Initially opened as Punt Road, the station was renamed two times. The station was renamed to Swan Street on 12 December 1859, then it was given its current name of Richmond on 1 January 1867.[2]
History
Richmond station has been relocated and rebuilt four times. The first station was at ground level, and opened on 8 February 1859 as Punt Road. It closed in the same year, on 12 December. On the same day, a new station called Swan Street, also at ground level, opened. It was re-named Richmond on 1 January 1867.[2] In 1885, an elevated station was opened just north of Swan Street, with six platforms.
By the 1930s, the station was struggling to cope with patronage. The 1940 Ashworth Improvement Plan recommended that it be rebuilt, but funding problems during World War II prevented that from happening.[3] The station had also deteriorated to the point that it was condemned by the local council. In the 1950s, work began on a replacement, as part of Operation Phoenix, the postwar rebuilding of the Victorian Railways.[4] However, it was not until 26 March 1960 that the present station was completed. Located slightly west of the previous station, the bridges at each end of the station, across Punt Road and Swan Street, were also rebuilt to accommodate the ten tracks. For a time, platforms at both the old and new stations were used, before the original station was closed and demolished.
In 1973, the flyover for the downBurnley local line was built at the up end of Platforms 9 and 10,[2] with the junction to the east of Platforms 7, 8, 9 and 10 abolished in the same year.[2]
Richmond station was the filming location for the opening scene of the 1992 Australian film Romper Stomper where it was used as a stand-in for Footscray station.
During 2015, the verandahs on all platforms were lengthened and roofs installed over the ramps leading to the pedestrian subway at the up end of the station.[6] The additional verandahs filled in the gaps between the existing verandahs, giving passengers coverage against inclement weather and to reduce overcrowding.[6]
Richmond has ten platforms: five island platforms with two faces each. It is built on an embankment immediately east of Punt Road, with platforms extending west across the Punt Road railway bridge. The station is connected by three subways, with access to the platforms by ramps. There are no lifts at the station.
The station is located in Melbourne's sporting precinct. A special-events entrance at the western end is opened during events at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne Park and AAMI Park.
A chart showing passenger usage at Richmond Station between 2008 and 2024 sorted by financial year.
In 2023-24 financial year, Richmond was the sixth-busiest station on Melbourne's metropolitan network.
Gallery
Westbound view from Platform 6, with the now replaced Sydney style blue and yellow tactile, which were replaced with the regular orange and yellow tactile in mid-2010s, March 2008
Westbound view from Platform 1, January 2021. The junction of Punt Road and Olympic Boulevard is to the left, with AAMI Park in the distance
The exterior building and entrance on the southern side of the station, September 2024
Stations and services in italics are planned or under construction
Stations in (parentheses) are uncommon stops for the listed service
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