History
Essendon station opened on 1 November 1860 as the terminus of the private Melbourne and Essendon Railway Company line. [5] The station closed with the line on 1 July 1864, but was reopened on 9 October 1871, under government ownership. [6] The line to the north was opened in 1872, as part of the North East line to School House Lane. [5] Like the suburb itself, the station was named after Essendon in Hertfordshire, England. [7] [8]
In 1878, a completely new station, with a single platform, was provided, on the site of the present island platform, with passenger subways and footbridges added in 1886, along with conversion of the island platform to the current layout. It was also at that time that a rail overpass was provided at Mount Alexander Road, in what was one of the first grade separation projects to be carried out in the state. In 1909, the present buildings were provided, along with a centre track between Platforms 1 and 2. [6]
In 1919, electric train services between the city and Essendon were inaugurated, with electrification extended to Broadmeadows in 1921. However, Essendon remained the terminus of most suburban services, with a shuttle service operating beyond until 1925, and all-day through services to Broadmeadows not provided until 1941. [9]
In 1965, the double line block signalling between Broadmeadows and Essendon was abolished, and was replaced with three position signalling. [5] In 1969, the station took the layout it has today, with the abolition of the centre track, the closure of the stand-alone signal box, the provision of automatic signalling along the line, and the replacement of the interlocked gates with boom barriers at the former Buckley Street level crossing. A signal panel was provided within the station office in that same year. [5]
On 7 March 1974, Harris motor 518M and Tait motor 368M were destroyed by fire whilst stabled at the station. [10] [11] [12] Tait trailer 85G was also damaged in the fire. [10] [11] [12]
On 8 June 1987, stabling of suburban trains at Essendon ceased, with the overhead wiring of all sidings removed just over a year later. [13] On 1 September 1988, the former sidings near Rose Street were removed. [13]
On 16 August 1996, Essendon was upgraded to a premium station. [14] Also in that year, siding "B" was taken out of service. [15] On 7 June 2014, the signal panel was abolished. [16]
In 2018, the adjacent Buckley Street level crossing was grade separated, the street reopening on 28 September of that year after construction. Buckley Street now passes under the railway line in a trench. [17]
As part of the Melbourne Metro Rail Tunnel, it was expected that the turnback facilities at the station would be upgraded, to allow services to start at Essendon when the tunnel opens in 2025, [18] but this was ultimately cut from the project. [19]
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