Blackburn railway station, Melbourne

Blackburn
PTV commuter rail station
Eastbound view from Platform 3 looking at the station building on platform 2, February 2013
General information
Location	Railway Road, Blackburn, Victoria 3130 City of Whitehorse Australia
Coordinates	37°49′12″S145°09′00″E / 37.8201°S 145.1500°E / -37.8201; 145.1500
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line(s)	Lilydale Belgrave
Distance	18.67 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	3 (1 island, 1 side)
Tracks	3
Connections	Bus
Construction
Structure type	Ground
Parking	112
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Accessible	Yes—step free access
Other information
Status	Operational, premium station
Station code	BBN
Fare zone	Myki Zone 2
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	25 December 1882;141 years ago (1882-12-25)
Rebuilt	5 October 1980
Electrified	January 1923 (1500 V DC overhead)
Passengers
2005–2006	1,014,262 [1]

Preceding station	Metro Trains			Following station
Laburnum towards Flinders Street		Lilydale line		Nunawading towards Belgrave or Lilydale
		Belgrave line
				Terminus
		Belgrave line Limited Express		Nunawading towards Belgrave or Lilydale
Box Hill towards Flinders Street		Belgrave line Express

Track layout
Legend to Laburnum 1 3 2 to Nunawading

Blackburn railway station is a commuter railway station on the Belgrave and Lilydale lines, serving the eastern Melbourne suburb of Blackburn in Victoria, Australia. Blackburn is a ground-level premium station, featuring three platforms, an island platform with two faces and one side platform connected by an accessible underground concourse. It opened on 25 December 1882. ^[5]

History

On 1 December 1882, the railway line from Melbourne to Camberwell was extended to Lilydale. At this time, the Lilydale line had only a single track, and used a token-based system of signalling. On 12 August 1889, Blackburn was designated a 'crossing station', meaning that it had a loop line to allow trains to pass each other. In December 1891, a second track was added to the section of the Lilydale line, between Box Hill and Ringwood. At this time, Blackburn had two platforms.

In the late 1890s, services terminating at Blackburn began, due to the large number of passengers visiting the Blackburn Lake Sanctuary. However, there were relatively few trains passing through Blackburn; around two trains per hour in 1901.

On 17 December 1922, the Lilydale line was electrified as far as Box Hill. By the end of January 1923, electrification had proceeded past Blackburn, as far as Ringwood. ^[5]

Automatic signalling, which had reached Box Hill in 1929, was finally extended to Blackburn on 13 July 1958. However, automatic signalling was not installed between Blackburn and Mitcham until 13 November 1960. In 1970, boom barriers replaced hand gates at the former Blackburn Road level crossing, which was located nearby in the down direction of the station. ^{[6] [7]}

By October 1977, the goods yard was closed to traffic. ^[5] In 1980, the goods siding was removed and the old station was demolished (although part of the south platform building remains). It was replaced with a three-platform station, so trains could terminate while Box Hill was being rebuilt. A new ramp from the old pedestrian underpass now provides pedestrian access to the central island platform. Victorian Railways' plan in the late 1970s was to add the third track to the south, but Nunawading Council objected.

On 4 June 1996, Blackburn was upgraded to a premium station. ^[8] By 2001, all services that formerly terminated at Box Hill had been extended to Blackburn.

In late 2006 and early 2007, grade separation works at the Middleborough Road level crossing, near Laburnum, led to the closure of the line between Box Hill and Blackburn, and the construction of a temporary bus interchange at the station for buses which replaced train services. The car-park immediately to the north of Platform 3 was converted into an interchange, and a walkway was constructed to allow passengers to cross from the island platform to the interchange. ^[9] In early 2010, Blackburn again performed this role, when grade separation was undertaken at Springvale Road and Nunawading was rebuilt, ^[10] and again in 2014, when Mitcham Road and Rooks Road at Mitcham were separated. ^[11]

In May 2014, the Victorian State Government announced a grade separation project to replace the nearby Blackburn Road level crossing, with a completion date of 2017. ^[12] The project was a part of the Level Crossing Removal Project. In early 2016, construction commenced and, during late 2016-early 2017, a major shutdown of the line and Blackburn Road occurred, enabling the removal of the level crossing. ^{[13] [14]} In early February 2017, Blackburn Road and the railway line reopened. ^[13] The project also included two new lift shafts from the island platform to the underpass, and to nearby Railway Road. In July of that year, the entire project works were completed. ^[15] Also occurring in that year, the former signal box at the station was abolished, with control transferred to Ringwood. ^[16]

Platforms, facilities and services

Blackburn has one island platform with two faces and one side platform. The island platform features a ticket office and toilets.

Platform 3 is only used on weekdays during peak hours (when trains are terminating on Platform 2). This typically occurs from early morning; 7am-12:30pm, and mid afternoon; 3:30–6:30pm.

It is serviced by Metro Trains' Lilydale and Belgrave line services. ^{[17] [18]}

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

Platform 3: (Weekdays only)

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

Transport links

Kinetic Melbourne operates three bus routes via Blackburn station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  271 : Box Hill station – Ringwood station ^[19]
•  279 : Box Hill station – Westfield Doncaster (deviation) ^[20]
• SmartBus   901  : Frankston station – Melbourne Airport ^[21]

Ventura Bus Lines operates three routes via Blackburn station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

• SmartBus  703 : to Middle Brighton station ^[22]
•  736 : to Mitcham station ^[23]
•  765 : Mitcham station – Box Hill station ^[24]

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. Annual metropolitan train station patronage (station entries) Data Vic
5. "Blackburn". vicsig.net. Archived from the original on 21 February 2023. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
6. "SRS Showday Tour Notes Box Hill – Lilydale & Belgrave 3 November 1998" (PDF). VR History by Andrew Waugh. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
7. John Sinnatt (January 1990). "Level Crossing Protection". Somersault. Signalling Record Society Victoria. pp. 9–17.
8. "Upgrading Eltham to a Premium Station". Newsrail . Australian Railway Historical Society. October 1997. pp. 303–315.
9. "Middleborough Road Project". vicsig.net. Archived from the original on 19 March 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
10. "Springvale Road Rail Project". vicsig.net. Archived from the original on 1 May 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
11. "Mitcham Level Crossing Removals". vicsig.net. Archived from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
12. Three more notorious level crossings to be removed Archived 2 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine Premier of Victoria 2 May 2014
13. "Level Crossing Removal: BLACKBURN ROAD, BLACKBURN". Archived from the original on 21 February 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
14. Blackburn Road, Blackburn level crossing removal Archived 13 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine Vicroads – planned works
15. "On the home stretch – LXRA Blackburn". Archived from the original on 29 June 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
16. "Blackburn Signal Box (BBN)". vicsig.net. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
17. "Lilydale Line". Public Transport Victoria.
18. "Belgrave Line". Public Transport Victoria.
19. "271 Box Hill - Ringwood via Park Orchards". Public Transport Victoria.
20. "279 Box Hill - Doncaster SC via Middleborough Rd". Public Transport Victoria.
21. "901 Frankston - Melbourne Airport (SMARTBUS Service)". Public Transport Victoria.
22. "703 Middle Brighton - Blackburn via Bentleigh & Clayton & Monash University". Public Transport Victoria.
23. "736 Mitcham - Blackburn via Vermont South & Glen Waverley & Forest Hill". Public Transport Victoria.
24. "765 Mitcham - Box Hill via Brentford Square & Forest Hill & Blackburn". Public Transport Victoria.

External links

• Media related to Blackburn railway station, Melbourne at Wikimedia Commons
• Melway map