Mitcham railway station, Melbourne

Mitcham
PTV commuter rail station
Westbound view from Platform 1, January 2014
General information
Location	Mitcham Road, Mitcham, Victoria 3132 City of Whitehorse Australia
Coordinates	37°49′05″S145°11′31″E / 37.8180°S 145.1920°E / -37.8180; 145.1920
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line(s)	Lilydale Belgrave
Distance	22.47 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	2 side
Tracks	2
Connections	Bus
Construction
Structure type	Below ground
Parking	700
Bicycle facilities	22
Accessible	Yes—step free access
Other information
Status	Operational, premium station
Station code	MCH
Fare zone	Myki Zone 2
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	25 December 1882;141 years ago (1882-12-25)
Rebuilt	1989 25 January 2014
Electrified	January 1923 (1500 V DC overhead)
Passengers
2005–2006	1,076,423 [1]

Preceding station	Metro Trains			Following station
Nunawading towards Flinders Street		Lilydale line		Heatherdale towards Lilydale
		Belgrave line		Heatherdale towards Belgrave

Track layout
Legend to Nunawading 1 2 to Heatherdale

Mitcham railway station is a commuter railway station on the Belgrave and Lilydale lines, which are both part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the eastern suburb of Mitcham, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Mitcham station is a below ground premium station, featuring two side platforms connected by a ground level concourse. It opened on 25 December 1882, with the current station provided in 2014. ^[4]

History

Mitcham station opened on 25 December 1882, just over three weeks after the railway line from Camberwell was extended to Lilydale. ^[4] Like the suburb itself, the station was named after a farm property, Mitcham Grove, owned by Wiliam Slater, a local who grew roses and herbs. ^[5] Another theory is that Mitcham was named after a property, Mitcham Heights, itself named after Mitcham in Surrey, England. ^[5]

In 1953, flashing light signals were provided at the former Mitcham Road level crossing, which was located at the down end of the station. ^[4]

Until the 1970s, a shunting yard and goods shed existed where the southern car park exists today. Tracks remained embedded in the car park surface of that time, enabling parking for the great majority of the time when trains did not use the yard. In 1979, the station was one of three used as trial sites for new bike lockers under the Melbourne Bicycle Strategy, either for occasional, monthly or quarterly hire. ^[6] Also occurring in that year, boom barriers were provided at the former level crossing. ^[7] By 1985, goods services to and from the station ceased. ^[4]

In 1989, the former ground level station buildings were provided, when the former signal box was relocated into the new building. ^[4] On 4 April 1996, Mitcham was upgraded to a premium station. ^[8]

On 2 January 2014, the original ground level station closed, as part of the grade separation project to replace the Mitcham Road and Rooks Road level crossings. It was replaced by a new below-ground station that opened on 25 January of that year. ^{[9] [10]}

Until their removal due to the level crossing removals, a crossover and siding were located at the up end of the station. ^[4]

Mitcham was due to receive an upgraded commuter car park, following a 2019 commitment by the federal government. However, this was scrapped in 2021. ^[11]

Platforms, facilities and services

Mitcham has two side platforms with a concourse above on ground level. The concourse features a customer service window, an enclosed waiting room, toilets and a café. Access to the platforms is provided by stairs, lifts and ramps.

The station is serviced by Metro Trains' Lilydale and Belgrave line services. ^{[12] [13]}

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 services to Lilydale
•   Belgrave line   all stations services to Belgrave

Transport links

Kinetic Melbourne operates four bus routes via Mitcham station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  270 : to Box Hill station ^[14]
•  370 : to Ringwood station ^[15]
• SmartBus  901 : Frankston station – Melbourne Airport ^[16]
• SmartBus  907 : to Lonsdale Street (Melbourne CBD) ^[17]

Ventura Bus Lines operate four routes to and from Mitcham station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  736 : to Blackburn station ^[18]
•  738 : to Westfield Knox ^[19]
•  740 : to Vermont East ^[20]
•  765 : to Box Hill station ^[21]

Gallery

• 
  Former ground level station building on Platform 1, April 2013, prior to demolition

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. "Mitcham". vicsig.net. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
5. "Mitcham". Victorian Places. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
6. Network, Railways of Australia, September 1979, Vol.16 No.7 p.28
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. Mitcham level crossing removals Archived 25 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine VicRoads
10. Mitcham Level Crossing Removals Vicsig
11. "Morrison government pulls $50m promised for station car parks". 17 May 2021.
12. "Lilydale Line". Public Transport Victoria.
13. "Belgrave Line". Public Transport Victoria.
14. "270 Box Hill - Mitcham via Blackburn North". Public Transport Victoria.
15. "370 Mitcham - Ringwood via Ringwood North". Public Transport Victoria.
16. "901 Frankston - Melbourne Airport (SMARTBUS Service)". Public Transport Victoria.
17. "907 City - Mitcham via Doncaster Rd (SMARTBUS service)". Public Transport Victoria.
18. "736 Mitcham - Blackburn via Vermont South & Glen Waverley & Forest Hill". Public Transport Victoria.
19. "738 Mitcham - Knox City via Knox Private Hospital & Wantirna Secondary College". Public Transport Victoria.
20. "740 Mitcham - Vermont East via Reserve Avenue & Churinga Avenue". Public Transport Victoria.
21. "765 Mitcham - Box Hill via Brentford Square & Forest Hill & Blackburn". Public Transport Victoria.

External links

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