South Yarra railway station

South Yarra railway station is a commuter railway station and the junction point for the Cranbourne, Frankston, Pakenham and Sandringham lines, part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the southern Melbourne suburb of South Yarra in Victoria, Australia.^[4][5] South Yarra is a ground-level premium station featuring six platforms, with two island platforms and two side platforms accessible by an overground concourse. It opened on 22 December 1860.^[6]

South Yarra
PTV commuter rail station
Southbound view from Platform 5, July 2024
General information
Location	Toorak Road, South Yarra, Victoria 3141 City of Stonnington Australia
Coordinates	37°50′20″S 144°59′32″E
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line(s)	Pakenham Cranbourne Frankston Sandringham
Distance	5.41 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	6 (2 side, 2 island)
Tracks	6
Connections	Tram
Construction
Structure type	Ground
Accessible	No—steep ramp
Other information
Status	Operational, premium station
Station code	SYR
Fare zone	Myki Zone 1
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	22 December 1860; 163 years ago (1860-12-22)
Electrified	May 1919 (1500 V DC overhead)
Previous names	Gardiner's Creek Road (1860–1866)
Passengers
2019–2020	3,151,600[1]  27.83%
2020–2021	1,669,900[1]  47.01%
2021–2022	1,997,050[2]  19.59%
2022–2023	2,769,550[3]  38.68%
2023–2024	3,100,250[3]  11.94%
Services Preceding station Metro Trains Following station Richmond towards Flinders Street Pakenham line Malvern Limited service towards East Pakenham Caulfield towards East Pakenham Cranbourne line Malvern Limited service towards Cranbourne Caulfield towards Cranbourne Richmond towards Werribee or Williamstown via Flinders Street Frankston line Hawksburn towards Frankston Frankston line Weekday peak express services Malvern One-way operation Richmond One-way operation Caulfield towards Frankston Richmond towards Flinders Street Sandringham line Prahran towards Sandringham
Track layout Legend to Richmond CityLink Yarra River End CBTC 1 2 4 6 3 5 Start CBTC to Hawksburn to Prahran

History

South Yarra station was opened by the Melbourne and Suburban Railway Company as Gardiners Creek Road. Initially, it served the Brighton line, on what was called the "Prahran Branch". On 1 January 1867, the station was renamed South Yarra.^[6] The private railway company, by then the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay United Railway Company, was taken over by the Government of Victoria in 1878, and its network became part of the Victorian Railways.

In 1924, historian John Cooper noted that when the South Yarra to Oakleigh line was first constructed, a set of points connected the line to the existing Brighton line. However, a high embankment obscured the vision of train drivers approaching South Yarra on both lines. To solve that problem, it was decided that the Oakleigh line should have its own tracks into Melbourne, and the Cremorne Railway Bridge, spanning the Yarra River, was duplicated to allow that.^[7]

The opening of the South Yarra to Oakleigh line in 1879 made the proposed Outer Circle line largely redundant, but it was constructed anyway, a decade later.

In 1914, the line between South Yarra and Caulfield was completely rebuilt. The works included the quadruplication of the line, and the reconstruction of the stations at Hawksburn, Toorak, Armadale and Malvern.^[8]

In 1946, the current Cremorne Railway Bridge over the Yarra River was opened, replacing the earlier one.^[6] In 1947, a works siding opened, which was disconnected in 1955.^[6]

Even after the laying of six tracks from Richmond to South Yarra, and the abolition of the signal box, the station retained three emergency crossovers at the up end of Platforms 1 and 2, 3 and 4 and 5 and 6. The latter set was removed in 1983, followed by the middle pair by 23 June 1984,^[9] and the final set in August 1986.^[10] The crossovers were originally provided in 1945 and 1960.^[6] Also in 1960, the "local lines", used by Pakenham and Cranbourne line services, were extended to Richmond, and the signal box, located at the up end of Platforms 4 and 5, was closed,^[6] but still remains in place.

In 1993, there were major re-signalling works between South Yarra and Toorak,^[6] with similar works occurring between South Yarra and Richmond in 1994.^[6] In 1997, South Yarra was upgraded to a premium station.^[11] As such, the station is staffed from the first to the last service each day.

According to Public Transport Victoria data, South Yarra is the eighth-busiest station on the Melbourne metropolitan network, with 4.59 million boardings per year during the 2017/2018 financial year.^[12][13]

In early 2020, it was announced that South Yarra was to undergo a $12 million refurbishment. The entrance to the station on Toorak Road was to be widened, and the layout changed to make the station larger.^[14][15]

Services on the Pakenham and Cranbourne lines will no longer stop at South Yarra when the Metro Tunnel opens, which is scheduled to take place in 2025. The entrance portal to the Metro Tunnel is located near the station, but South Yarra will not be integrated into the new tunnel, which generated some criticism.^[16][17]

Platforms and services

South Yarra station has six platforms: two side platforms and two island platforms with four faces. It is served by Cranbourne,^[18] Frankston,^[19] Pakenham^[20] and Sandringham^[21] line trains. V/Line's Bairnsdale rail services (Gippsland line) pass non-stop through the station.

Platform 1:

•  Sandringham line  all stations services to Flinders Street

Platform 2:

•  Sandringham line  all stations services to Sandringham

Platform 3:

•  Frankston line  all stations services to Flinders Street, Werribee and Williamstown

Platform 4:

•  Frankston line  all stations and limited express services to Frankston

Platform 5:

•  Pakenham line  all stations services to Flinders Street
•  Cranbourne line  all stations services to Flinders Street

Platform 6:

•  Pakenham line  limited express services to East Pakenham
•  Cranbourne line  limited express services to Cranbourne

From June 2025, Pakenham and Cranbourne lines will no longer serve South Yarra because they will be routed through the Metro Tunnel to Sunbury.

Usage

A chart showing passenger usage at South Yarra Railway Station in Melbourne, Australia, between 2008 and 2024 sorted by financial year.

South Yarra is the eighth-busiest station on Melbourne's metropolitan rail network.^[3]

Transport links

Yarra Trams operates one route via South Yarra station:

• : West Coburg – Toorak^[22]

Gallery

• 
  Southbound view from Platform 4, 1900^[23]
• 
  Station facade and entrance at night, May 2011
• 
  Southbound view from Platforms 2 and 3,
  June 2014
• 
  Eastbound view from Platform 1, January 2021
• 
  The station building and entrance seen from South Yarra Siding Reserve, July 2024
• 
  Station facade and entrance at daylight,
  July 2024
• 
  The ramp leading down to Platforms 4 and 5, September 2024

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. Annual metropolitan train station patronage (station entries) Data Vic
4. "South Yarra public transport - Travel Victoria: accommodation & visitor guide". www.travelvictoria.com.au. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
5. "South Yarra Railway Station". VicScreen. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
6. "South Yarra". vicsig.net. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
7. Cooper, John Butler (1924). The history of Prahran 1836–1924 : from its first settlement to a city. Melbourne, Vic: Modern Printing Co. p. 307.
8. "Report of the Victorian Railways Commissioners for the Year Ending 30th June, 1916" (PDF). Parliament of Victoria. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
9. "Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Branch). August 1984. p. 252.
10. "Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Branch). March 1987. p. 91.
11. "Upgrading Eltham to a Premium Station". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division). October 1997. pp. 303–315.
12. Estimated Annual Patronage by Network Segment Financial Year 2005–2006 to 2018–19 Department of Transport
13. "Station Patronage Data 2013–2018". Philip Mallis. Transport for Victoria. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
14. Jacks, Timna (17 April 2018). "South Yarra station set for a $12 million makeover". The Age. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
15. "South Yarra Station upgrade". Public Transport Victoria. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
16. Carey, Adam (15 May 2015). "New underground station for South Yarra ruled out in rail tunnel plans". The Age. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
17. Gordon, Josh; Willingham, Richard; Preiss, Benjamin (22 October 2015). "Federal rail cash under a cloud over South Yarra station stoush". The Age. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
18. "Cranbourne Line". Public Transport Victoria.
19. "Frankston Line". Public Transport Victoria.
20. "Pakenham Line". Public Transport Victoria.
21. "Sandringham Line". Public Transport Victoria.
22. "58 West Coburg - Toorak". Public Transport Victoria.
23. PROV

External links

Media related to South Yarra railway station, Melbourne at Wikimedia Commons

• Melway map at street-directory.com.au