Watsonia railway station

Watsonia
Southbound view of platform 2, September 2025
General information
Location	Greensborough Highway, Watsonia, Victoria 3087 City of Banyule Australia
Coordinates	37°42′40″S145°05′02″E / 37.7110°S 145.0838°E / -37.7110; 145.0838
System	PTV commuter rail station
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line	Hurstbridge
Distance	19.92 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	2 (1 island)
Tracks	2
Connections	Bus SkyBus
Construction
Structure type	Ground
Parking	350
Accessible	No—steep ramp
Other information
Status	Operational, premium station
Station code	WAT
Fare zone	Myki Zone 2
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	23 June 1924;101 years ago (1924-06-23)
Rebuilt	11 December 1977
Electrified	April 1923 (1500 V DC overhead)
Previous names	Collina (during construction)
Passengers
2005–2006	510,050 [1]

Preceding station	Metro Trains			Following station
Macleod towards Flinders Street		Hurstbridge line		Greensborough towards Eltham or Hurstbridge

Track layout
Legend to Macleod 1 2 North East Link (under construction) to Greensborough

Location

Watsonia railway station is a commuter railway station on the Hurstbridge line, which is part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the north-eastern suburb of Watsonia, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Watsonia station is a ground level unstaffed station, featuring an island platform. It opened on 23 June 1924, with the current station provided in 1977. ^[5]

History

Watsonia station was provisionally known as Collina during construction. ^[5] Like the suburb itself, the station is named after Frank Watson, a local landowner who subdivided his property, Grace Park, into the Grace Park Station Estate. ^{[6] [7]}

The current station dates back to 1977, when that section of the railway line was lowered to remove a number of level crossings. ^[8] In 1979, the line between Macleod and Greensborough stations was duplicated. ^[5]

During 1988-1989, the present Greensborough Highway overpass, located nearby in the down direction from the station, was provided. ^[9]

In December 2007, Watsonia was upgraded to a premium station. ^[10]

Facilities, platforms and services

Watsonia is located in a deep cutting, between the Greensborough Highway and Watsonia Road. It has one island platform with two faces, with access to the platforms provided by a pedestrian overpass and a ramp. The station features a customer service window, a coffee shop, an enclosed waiting room, and toilets.

It is served by Hurstbridge line trains. ^[11]

Current

Watsonia platform arrangement
Platform	Line	Destination	Service Type
1	Hurstbridge line	Flinders Street	All stations and limited express services
2	Hurstbridge line	Greensborough, Eltham, Hurstbridge	All stations and limited express services

Transport links

Dysons operates two bus routes via Watsonia station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  514 : Eltham station – Glenroy station ^[12]
•  566 : Lalor – Northland Shopping Centre ^[13]

SkyBus also operates a service to Melbourne Airport via Watsonia station. ^[14]

References

1. Estimated Annual Patronage by Network Segment Financial Year 2005-2006 to 2018-19 Department of Transport
2. "Train Station Patronage FY2008-2014". Public Transport Victoria. 14 May 2015. Archived from the original (XLS) on 30 March 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2016. (access from Archived 3 November 2016 at the Wayback Machine )
3. Station patronage in Victoria for 2013-2018 Philip Mallis
4. Annual metropolitan train station patronage (station entries) Data Vic
5. "Watsonia". vicsig.net. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
6. "Watsonia and Watsonia North". Victorian Places. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
7. First, Jamie (7 January 2014). "The A-Z story of Melbourne's suburbs". Herald Sun . Retrieved 1 February 2023.
8. "Works". Newsrail . Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division. April 1978. p. 69.
9. "Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division). June 1988. p. 186.
10. "Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division). March 2008. p. 88.
11. "Hurstbridge Line". Public Transport Victoria.
12. "514 Eltham - Glenroy via Greensborough". Public Transport Victoria.
13. "566 Lalor - Northland via Plenty Road & Childs Road & Grimshaw Street". Public Transport Victoria.
14. "Eastern Express locations". SkyBus. Archived from the original on 31 August 2025. Retrieved 31 August 2025.

External links

• Melway map at street-directory.com.au