Fawkner railway station

Fawkner railway station is a commuter railway station on the Upfield line, part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the northern suburb of Hadfield in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Fawkner station is a ground-level unstaffed station, featuring two side platforms. It opened on 8 October 1889, with the current station provided in 1998. It initially closed on 13 July 1903, then reopened on 12 December 1906.

Fawkner
PTV commuter rail station
Southbound view from Platform 1, June 2012
General information
Location	Sydney Road, Hadfield, Victoria 3046 City of Merri-bek Australia
Coordinates	37°42′53″S 144°57′38″E
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line(s)	Upfield
Distance	13.23 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	2 side
Tracks	2
Connections	Bus
Construction
Structure type	Ground
Parking	80
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Accessible	Yes—step free access
Other information
Status	Operational, unstaffed
Station code	FAK
Fare zone	Myki Zone 1/2 overlap
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	8 October 1889; 135 years ago (1889-10-08)
Closed	13 July 1903
Rebuilt	12 December 1906 16 November 1998
Electrified	December 1920 (1500 V DC overhead)
Previous names	Fawkner Cemetery (1906–1914)
Passengers
2005–2006	131,392[1]
2006–2007	151,250[1]  15.11%
2007–2008	179,541[1]  18.7%
2008–2009	207,991[2]  15.84%
2009–2010	218,950[2]  5.27%
2010–2011	189,029[2]  13.67%
2011–2012	171,260[2]  9.4%
2012–2013	Not measured[2]
2013–2014	192,126[2]  12.18%
2014–2015	183,341[1]  4.57%
2015–2016	180,751[2]  5.92%
2016–2017	176,391[2]  2.41%
2017–2018	176,420[2]  0.01%
2018–2019	215,100[2]  21.92%
2019–2020	165,300[2]  23.15%
2020–2021	66,600[2]  59.7%
2021–2022	86,400[3]  29.73%
Services
Preceding station Metro Trains Following station Merlynston towards Flinders Street Upfield line Gowrie towards Upfield
Track layout Legend to Merlynston 1 2 Fawkner Cemetery Road to Gowrie

Initially opened as Fawkner, the station was renamed two times. It was renamed to Fawkner Cemetery upon its reopening on 12 December 1906, then was given its current name of Fawkner in 1914.^[4]

History

Fawkner station originally opened on 8 October 1889, when the railway line from Coburg was extended to Somerton.^[4] Like the suburb itself, the station was named after John Pascoe Fawkner, one of the founders of Melbourne.^[5]

It is located adjacent to the Fawkner Crematorium and Memorial Park, which opened in 1906, and from then until 1939, special mortuary trains operated.^[6] From October 1914, only seven trains operated to Fawkner daily, as well as the daily mortuary train to the cemetery.^[7] A former mortuary van is located near the entrance to Platform 2.

From 1920, Fawkner was the extent of suburban electrified services.^[4] From 1928 until 1959, an AEC railmotor was used to provide a connecting service north to Somerton.^[8][9] In that year, electrified services were extended to Upfield.^[4]

Also in 1959, flashing light signals were provided at the Cemetery Entrance level crossing, located nearby in the down direction of the station,^[4] and the line from Coburg was duplicated.^[4] However, the duplicated line converged at the up end of the station and, until 1998, the station had one platform (present day Platform 2). The second track and Platform 1 were added as part of the duplication of the line to Gowrie.^[10][11] Also in that year, boom barriers were provided at the Cemetery Entrance level crossing.^[12]

Platforms and services

Fawkner has two side platforms. It is serviced by Metro Trains' Upfield line services.^[13]

Platform 1:

•  Upfield line  all stations services to Flinders Street

Platform 2:

•  Upfield line  all stations services to Upfield

Transport links

Broadmeadows Bus Service operates two routes via Fawkner station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  530 : Campbellfield Plaza Shopping Centre – Coburg^[14]
•  531 : Upfield station – North Coburg^[15]

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. "Fawkner". vicsig.net. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
5. "Fawkner". Victorian Places. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
6. "Fawkner Crematorium & Memorial Park : Restored Mortuary Carriage". www.fcmp.com.au. Archived from the original on 18 July 2008. Retrieved 24 August 2008.
7. "History of Fawkner – Moreland City Council, Victoria, Australia". www.moreland.vic.gov.au. Archived from the original on 28 June 2009. Retrieved 24 August 2008.
8. "Fawkner". www.victorianrailways.net. Retrieved 24 August 2008.
9. "Somerton" (PDF). Victorian Signalling Histories. Andrew Waugh. Retrieved 22 January 2008.
10. "Upfield Line". vicsig.net. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
11. "Signalling Alterations". Somersault. Signalling Record Society (Victoria). January 1999. p. 9.
12. "Signalling Alterations". Somersault. Signalling Record Society (Victoria). January 1999. p. 11.
13. "Upfield Line". Public Transport Victoria.
14. "530 Campbellfield - Coburg via Fawkner". Public Transport Victoria.
15. "531 Upfield - North Coburg via Somerset Estate". Public Transport Victoria.

External links

• Media related to Fawkner railway station, Melbourne at Wikimedia Commons
• Melway map at street-directory.com.au