Anstey railway station

Anstey
Southbound view from Platform 1, October 2019
General information
Location	Albion Street, Brunswick, Victoria 3056 City of Merri-bek Australia
Coordinates	37°45′40″S144°57′38″E / 37.761074°S 144.960609°E / -37.761074; 144.960609
System	PTV commuter rail station
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line	Upfield
Distance	8.04 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	2 side
Tracks	2
Connections	Bus Tram
Construction
Structure type	Ground
Parking	Yes
Accessible	Yes—step-free access
Other information
Status	Operational, unstaffed
Station code	ASY
Fare zone	Myki Zone 1
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	15 December 1926;98 years ago (1926-12-15)
Electrified	December 1920 (1500 V DC overhead)
Previous names	North Brunswick (1926–1942)
Passengers
2005–2006	241,907 [1]

Preceding station	Metro Trains			Following station
Brunswick towards Flinders Street		Upfield line		Moreland towards Upfield

Track layout
Legend to Brunswick Hope Street (Removing by 2030) 1 2 Albion Street (Removing by 2030) to Moreland

Location

Anstey railway station is a commuter railway station on the Upfield line, part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the northern suburb of Brunswick in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Anstey station is a ground-level unstaffed station, featuring two side platforms. It opened on 15 December 1926. ^[4]

Initially opened as North Brunswick, the station was given its current name of Anstey on 1 December 1942. ^[4]

History

Anstey station was renamed in honour of former member of parliament, Frank Anstey, who represented the local area in the seats of East Bourke Boroughs and Brunswick in the state parliament, and Burke in the federal parliament, between 1902 and 1934. ^[5]

In 1971, the station platforms were lengthened. ^[4] In 1998, boom barriers replaced interlocked gates at the Albion Street level crossing, at the down end of the station. ^[6] The signal box controlling the level crossing was also abolished during that time. ^[6]

In 2020, the station became a temporary terminus while level crossing removals occurred at Coburg and Moreland. ^[7] A temporary crossover was provided at the up end of the station, to allow trains to terminate and return to Flinders Street. ^[4]

Future

The station is slated for closure or relocation under the Level Crossing Removal Project. The project intends to remove the adjacent Albion Street level crossing, as well as seven other level crossings in Brunswick, by grade separation to become an elevated. ^[8] Under the plan, announced in 2024 and expected to be completed in 2030, the three nearby stations of Jewell, Brunswick and Anstey will be replaced by two new stations, each within 200 metres to 450 metres of one of the existing stations: the new northern station nearer Anstey is planned to be located next to Hope Street. Some heritage listed interlocking hand gates at some closed level crossings will be kept and located at their current spots. ^[9]

The decision to build two stations in different locations instead of rebuilding Jewell, Brunswick and Anstey generated criticism from residents and the local council. Local newspaper Brunswick Voice reported that the Minister for Transport Infrastructure, Danny Pearson, claimed "the decision to build two stations followed 18 months of technical and engineering assessments which found fewer stations would boost capacity on the line in the future and deliver more open space", noting that "the government claimed the plan would also minimise the impact to heritage in the area, but the politician provided no detail about whether the three station buildings and the historic boom gate operators' cabins would be preserved". ^[10]

Platforms and services

Anstey has two side platforms. It is served by Upfield line trains. ^[11]

Current

Anstey platform arrangement
Platform	Line	Destination	Via	Service Type	Notes
1	Upfield line	Flinders Street	City Loop	All stations
2	Upfield line	Upfield		All stations

Transport links

Dysons operates one route via Anstey station:

•  503 : Essendon station – Brunswick East ^[12]

Yarra Trams operates one route via Anstey station:

• : North Coburg – Flinders Street station (via Elizabeth Street) ^[13]

Gallery

• 
  Southbound view from Platform 1, with an Upfield bound Comeng train arriving on Platform 2,
  June 2004
• 
  Northbound view of Platform 1 and station building, December 2005

References

1. Estimated Annual Patronage by Network Segment Financial Year 2005–2006 to 2018–19 Archived 17 April 2022 at the Wayback Machine Department of Transport
2. Railway station and tram stop patronage in Victoria for 2008–2021 Archived 17 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine Philip Mallis
3. Annual metropolitan train station patronage (station entries) Archived 6 March 2023 at the Wayback Machine Data Vic
4. "Anstey". vicsig.net. Archived from the original on 7 January 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
5. "Brunswick and Brunswick City". Victorian Places. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
6. "Signalling Alterations". Somersault. Signalling Record Society (Victoria). January 1999. p. 5.
7. Biggest level crossing removal blitz in Victoria's history Archived 27 October 2021 at the Wayback Machine Level Crossing Removal Project
8. "Eight More Dangerous Level Crossings To Go By 2027 | Premier of Victoria". www.premier.vic.gov.au. Archived from the original on 19 September 2022. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
9. "Have your say on Brunswick level crossing removals". Victoria's Big Build. 19 September 2024. Archived from the original on 19 September 2024. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
10. Phillips, Mark (19 September 2024). "Station to be axed under skyrail revamp". Brunswick Voice. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
11. "Upfield Line". Public Transport Victoria.
12. "503 Essendon - East Brunswick via Albion Street". Public Transport Victoria.
13. "19 North Coburg - Flinders Street Station & City". Public Transport Victoria.

External links

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