Williamstown railway station

For the closed station in East Lothian, Scotland, see Williamstown railway station (East Lothian).

Williamstown railway station is a commuter railway station and the terminus of the Williamstown line, which is part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the western suburb of Williamstown, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Williamstown station is a ground level premium station, featuring one side platform. It opened on 17 January 1859.^[4]

Williamstown
PTV commuter rail station
Northbound view of the station platform viewed from the southern pedestrian footbridge, December 2024
General information
Location	Hanmer Street, Williamstown, Victoria 3016 City of Hobsons Bay Australia
Coordinates	37°52′04″S 144°54′19″E
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line(s)	Williamstown
Distance	14.20 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	1
Tracks	1
Connections	Bus
Construction
Structure type	Ground
Parking	Yes
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Accessible	Yes—step free access
Other information
Status	Operational, premium station
Station code	WIL
Fare zone	Myki Zone 1
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	17 January 1859; 165 years ago (1859-01-17)
Electrified	1500 V DC overhead (August 1920)
Passengers
2005–2006	108,142[1]
2006–2007	124,239[1]  14.88%
2007–2008	129,762[1]  4.44%
2008–2009	244,128[2]  88.13%
2009–2010	246,207[2]  0.85%
2010–2011	231,888[2]  5.81%
2011–2012	223,411[2]  3.65%
2012–2013	Not measured[2]
2013–2014	163,532[2]  26.8%
2014–2015	157,057[1]  3.96%
2015–2016	159,531[2]  1.57%
2016–2017	153,809[2]  3.58%
2017–2018	165,314[2]  7.48%
2018–2019	202,950[2]  22.76%
2019–2020	162,050[2]  20.15%
2020–2021	78,150[2]  51.77%
2021–2022	60,150[3]  23.03%
Services
Preceding station Metro Trains Following station Terminus Williamstown line Williamstown Beach towards Frankston via Flinders Street Williamstown line Shuttle services Williamstown Beach towards Newport
Former services Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station Williamstown Pier   Williamstown line   Williamstown Beach towards Newport
Track layout Legend to Williamstown Beach 1 Former Williamstown Pier station

The station building is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register, and is the second oldest railway station in Victoria, after St Kilda. It is also the oldest timber railway station building to survive in the state, and one of the earliest surviving timber public buildings in Victoria.^[5]

At the up end of the station platform, the double track railway converges into single track.

History

Work on the line started under the Melbourne, Mount Alexander and Murray River Railway Company, but were taken over by the government in 1856, after work faltered. Builders Kerr, Hodgson & Billings commenced work on the timber station building in 1858, with the station opening to traffic on 17 January 1859.^[4] Arched bluestone road bridges were built over the cutting at Thompson and Cole Streets. Until 1987, the line continued around the bend to the now closed and demolished Williamstown Pier.

The central section of the station building remains today, but was originally flanked by two pavilions: one for the stationmasters residence, and the other pavilion was refreshment rooms. A now removed timber and iron verandah lined the street side of the station, while on the rail side, the original platform canopy extended along the platform much further.

The Ann Street footbridge was installed c1883, and on electrification in 1916, the Thompson Street overpass arch was removed and replaced with girder spans, to provide increased clearance.

Railway sidings, a signal box and weighbridge were once located opposite the station, but have been since removed,^[5] with a portion of the goods yard out of use by 1965.^[4] By June 1988, the majority of the sidings were removed.^[6] By October of that year, all rails, sleepers, overhead wires and signals between Williamstown and Williamstown Pier were removed,^[7] along with a further two electrified sidings, next to the platform track.^[7] The track now currently ends just under the Ann Street footbridge, at the down end of the station.

On 18 June 1996, Williamstown was upgraded to a premium station.^[8]

During the 2013/2014 financial year, it was the 13th least used station on Melbourne's metropolitan network, with 164,000 passenger movements.^[9]

Platforms and services

A Comeng train pulls into Platform 1 to terminate at the station, June 2014

Williamstown has one platform. It is serviced by Metro Trains' Williamstown line services.^[10]

Platform 1:

•  Williamstown line  all stations services to Flinders Street and Frankston; all stations shuttle services to Newport

Transport links

Transit Systems Victoria operates one route via Williamstown station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  471 : Williamstown – Sunshine station^[11]

Gallery

• 
  Northbound view of the station platform and building, March 2011
• 
  Southbound view from platform looking at station building and pedestrian bridge, April 2011
• 
  Northbound view of platform and station building viewed from pedestrian bridge, June 2014
• 
  Northbound view from the station platform, with an X'Trapolis train idle at the station platform, May 2023
• 
  Williamstown Station building from the outside, August 2024
• 
  Southbound view from the station platform, December 2024
• 
  Northbound view from the station platform, December 2024

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. "Williamstown". vicsig.net. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
5. "Williamstown railway station (listing VICH1599)". Australia Heritage Places Inventory. Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. Retrieved 15 September 2008.
6. "Operations". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. August 1988. p. 250.
7. "Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. October 1988. p. 314.
8. "Upgrading Eltham to a Premium Station". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. October 1997. pp. 303–315.
9. Station Patronage Research Public Transport Victoria
10. "Williamstown Line". Public Transport Victoria.
11. "471 Williamstown - Sunshine Station via Newport & Altona Gate SC". Public Transport Victoria.

External links

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