Cranbourne railway station

Not to be confused with Cranbourne East railway station.

Cranbourne railway station is a commuter railway station and the terminus of the Cranbourne line, which is part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the south-eastern suburb of Cranbourne, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Cranbourne station is a ground level unstaffed station, featuring an island platform with two faces. It opened on 1 October 1888, with the current station provided in 2008. It initially closed on 24 July 1993, then reopened on 24 March 1995.^[4]

Cranbourne
PTV commuter rail station
Southbound view from Platform 1, with two Comeng trains on both platforms, August 2014
General information
Location	Station Street, Cranbourne, Victoria 3977 City of Casey Australia
Coordinates	38°06′00″S 145°16′52″E
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line(s)	Cranbourne
Distance	45.12 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	2 (1 island)
Tracks	2
Connections	Bus Coach
Construction
Structure type	Ground
Parking	641
Bicycle facilities	Available
Accessible	Yes — step free access
Other information
Status	Operational, premium station
Station code	CBE
Fare zone	Myki Zone 2
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	1 October 1888; 136 years ago (1888-10-01)
Closed	24 July 1993
Rebuilt	24 March 1995 November 2008
Electrified	March 1995 (1500 V DC overhead)
Passengers
2005–2006	343,546[1]
2006–2007	403,062[1]  17.32%
2007–2008	481,170[1]  19.37%
2008–2009	565,958[2]  17.62%
2009–2010	626,873[2]  10.76%
2010–2011	686,372[2]  9.49%
2011–2012	684,704[2]  0.24%
2012–2013	Not measured[2]
2013–2014	600,142[2]  12.35%
2014–2015	643,244[1]  7.18%
2015–2016	751,998[2]  16.9%
2016–2017	819,114[2]  8.92%
2017–2018	772,094[2]  5.74%
2018–2019	817,742[2]  5.91%
2019–2020	773,050[2]  5.46%
2020–2021	407,700[2]  47.26%
2021–2022	462,300[3]  13.39%
2022–2023	787,600[3]  70.36%
Services
Preceding station Metro Trains Following station Merinda Park towards Flinders Street or Dandenong Cranbourne line Terminus Merinda Park towards Sunbury Sunshine–Dandenong corridor (under construction)
Former services Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station Line open   South Gippsland line   Clyde
Track layout Legend to Merinda Park 1 2 Former South Gippsland line
Location Cranbourne Location within Melbourne

History

Cranbourne opened as a station on the South Gippsland line. Until 24 July 1993, it was served by V/Line trains to Leongatha and beyond.^[5] As with the suburb itself, the station gets its name from the Cranbourne Inn, established in the mid-19th century by the Ruffy brothers, who were squatters in the area.^[6] The area was named either after a town in Berkshire, England, or Viscount Cranborne.^[6]

Between March 1920 and June 1956, trains regularly operated from sidings about a mile south of the station, dispatching between ten and thirty goods trucks a week, loaded with locally mined construction-quality sand.^[7]

In 1959, flashing light signals were provided at the former South Gippsland Highway level crossing, which was at the down end of the station.^[4]

In early 1973, a water tank that had been located within the former station yard was removed.^[8]

In 1981, flashing light signals were provided at the former Camms Road level crossing, which was located in the up direction from the station.^[4] Boom barriers were installed during the electrification of the line.

In November 1993, Train Order Working replaced Electric Staff safeworking to Cranbourne.^[4] On 24 March 1995, the electrification and power signalling of the line from Dandenong was commissioned.^[9][10][11] In 1994, during the electrification project, the original station building was removed by the Mornington Railway Preservation Society.^[12] The former goods shed, and a number of tracks, had been removed from the station yard by August of that year.^[13]

The last regular train beyond Cranbourne ran on 15 January 1998, when sand trains from Koala Siding (near Nyora) to Spotswood ceased operation.^[14]

In April 2008, work started on the construction of six train stabling sidings at the station, to enable more trains to run on the line at peak times without having to duplicate the line. The work was completed in November of that year.^[4][15] As part of that project, the station and bus interchange received an upgrade.^[16]

At the 2018 and 2022 state elections, the Coalition promised to extend the Cranbourne line to the suburb of Clyde.^[17]

On 30 November 2018, the Level Crossing Removal Project announced that the Camms Road level crossing would be grade-separated.^[18][19] On 25 June 2021, designs for the level crossing were released, which involved raising Camms Road over the railway line via an overpass.^[20] Construction commenced on the project in early 2023^[21] and, on 30 November of that year, the level crossing was abolished, with the overpass opening to vehicular traffic.^[22]

The Level Crossing Removal Project was also involved in the duplication of the railway line between Cranbourne and Dandenong.^[23] Major work started in 2020, and was completed by 13 February 2022, a year ahead of schedule.^[24][25] The duplication also involved a new timetable for the Cranbourne line, with services operating roughly every 10 minutes during the morning peak-hour.^[25]

Platforms, facilities and services

Cranbourne has one island platform with two faces. The station building has a customer service window, two enclosed waiting rooms, and toilets. It is served by Cranbourne line trains.^[26]

Platform 1:

•  Cranbourne line  all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street; all stations shuttle services to Dandenong

Platform 2:

•  Cranbourne line  all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street; all stations shuttle services to Dandenong

By June 2025, it is planned that trains on the Cranbourne line will be through-routed with those on the Sunbury line, via the new Metro Tunnel.

Transport links

Cranbourne Transit operates eight bus routes via Cranbourne station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  791 : to Frankston station^[27]
•  792 : to Pearcedale^[28]
•  795 : to Warneet^[29]
•  796 : to Clyde^[30]
•  798 : Cranbourne Park Shopping Centre – Selandra Rise (Cranbourne East)^[31]
•  893 : Cranbourne Park Shopping Centre – Dandenong station^[32]
•  897 : Clyde North – Lynbrook station (via Cranbourne Park Shopping Centre)^[33]
•  898 : to Clyde North^[34]

Ventura Bus Lines operates three routes via Cranbourne station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  760 : to Seaford station^[35]
•  841 : Narre Warren North – Cranbourne^[36]
• Night Bus  982 : Dandenong station – Cranbourne (Saturday and Sunday mornings only)^[37]

References

1. Estimated Annual Patronage by Network Segment Financial Year 2005–2006 to 2018–19 Archived 17 April 2022 at the Wayback Machine Department of Transport
2. Railway station and tram stop patronage in Victoria for 2008–2021 Archived 17 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine Philip Mallis
3. Annual metropolitan train station patronage (station entries) Archived 6 March 2023 at the Wayback Machine Data Vic
4. "Cranbourne". vicsig.net. Archived from the original on 25 December 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
5. Banger, Chris (March 1997). "Rail Passenger Service Withdrawals Since 1960". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. pp. 77–82.
6. "Cranbourne". Victorian Places. Archived from the original on 9 March 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
7. Cauchi, Mark (February 2019). "Rails Through the Dunes – The Cranbourne Sand Sidings, Part Two". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. pp. 38–51.
8. "Way and Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. March 1973. p. 54.
9. "Show of hands for a new rail service". The Age. 25 March 1995. p. 7.
10. "Cranbourne Electrification Opened" Railway Digest May 1995 page 16
11. Fiddian, Mark (1997). Trains, Tracks, Travellers. A history of the Victorian Railways. South Eastern Independent Newspapers. p. 154. ISBN 1-875475-12-5.
12. "Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. August 1994. p. 250.
13. "Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. October 1994. p. 317.
14. "Farewell – The Sand Train". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. February 1998. pp. 71–76.
15. "Media Release: Cranbourne Station Train Stabling Project on Track". Minister for Public Transport Media Release. www.dpc.vic.gov.au. Archived from the original on 22 July 2008. Retrieved 24 April 2008.
16. Bichel, Lia (13 November 2008). "$37m train transformation". Cranbourne Star News. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
17. Jacks, Timna (11 July 2018). "Matthew Guy pledges nearly $500m to extend Cranbourne train line". The Age. Archived from the original on 17 August 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
18. "More level crossing removals on the way". Level Crossing Removal Project. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
19. "Camms Road, Cranbourne". Level Crossing Removal Project. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
20. "Designs released for Camms Road". Level Crossing Removal Project. Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
21. "New shared user path opens on the Cranbourne Line". Victoria's Big Build. 8 May 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
22. "Camms Road 73rd level crossing gone for good". Victoria's Big Build. December 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
23. "Cranbourne Line Upgrade". Level Crossing Removal Project. Archived from the original on 22 March 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
24. "Works ramping up on the Cranbourne Line Upgrade". Level Crossing Removal Project. Archived from the original on 24 March 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
25. "Cranbourne Line duplicated, Greens Road crossing removed and new station open". Level Crossing Removal Project. 13 February 2022. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
26. "Cranbourne Line". Public Transport Victoria.
27. "791 Frankston Station – Cranbourne Station". Public Transport Victoria. Archived from the original on 2 May 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
28. "792 Cranbourne Station – Pearcedale". Public Transport Victoria. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
29. "795 Warneet - Cranbourne". Public Transport Victoria.
30. "796 Cranbourne Station - Clyde". Public Transport Victoria.
31. "798 Cranbourne Park SC – Selandra Rise". Public Transport Victoria. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
32. "893 Cranbourne Park SC – Dandenong Station". Public Transport Victoria. Archived from the original on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
33. "897 Clyde North – Lynbrook Station via Cranbourne Park SC". Public Transport Victoria. Archived from the original on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
34. "898 Clyde North – Cranbourne Station via Cranbourne Park SC". Public Transport Victoria. Archived from the original on 3 May 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
35. "760 Cranbourne – Seaford via Carrum Downs". Public Transport Victoria. Archived from the original on 2 May 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
36. "841 Narre Warren North - Cranbourne via Narre Warren & Cranbourne North". Public Transport Victoria.
37. "982 Dandenong Station – Cranbourne via Endeavour Hills & Hampton Park". Public Transport Victoria. Archived from the original on 18 February 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.

External links

• Media related to Cranbourne railway station, Melbourne at Wikimedia Commons
• Melway map