South Morang railway station

South Morang railway station is a commuter railway station on the Mernda line, which is part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the north-eastern suburb of South Morang, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. South Morang is a below ground premium station, featuring an island platform with two faces. It opened on 22 April 2012.^[5]

South Morang
PTV commuter rail station
Eastbound view from Platform 2 with 2 X'Trapolis trains at both platforms, March 2018
General information
Location	McDonalds Road, South Morang, Victoria 3752 City of Whittlesea Australia
Coordinates	37°38′57″S 145°4′3″E
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line(s)	Mernda
Distance	25.99 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	2 (1 island)
Tracks	2
Connections	Bus
Construction
Structure type	Below ground
Parking	450
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Accessible	Yes—step free access
Other information
Status	Operational, premium station
Station code	SMG
Fare zone	Myki Zone 2
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	22 April 2012; 12 years ago (2012-04-22)
Electrified	November 2011 (1500 V DC overhead)
Previous names	Stopping Place No. 39 (1925–1959)
Passengers
2011–2012	141,142[1]
2012–2013	Not measured[1]
2013–2014	929,186[1]  558.3%
2014–2015	1,004,019[2]  8.05%
2015–2016	1,174,152[1]  16.94%
2016–2017	1,170,111[1]  0.34%
2017–2018	1,266,871[1]  8.27%
2018–2019	886,550[1]  30%
2019–2020	554,250[1]  37.5%
2020–2021	291,000[1]  47.5%
2021–2022	347,300[3]  19.34%
2022–2023	510,050[4]  46.86%
Services
Preceding station Metro Trains Following station Epping towards Flinders Street Mernda line Middle Gorge towards Mernda
Track layout Legend to Epping McDonalds Drain 1 2 to Middle Gorge

History

The first passenger facility at the site was Rail Motor Stopping Place (RMSP) No. 39, which was opened in May 1925 at the McDonalds Road level crossing on the former Whittlesea line.^[6][7][8] The then South Morang station was a short distance further on. In its final years of operation, the passenger service was provided by a diesel electric railmotor (DERM).

On 29 November 1959, the Victorian Railways closed the line north of Lalor,^[5] following the electrification of the line from Reservoir to Lalor. The line to Epping was electrified and re-opened on 29 November 1964,^[5] and the remaining section of track from Epping to Whittlesea dismantled, although the former right-of-way was left intact.

Following the election of the Bracks Government in October 1999, a promise was made to restore the rail service to South Morang by 2003. In 2004, it was decided a bus service would be introduced instead and, in May 2006, the original promise of restoring the railway was delayed until 2021. As a result of continued community pressure by the South Morang Rail Alliance, a coalition of community groups in the area, then Premier, John Brumby, announced in 2008 that construction of the extension would be brought forward to 2010, as part of the Victorian Transport Plan.^[9][10]

The Epping line was extended to the site of Rail Motor Stopping Place No. 39, on the border of South Morang and Mill Park, about two kilometres short of the original South Morang station. On 22 April 2012, the new station was opened to the public.^[5] As part of the extension project, five kilometres of track was duplicated between Keon Park and Epping, a second platform built at Thomastown, and a grade separation project at Epping included the construction of a new station there.^[11]

Provision was for the new line to be extended further northwards to Mernda and, on 26 August 2018, that extension opened.^[12][13]

Platforms and services

South Morang has one island platform with two faces. It is served by Mernda line trains.^[14]

Platform 1:

•  Mernda line  all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street

Platform 2:

•  Mernda line  all stations services to Mernda

Transport links

Dysons operates seven bus routes via South Morang station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  382 : Whittlesea – Northland Shopping Centre^[15]
•  383 : Mill Park Lakes Palisades Estate – University Hill^[16]
•  386 : Mernda station – RMIT University Bundoora campus^[17]
•  387 : Mernda station – RMIT University Bundoora campus^[18]
•  564 : to RMIT University Bundoora campus^[19]
•  569 : to Pacific Epping^[20]
•  577 : to Pacific Epping^[21]

Kinetic Melbourne operates one SmartBus route via South Morang station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

• SmartBus  901 : Frankston station – Melbourne Airport^[22]

Gallery

• 
  Station building and entrance, April 2012
• 
  Eastbound view from Platform 1, April 2012

References

1. Railway station and tram stop patronage in Victoria for 2008–2021 Archived 17 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine Philip Mallis
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. Annual metropolitan train station patronage (station entries) Archived 6 March 2023 at the Wayback Machine Data Vic
4. Annual metropolitan train station entries 2022-23 Data Vic
5. "South Morang". vicsig.net. Archived from the original on 22 December 2022. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
6. Carey, Adam (23 April 2012). "South Morang finally gets its line". The Age. Archived from the original on 10 December 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
7. "South Morang (2), Was RMSP 39 looking towards future end of track". Weston Langford Railway Photography. Archived from the original on 27 September 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
8. "RMSP34 Epping Quarries Siding (Railmotor Stopping Place No.34)". vicsig.net. Archived from the original on 22 December 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
9. "General News". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division). February 2009. p. 38.
10. Archived version of the Victorian Transport Plan
11. Project Overview Archived 2 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine Transport Victoria
12. Getting on with it: Mernda rail project released to market Archived 6 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine Premier of Victoria 28 February 2016
13. "Meet Mernda, your new line". www.ptv.vic.gov.au. Archived from the original on 1 August 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
14. "Mernda Line". Public Transport Victoria.
15. "382 Whittlesea – Northland SC via South Morang Station". Public Transport Victoria. Archived from the original on 4 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
16. "383 Palisades - University Hill". Public Transport Victoria.
17. "386 Mernda Station – Bundoora RMIT via Cravens Rd & South Morang Station". Public Transport Victoria. Archived from the original on 4 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
18. "387 Mernda Station – Bundoora RMIT via Hawkstowe Pde & South Morang". Public Transport Victoria. Archived from the original on 4 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
19. "564 Bundoora RMIT - South Morang". Public Transport Victoria.
20. "569 Epping Plaza SC - South Morang". Public Transport Victoria.
21. "577 Epping Plaza SC - South Morang Station via Findon Rd". Public Transport Victoria.
22. "901 Frankston - Melbourne Airport (SMARTBUS Service)". Public Transport Victoria.

External links

• Media related to South Morang railway station at Wikimedia Commons
• South Morang extension project gallery