Mont Albert railway station

Not to be confused with Mount Albert railway station.

Mont Albert railway station was a commuter railway station on the Lilydale and Belgrave lines, part of the Melbourne railway network. It served the eastern Melbourne suburb of Mont Albert in Victoria, Australia. Mont Albert was a ground level unstaffed station, featuring three platforms, an island platform with two faces and one side platform. It was located between Chatham and Surrey Hills and it opened on 11 August 1890 and closed on 17 February 2023, due to the works associated with the Level Crossing Removal Project.^[5]

Mont Albert
Closed PTV commuter rail station
Westbound view from Platform 1, January 2016
General information
Location	Churchill Street, Mont Albert, Victoria Australia
Coordinates	37°49′10″S 145°06′20″E
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line(s)	Lilydale Belgrave
Distance	14.63 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	3 (1 island, 1 side)
Tracks	3
Connections	Bus
Construction
Structure type	Ground
Parking	30
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Status	Demolished (Platform 1 station building retained for community purposes)[1]
Station code	MAB
Fare zone	Myki Zone 1/2 overlap
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	11 August 1890 (1890-08-11)
Closed	17 February 2023
Rebuilt	19 December 1971
Electrified	December 1922 (1500 V DC overhead)
Passengers
2005–2006	276,139[2]
2006–2007	308,542[2]  11.73%
2007–2008	331,424[2]  7.41%
2008–2009	354,074[3]  6.83%
2009–2010	368,458[3]  4.06%
2010–2011	353,325[3]  4.1%
2011–2012	315,978[3]  10.57%
2012–2013	Not measured[3]
2013–2014	323,005[3]  2.22%
2014–2015	291,184[2]  9.85%
2015–2016	270,334[3]  7.16%
2016–2017	268,495[3]  0.68%
2017–2018	253,964[3]  5.41%
2018–2019	260,854[3]  2.71%
2019–2020	200,300[3]  23.21%
2020–2021	84,300[3]  57.91%
2021–2022	98,450[4]  16.78%
2022–2023	92,300[4]  6.25%
Former services
Preceding station Metro Trains Following station Surrey Hills towards Flinders Street Lilydale line Box Hill towards Lilydale or Belgrave Belgrave line List of closed railway stations in Melbourne
Track layout Before station closure (February 2023) Legend to Surrey Hills Mont Albert Road (Removed in 2023) 1 2 3 to Box Hill

History

Mont Albert station opened on 11 August 1890 and, like the suburb itself, was named after Prince Albert, the consort of Queen Victoria.^[6]

In 1963, boom barriers replaced hand gates at the former Mont Albert Road level crossing, which was located nearby in the Flinders Street (up) direction of the station.^[7]

In the 1960s, track amplification works resulted in the Box Hill-bound platform being rebuilt and converted to an island platform.^[8] In December 1971, services on the third track from East Camberwell were extended though the station to Box Hill.^[9]

In 2020, it was announced that the level crossings at Union and Mont Albert Roads would be fast-tracked for removal by 2023.^[1] The project will involve the closure of both Mont Albert and nearby Surrey Hills, with a brand new railway station at Union, to be constructed between the two stations. The current station building on Platform 1 is to be refurbished and relocated within the precinct for community use.^[1][10]

On 17 February 2023, the last train to depart from Mont Albert was a Belgrave-bound train at 20:37.^[5] The station was permanently closed soon after for demolition, alongside Surrey Hills. The replacement new station, Union, opened on 22 May of that year.^[11]

Platforms and services

Mont Albert had one island platform (Platforms 2 and 3) and one side platform (Platform 1), linked by an underpass. It was serviced by Metro Trains' Lilydale and Belgrave line services.^[12][13]

Platform 1:

•  Lilydale line  all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street
•  Belgrave line  all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street

Platform 2:

•  Lilydale line  all stations services to Lilydale
•  Belgrave line  all stations services to Belgrave

Platform 3:

•  Lilydale line  weekday all stations services to Blackburn, Ringwood and Lilydale
•  Belgrave line  weekday all stations services to Blackburn, Ringwood and Belgrave

Transport links

At the time of closure, one bus route serviced Mont Albert, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  766 : Box Hill station - Burwood (operated by Ventura Bus Lines)^[14]

Gallery

• 
  Eastbound view from Platform 2, May 2014

References

1. "Surrey Hills and Mont Albert crossings removal fast-tracked". Victoria's Big Build. 17 June 2022. Archived from the original on 29 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
2. Estimated Annual Patronage by Network Segment Financial Year 2005-2006 to 2018-19 Archived 17 April 2022 at the Wayback Machine Department of Transport
3. Railway station and tram stop patronage in Victoria for 2008-2021 Archived 17 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine Philip Mallis
4. Annual metropolitan train station patronage (station entries) Archived 6 March 2023 at the Wayback Machine Data Vic
5. "Mont Albert". vicsig.net. Archived from the original on 29 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
6. "Mont Albert". Victorian Places. Archived from the original on 5 January 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
7. "Lights and Barriers for Crossings". The Age. 18 April 1963. p. 5.
8. "Victorian Railways: East Camberwell to Box Hill diagram 5' 30". signaldiagramsandphotos.com. Retrieved 11 March 2008. ^{[dead link‍]}
9. SE Dornan & RG Henderson (1979). Electric Railways of Victoria. Australian Electric Traction Society. p. 80. ISBN 0-909459-06-1.
10. Surrey Hills level crossing removal Archived 16 January 2023 at the Wayback Machine City of Boroondara
11. "New Union Station to open on 22 May". Victoria's Big Build. 18 April 2023. Archived from the original on 29 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
12. "Lilydale Line". Public Transport Victoria.
13. "Belgrave Line". Public Transport Victoria.
14. "766 Box Hill - Burwood via Surrey Hills". Public Transport Victoria. Retrieved 29 April 2023.

External links

• Melway map at street-directory.com.au