Royal Park railway station

Track layout
	Legend

Royal Park
Royal Park
PTV commuter rail station
	Southbound view from Platform 1, October 2024
General information
Other names	Royal Park – Zoo
Location	Poplar Road,; Parkville, Victoria 3052; City of Melbourne ; Australia
Coordinates	37°46′53″S144°57′06″E / 37.7813°S 144.9517°E
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line(s)	Upfield
Distance	5.46 kilometres from; Southern Cross
Platforms	2 side
Tracks	2
Connections	Bus; Tram;
Construction
Structure type	Ground
Accessible	Yes—step free access
Other information
Status	Operational, unstaffed
Station code	RPK
Fare zone	Myki Zone 1
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	9 September 1884;140 years ago
Electrified	December 1920; (1500 V DC overhead)
Passengers
2005–2006	177,600

Last updated November 30, 2024

Preceding station	Metro Trains			Following station
Flemington Bridge towards Flinders Street		Upfield line		Jewell towards Upfield

Former services

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Junction		Inner Circle line		North Carlton
	List of closed railway stations in Melbourne

Royal Park railway station is a commuter railway station on the Upfield line, part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the northern suburb of Parkville in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Royal Park station is a ground-level unstaffed station, featuring two side platforms. It opened on 9 September 1884.^[4]

History

Royal Park station opened on 9 September 1884, when the railway line was extended from North Melbourne to Coburg.^[4] The original plan for the route of the line through Royal Park was to be east of the Zoological Gardens, but after local protests against the destruction of the park, a decision was made to build the line to the west for "reasons of economy". On opening, only temporary station buildings were provided, along with a signal box and gatekeepers cottage.^[5]

On 8 May 1888, Royal Park became a junction, with the opening of the Inner Circle line, to both Clifton Hill and Northcote. At the same time, a timber station building and station masters residence were erected. Between 1889 and 1912, there was a goods siding near the station, named Royal Park Cutting Siding.^[5]

In 1920, the current station building on Platform 1 opened, after the original station building was destroyed by fire in 1919.^[4] It opened with a tile roof in the "Gisborne style" and, in 1936, a new waiting shed and ticket office replaced earlier structures on Platform 2.^[5]

In 1971, boom barriers replaced interlocked gates at the Poplar Road level crossing, located at the up end of the station, when automatic signaling reached the station from Jewell, with automatic signaling extended to Macaulay in 1972.^[6] In 1981, the Inner Circle line (by then a goods-only stub to Fitzroy) was closed and, in 1989, the waiting shed on Platform 2 was destroyed by arson. In 1994, the signal box on Platform 1 was closed.^[6]

Platforms and services

Royal Park has two side platforms. It is serviced by Metro Trains' Upfield line services.^[7]

Platform 1:

Upfield line all stations services to Flinders Street

Platform 2:

Upfield line all stations services to Upfield

Transport links

Dysons operates one route via Royal Park station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

505 : Moonee Ponds Junction – Melbourne University ^[8]

Yarra Trams operates one route via Royal Park station:

: West Coburg – Toorak ^[9]

Gallery

Southbound view from Platform 2, October 2019
Northbound view from Platform 2, October 2024
Station building and entrance to Platform 1, October 2024
Station shelter on Platform 2, October 2024
The "Royal Park-Zoo" station signage on Platform 1 to accommodate the nearby Melbourne Zoo, October 2024

Related Research Articles

Parkville is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km (1.9 mi) north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Merri-bek local government areas. Parkville recorded a population of 7,074 at the 2021 census.

South Yarra railway station is a commuter railway station and the junction point for the Cranbourne, Frankston, Pakenham and Sandringham lines, part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the southern Melbourne suburb of South Yarra in Victoria, Australia. South Yarra is a ground-level premium station featuring six platforms, with two island platforms and two side platforms accessible by an overground concourse. It opened on 22 December 1860.

Essendon railway station is a commuter and regional railway station on the suburban Craigieburn line and the regional Seymour line, part of the Melbourne and Victorian railway networks. It serves the northern suburb of Essendon in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Essendon station is a ground level premium station, featuring three platforms, an island platform with two faces and one side platform. It opened on 1 November 1860, with the current station provided in 1871. It initially closed on 1 July 1864, then reopened on 9 October 1871.

Macaulay railway station is a commuter railway station on the Upfield line, part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the inner-northern suburb of North Melbourne, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Macaulay station is a ground-level unstaffed station, featuring two side platforms. It opened on 1 December 1887, with the current station provided in 1976.

Flemington Bridge railway station is a commuter railway station on the Upfield line, part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the inner-northern suburb of Flemington, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Flemington Bridge station is a ground-level unstaffed station, featuring two side platforms. It opened on 10 April 1885.

Jewell railway station is a commuter railway station on the Upfield line, part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the northern suburb of Brunswick in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Jewell station is a ground-level unstaffed station, featuring two side platforms. It opened on 9 September 1884.

Brunswick railway station is a commuter railway station on the Upfield line, part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the northern suburb of Brunswick in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Brunswick station is a ground-level unstaffed station, featuring two side platforms. It opened on 9 September 1884.

Anstey railway station is a commuter railway station on the Upfield line, part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the northern suburb of Brunswick in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Anstey station is a ground-level unstaffed station, featuring two side platforms. It opened on 15 December 1926.

Moreland railway station is a commuter railway station on the Upfield line, part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the northern suburb of Coburg in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Moreland station is an elevated unstaffed station, featuring two side platforms. It opened on 9 September 1884, with the current station provided in 2020.

Coburg railway station is a commuter railway station on the Upfield line, part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the northern suburb of the same name in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Coburg station is an elevated premium station, featuring two side platforms. The original station opened on 9 September 1884, with the current station being provided in 2020.

Batman railway station is a commuter railway station on the Upfield line, part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the northern suburb of Coburg North in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Batman station is a ground level unstaffed station, featuring an island platform. It opened on 8 October 1889, with the current station provided in 1959. It initially closed on 13 July 1903, then reopened on 1 October 1914.

Merlynston railway station is a commuter railway station on the Upfield line, part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the northern suburb of Coburg North in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Merlynston station is a ground-level unstaffed station, featuring an island platform. It opened on 8 October 1889, with the current station provided in 1959. It initially closed on 13 July 1903, then reopened on 1 October 1914.

Fawkner railway station is a commuter railway station on the Upfield line, part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the northern suburb of Hadfield in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Fawkner station is a ground-level unstaffed station, featuring two side platforms. It opened on 8 October 1889, with the current station provided in 1998. It initially closed on 13 July 1903, then reopened on 12 December 1906.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gowrie railway station</span> Railway station in Melbourne, Australia

Gowrie railway station is a commuter railway station on the Upfield line, part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the northern suburb of Fawkner in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Gowrie station is a ground level premium station, featuring an island platform with two faces. It opened on 17 May 1965.

Upfield railway station is a commuter railway station and the terminus of the Upfield line, part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the northern suburb of Campbellfield in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Upfield station is a ground-level premium station, featuring a single platform. It opened on 8 October 1889, with the current station provided in 1963. It initially closed on 13 July 1903 and 5 May 1956, it was then reopened on 5 March 1928 and 17 August 1959.

Footscray railway station is a commuter and regional railway station and the junction point for the Sunbury, Werribee and Williamstown lines and V/Line services to Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong, part of the Metropolitan and Regional railway networks. It serves the western Melbourne suburb of Footscray in Victoria, Australia. Footscray is a ground level premium station, featuring six platforms, two island platform with two faces and two side platform, connected by an accessible overground concourse. It opened on 17 January 1859, with the current location provided in 1900 and station provided in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upfield line</span> Passenger rail service in Melbourne, Australia

The Upfield line is a commuter railway line in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Operated by Metro Trains Melbourne, it is the city's fifth-shortest metropolitan railway line at 20.1 kilometres (12.5 mi). The line runs from Flinders Street station in central Melbourne to Upfield station in the north, serving 19 stations via North Melbourne, Brunswick, Coburg, and Fawkner.

Royal Park is the largest of Melbourne's inner city parks. It is located four kilometres (2.5 mi) north of the Melbourne CBD, in Victoria, Australia, in the suburb of Parkville.

Roxburgh Park railway station is a commuter railway station on the Craigieburn line, part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the northern suburb of Roxburgh Park in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Roxburgh Park station is a ground-level unstaffed station, featuring an island platform. It opened on 21 September 2007.

The Melbourne tram network began in 1884 with the construction of the Fairfield Horse Tramway. However, the purpose of the line was to increase land prices in the area, and it soon closed during the depression in 1890. The first genuine attempt to construct a tramway network was the construction of the Richmond cable tram line by the Melbourne Tramway & Omnibus Company in 1885. Over the next few years, 16 more cable tram lines were constructed, as well as numerous other horse tramways. The depression of the early 1890s slowed further expansion of the cable network. The first electric tram line was the Box Hill and Doncaster tramway which opened in 1889. This was a pioneering line in what was then the countryside and thus didn't receive much patronage. It closed in 1896. The next attempt at an electric tramway was Victorian Railways' St Kilda to Brighton line, which opened in 1906. Later that year, the North Melbourne Electric Tramway & Lighting Company opened lines to Essendon and Maribyrnong. Many local councils formed their own tramway trusts and built tramways within their own constituency. The most successful of these was the Prahran & Malvern Tramways Trust.

References

1 2 3 Estimated Annual Patronage by Network Segment Financial Year 2005–2006 to 2018–19 Department of Transport
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Railway station and tram stop patronage in Victoria for 2008–2021 Philip Mallis
↑ Annual metropolitan train station patronage (station entries) Data Vic
1 2 3 "Royal Park". vicsig.net. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
1 2 3 Jon Saul and Wendy Moore (May 1990). Down the line to Upfield. Coburg Public Transport Group.
1 2 Andrew Waugh. "VR History by Andrew Waugh – Upfield Line" (PDF). VR History. Retrieved 24 February 2009.
↑ "Upfield Line". Public Transport Victoria.
↑ "505 Moonee Ponds - Melbourne University via Parkville Gardens". Public Transport Victoria.
↑ "58 West Coburg - Toorak". Public Transport Victoria.

External links

Media related to Royal Park railway station, Melbourne at Wikimedia Commons

Melway map at street-directory.com.au

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[patronage2005-2015-1] 1 2 3 Estimated Annual Patronage by Network Segment Financial Year 2005–2006 to 2018–19 Department of Transport

[patronage2008-2021-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Railway station and tram stop patronage in Victoria for 2008–2021 Philip Mallis

[patronage2021-2022-3] Annual metropolitan train station patronage (station entries) Data Vic

[VicsigRoyalPark-4] 1 2 3 "Royal Park". vicsig.net. Retrieved 10 February 2023.

[Saul&Moore-5] 1 2 3 Jon Saul and Wendy Moore (May 1990). Down the line to Upfield. Coburg Public Transport Group.

[VRHistory-6] 1 2 Andrew Waugh. "VR History by Andrew Waugh – Upfield Line" (PDF). VR History. Retrieved 24 February 2009.

[7] "Upfield Line". Public Transport Victoria.

[8] "505 Moonee Ponds - Melbourne University via Parkville Gardens". Public Transport Victoria.

[9] "58 West Coburg - Toorak". Public Transport Victoria.

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