of the line began and,^[8] on 27 September of that year, the passenger service was reinstated.^[3]

By March 1989, the station operated under no-one in charge conditions.^[3]

In 2009, boom barriers were provided at the Baxter-Tooradin Road level crossing.^[9][10]

In 2023, the Victorian branch of the Liberal Party stated that the journey to Baxter was "too slow" and urgent upgrades to the line were needed.^[11]

Also occurring in that year, the points for the junction were abolished, with the line straight railed.^[3]

Platforms and services

Baxter has one platform. It is serviced by Metro Trains' Stony Point line services.^[12]

Platform 1:

•  Stony Point line  all stations services to Frankston; all stations services to Stony Point

Transport links

Ventura Bus Lines operates one bus route via Baxter station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  776 : Frankston station – Pearcedale^[13]

References

1. Railway station and tram stop patronage in Victoria for 2008-2021 Philip Mallis
2. Annual metropolitan train station patronage (station entries) Data Vic
3. "Baxter". vicsig.net. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
4. "Langwarrin". vicsig.net. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
5. "Baxter". Victorian Places. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
6. First, Jamie (7 January 2014). "The A-Z story of Melbourne's suburbs". Herald Sun. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
7. David Langley (January 1992). "Flashing Lights and Boom Barriers Dates of Installation". Somersault. Signalling Record Society Victoria. pp. 9–19.
8. "Traffic". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. November 1984. p. 344.
9. "Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. May 2009. p. 344.
10. "Signalling Alterations". Somersault. Signalling Record Society Victoria. May 2009. p. 42.
11. "SLOW TRAIN TO BAXTER GOES SLOWER THAN EVER - VibeWire Central". 2 February 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
12. "Stony Point Line". Public Transport Victoria.
13. "776 Frankston - Pearcedale via Baxter". Public Transport Victoria.

External links

• Melway map at street-directory.com.au