East Pakenham railway station

East Pakenham
Station pedestrian underpass and entrance, June 2024
General information
Location	Sharnet Circuit Pakenham, Victoria 3810 Shire of Cardinia Australia
Coordinates	38°05′05″S145°30′29″E / 38.08462964419523°S 145.50818068895614°E / -38.08462964419523; 145.50818068895614
System	PTV commuter rail station
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line	Pakenham
Distance	60.03 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	2 (1 island)
Tracks	4
Construction
Structure type	Ground
Parking	300 spaces
Bicycle facilities	Available
Accessible	Yes—step free access
Other information
Status	Operational, premium station
Station code	EPH
Fare zone	Myki Zone 2
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	3 June 2024;17 months ago (3 June 2024)
Electrified	1500 V DC overhead
Services
Preceding station Metro Trains Following station Pakenham towards Flinders Street via City Loop Pakenham line Terminus
Disruptions only Preceding station V/Line Following station Terminus Gippsland line Nar Nar Goon towards Traralgon or Bairnsdale
Future Services Preceding station Metro Trains Following station Summer Start (From early December) Pakenham towards West Footscray or Sunbury via  Town Hall Pakenham line Terminus After 1 February 2026 Pakenham towards West Footscray, Watergardens or Sunbury via  Town Hall Pakenham line Terminus
Track layout Legend to Pakenham Pakenham Creek Deep Creek 1 2 Princes Freeway to Pakenham East Train Depot End of electrification Oakview Lane Metro & V/Line boundary to Nar Nar Goon electrified non-electrified
Location

East Pakenham railway station is a commuter railway station and the terminus of the Pakenham line, serving the south-eastern Melbourne suburb of Pakenham and the nearby suburb of Pakenham East in Victoria, Australia. Opened on 3 June 2024, East Pakenham is a ground-level premium station, which means that it is staffed throughout the day. The station has an island platform and bypass tracks for V/Line regional services. ^[1]

East Pakenham station was constructed at the same time as a rebuild of Pakenham station, as part of the Level Crossing Removal Project. ^{[2] [3] [4] [5]} Until mid-2023, the state government referred to the station as Pakenham East railway station.

History

The Gippsland railway line opened through the East Pakenham site on 8 October 1877 when the line was extended from Pakenham to Bunyip. ^[6]

The line was originally built as single track until duplication from Pakenham to Nar Nar Goon was completed on 10 October 1954 as part of a wider duplication scheme from Melbourne to Moe. ^[7]

Electrification was provided on the Gippsland line from Dandenong to Warragul on 21 July 1954, extended to Moe on 19 October 1955 and finally Traralgon on 15 March 1956. This was to allow a higher volume of trains to run on the line to Yallorn as during the mid 20th century, Yallourn was the site of lots of Brown coal and Briquette mines. ^{[8] [9] [7]}

As production declined and the rolling stock for electric traction aged it was decided in 1987 to withdraw and replace the electric locomotives with new V/Line N class with electrification beyond Warragul decommissioned on 2 July 1987. Between then and 1998, select suburban services on the Pakenham line would continue onto Warragul however these services ceased on 7 December 1998. ^[10]

East Pakenham station was announced in February 2021. It was designed to remove a major bottleneck where through V/Line trains and terminating Metro trains were required to use the same tracks at the old Pakenham station. The new station provides separate turnback tracks for Metro trains and dedicated V/Line bypass tracks, avoiding congestion and improving service reliability. ^[11]

On 10 October 2022, the up and down Gippsland line tracks (current down stopping and bypass tracks) were slewed to the north to allow space for the island platforms and up tracks to be built. ^[12]

On 3 June 2024, East Pakenham station opened to passengers at the same time as the rebuilt elevated Pakenham station. ^{[13] [14]}

Platforms and services

East Pakenham has one island platform with two faces. It is served by Pakenham line trains. ^[15]

Current

East Pakenham platform arrangement
Platform	Line	Destination	Via	Service Pattern
1	Pakenham line	Flinders Street	City Loop	Limited express services
2	Pakenham line	Flinders Street	City Loop	Limited express services

From early December 2025 to 1 February 2026

East Pakenham platform arrangement
Platform	Line	Destination	Via	Service Pattern	Notes	Source
1	Pakenham line	Flinders Street	City Loop	Limited express services
	Pakenham line   (weekends only)	West Footscray, Sunbury	Town Hall	Limited express services	Between 10:00am and 7:00pm on weekends	[16]
2	Pakenham line	Flinders Street	City Loop	Limited express services
	Pakenham line   (weekends only)	West Footscray, Sunbury	Town Hall	Limited express services	Between 10:00am and 7:00pm on weekends	[16]

After 1 February 2026

East Pakenham platform arrangement
Platform	Line	Destination	Via	Service Pattern
1	Pakenham line	Sunbury, Watergardens, West Footscray	Town Hall	Limited express services
2	Pakenham line	Sunbury, Watergardens, West Footscray	Town Hall	Limited express services

References

1. Everitt, Corey. "Level crossings gone, new stations open". Pakenham Gazette. Archived from the original on 3 June 2024. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
2. Hartmann, Imogen (3 December 2020). "Victoria fast-tracks level crossing removals". Infrastructure Magazine. Archived from the original on 3 December 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
3. "Location identified for Pakenham East Station". Level Crossing Removal Project. 11 February 2021. Archived from the original on 17 May 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
4. "New stations at Pakenham to open next month". Victoria’s Big Build. 13 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
5. "East Pakenham". vicsig.net. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
6. "VICSIG". vicsig.net. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
7. "VICSIG". vicsig.net. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
8. "History of mining in the La Trobe Valley" (PDF). www.mineland.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
9. "Gippsland's little bricks". The Warragul and Drouin Gazette. 19 April 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
10. "The changing power of trains". The Warragul and Drouin Gazette. 6 February 2024. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
11. "New Pakenham East station location announced and 3 more sets of boom gates to go". Victoria's Big Build. 18 February 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
12. "VICSIG". vicsig.net. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
13. "New stations at Pakenham to open next month". Victoria's Big Build. 13 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
14. "Level crossings gone, new stations open". Pakenham Gazette. 3 June 2024. Archived from the original on 3 June 2024. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
15. "Pakenham Line". Public Transport Victoria.
16. "Metro Tunnel's Summer Start". Victoria's Big Build. Retrieved 12 November 2025.