The first railway through the site of North Melbourne station was today's Williamstown line, and the first section of the Melbourne, Mount Alexander and Murray River Railway Company line (to Sunbury), which both opened on 13 January 1859. On 6 October 1859, the first passenger station, with two platforms, was opened, and on 9 June 1886, the present six-platform station opened.[9]
The new station was of free classical architecture. Red brick was used, with cream brick banding, along with verandas and cast iron lace work.[8] As built in 1886, North Melbourne had six platforms, with four platform buildings containing ladies' toilets and a ladies' waiting room. The main booking office, waiting room and station master's office were near the ramp to Platform 1, and the men's toilets and porters' offices were located under the ramps themselves.[8]
In December 1973, the suburban train stabling yard to the north of the station opened, as part of the City Loop project.[10] The footbridge that links the sidings with the Macaulay stabling yard was also provided around that time.[11] In 1974, the station buildings on the northern concourse were provided[8] and, in the 1980s, as part of the construction works for the City Loop, the ramps to Platforms 1 and 2 were altered, and the platform extended at the down end.
In May 1995, a washing plant and additional sidings in Melbourne Yard, located to the west of the station, were provided, as part of the Jolimont Yard rationalisation.[12] On 19 July 1996, North Melbourne was upgraded to a premium station.[13]
In May 2006, it was announced that the station was to be redeveloped as part of a $36 million project.[14] Work included a new main entrance at the up (southern) end of the station, with escalators, stairs and lifts installed for quicker access to other platforms and to cater for disabled passengers. Work started in May 2007, and was completed on 16 November 2009.[15][16] To aid construction and avoid disruption to train passengers, a crash deck was erected over the tracks, to allow trains to run normally underneath while building work continued overhead.[7]
In November 2017, the Victorian State Government announced that North Melbourne would be renamed West Melbourne, to better reflect its geographical location, and to allow one of the new stations constructed as part of the Metro Tunnel project to be named North Melbourne.[21] The change was abandoned in 2020, with the Metro Tunnel station being named Arden instead.[22]
The main station entrance is at the southern end of the platforms, at the intersection of Adderley and Dryburgh Streets. The station building contains the main booking office, public toilets and a kiosk, with platform access via escalators and lifts. At the north end, the original asphalt ramps link all six platforms, with Platforms 2 through to 6 having heritage-listed verandas and brick waiting rooms.
At the north end of the station are 1970s-era brown brick buildings, built over the former Dynon Road overpass, which include public toilets and the former railway parcels office. Until November 2009, that building was also the main exit to Ireland Street and Railway Place, and contained the booking office and a kiosk, until those facilities were moved to the new concourse at the south end. The north end also has an exit leading west to the Melbourne Yard rail freight terminal, which is not open to public access.[31]
↑ Turton, Keith W (1973). Six And A Half Inches From Destiny. The first hundred years of the Melbourne-Wodonga Railway 1873–1973. Australian Railway Historical Society. p.86. ISBN0-85849-012-9.
↑ SE Dornan & RG Henderson (1979). Electric Railways of Victoria. Australian Electric Traction Society. p.93. ISBN0-909459-06-1.
↑ Daryl Dedman (October 1998). "Farewell to Melbourne Yard". Newsrail. series567railvideo.com.au. Archived from the original on 4 January 2006. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
↑ "Upgrading Eltham to a Premium Station". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. October 1997. pp.303–315.
Stations and services in italics are planned or under construction
Stations in (parentheses) are uncommon stops for the listed service
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