Diggers Rest railway station

Diggers Rest
PTV commuter rail station
Southbound view from Platform 2, November 2012
General information
Location	Old Calder Highway, Diggers Rest, Victoria 3427 City of Melton Australia
Coordinates	37°37′37″S144°43′12″E / 37.627°S 144.720°E / -37.627; 144.720
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line(s)	Sunbury
Distance	32.69 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	2 side
Tracks	2
Connections	Bus
Construction
Structure type	Ground
Parking	550
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Accessible	Yes—step free access
Other information
Status	Operational, unstaffed
Station code	DIT
Fare zone	Myki Zone 2
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	2 October 1859;164 years ago (1859-10-02)
Rebuilt	2012
Electrified	August 2012 (1500 V DC overhead)
Passengers
2005–2006	25,747 [1]

Preceding station	Metro Trains			Following station
Watergardens towards Flinders Street		Sunbury line		Sunbury Terminus

Track layout
Legend to Watergardens Holden Road (Closing by 2025) Tame Street Drain 1 2 Old Calder Highway (Removing by 2026) Calder Freeway Watsons Road (Removing by 2026) to Sunbury

Diggers Rest railway station is located on the Sunbury line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the north-western Melbourne suburb of Diggers Rest, and it opened on 2 October 1859. ^[4]

History

Diggers Rest opened on 2 October 1859, eight months after the railway line from Sunshine was extended to Sunbury. ^[4] Like the suburb itself, the station was named after the fact that the area was used as a resting place for prospectors travelling to Bendigo during the Victorian gold rush. ^{[5] [6]}

At the time of opening, a small goods shed and siding were provided. In 1928, interlocked gates were provided at the Calder Highway level crossing, located at the down end of the station, and were replaced with boom barriers in 1982. ^[7] In 1989, the goods siding was abolished and, ^[4] in 1992, the remaining crossover was removed. ^[4] The waiting room and booking lobby inside the building on Platform 1 were also provided in that year ^[8] and, along with the signal box, was restored in 2002, after being damaged by fire during the previous year. ^[9] On 16 April 2005, the signal box was abolished, as part of the Regional Fast Rail project. ^[10]

On 18 November 2012, the station was added to the metropolitan network, when the line between Watergardens and Sunbury was electrified. ^{[11] [12]} As part of those works, the station was refurbished, with both platforms extended at the up (Flinders Street) end. The car park was also enlarged. ^[13]

On 21 October 2022, the Level Crossing Removal Project announced that the Old Calder Highway level crossing was to be grade separated with a road over rail design. ^[14] Also in that year, both platforms were extended in length, from 159m to 163m. ^[4]

Platforms and services

Diggers Rest has two side platforms. It is served by Sunbury line trains. ^[15]

Platform 1:

•   Sunbury line   all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street

Platform 2:

•   Sunbury line   all stations services to Sunbury

By late 2025, it is planned that trains on the Sunbury line will be through-routed with those on the Pakenham and Cranbourne lines, via the new Metro Tunnel.

Transport links

Sunbury Bus Service operates two routes via Diggers Rest station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  483 : Sunbury station – Moonee Ponds Junction ^[16]

•  528 : to Sunbury station ^[17]

Gallery

• 
  Northbound view from Platform 2, January 2010, prior to the electrification of the line

References

1. Estimated Annual Patronage by Network Segment Financial Year 2005-2006 to 2018-19 Archived 17 April 2022 at the Wayback Machine Department of Transport
2. Railway station and tram stop patronage in Victoria for 2008-2021 Archived 17 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine Philip Mallis
3. Annual metropolitan train station patronage (station entries) Archived 6 March 2023 at the Wayback Machine Data Vic
4. "Diggers Rest". vicsig.net. Archived from the original on 20 March 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
5. "Diggers Rest and Plumpton". Victorian Places. Archived from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
6. First, Jamie (7 January 2014). "The A-Z story of Melbourne's suburbs". Herald Sun. Archived from the original on 26 December 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
7. "Works". Newsrail . Australian Railway Historical Society. September 1982. p. 215.
8. "Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. October 1992. p. 331.
9. "Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. June 2002. p. 186.
10. "Diggers Rest Signal Box (DIT)". vicsig.net. Archived from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
11. "Sunbury Electrification Overview". Victorian State Government Department of Transport. Archived from the original on 1 January 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
12. "Sunbury Electrification Station Improvements". Victorian State Government Department of Transport. Archived from the original on 10 December 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
13. Sunbury Electrification Project Archived 15 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine diggersrest.com 3 July 2009
14. "Making the Sunbury Line level crossing-free". Victoria's Big Build. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
15. "Sunbury Line". Public Transport Victoria.
16. "483 Sunbury - Moonee Ponds via Diggers Rest". Public Transport Victoria.
17. "475 Sunbury Station - Diggers Rest Station". Public Transport Victoria.

External links

• Rail Geelong gallery
• Melway map at street-directory.com.au