Keon Park railway station

Keon Park
PTV commuter rail station
Southbound view from Platform 1, May 2014
General information
Location	High Street, Thomastown, Victoria 3074 City of Whittlesea Australia
Coordinates	37°41′41″S145°00′42″E / 37.6946°S 145.0118°E / -37.6946; 145.0118
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line(s)	Mernda
Distance	17.54 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	2 (1 island)
Tracks	2
Connections	Bus
Construction
Structure type	Ground
Parking	154
Accessible	Yes—step free access
Other information
Status	Operational, unstaffed
Station code	KPK
Fare zone	Myki Zone 2
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	16 December 1929;94 years ago (1929-12-16) [1]
Closed	12 January 2024
Rebuilt	1983 1988 2024
Electrified	December 1929 (1500 V DC overhead)
Previous names	Keonpark (1929–1972)
Passengers
2005–2006	200,689 [2]

Preceding station	Metro Trains			Following station
Ruthven towards Flinders Street		Mernda line		Thomastown towards Mernda

Track layout
Legend to Ruthven Keon Parade (Removing by 2024) 1 2 Settlement Road to Thomastown

Keon Park railway station is located on the Mernda line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the northern Melbourne suburb of Thomastown, and it opened on 16 December 1929 as Keonpark. It was renamed Keon Park on 29 February 1972. ^[6]

History

Opening on 16 December 1929, the locality, and more particularly the railway station of Keon Park, was named after Keon Park Pty Ltd., a land development company formed in 1924. Among the directors was Henry Isaac Cohen, a Barrister and M.L.C. and later a King's Counsel, Minister of Education and Minister for Water Supply, who married Ethel Mary Keon in 1901 and whose children adopted the surname of “Keon-Cohen”. ^[7]

The station opened at the same time as the extension of suburban services and electrification from Reservoir to Thomastown. In November 1959, the line from Reservoir was duplicated, in conjunction with the extension of suburban services to Lalor. ^[8] However, the duplicated line converged at the up end of the Keon Parade level crossing, ^[9] and it was not until 1988 that the current Platform 2 was provided. ^{[10] [11] [12]} The crossover, located at the up end of the station and just past the level crossing, was also provided around this time. ^[12] It remained the northern extremity for the double line until November 2011, when the line from Keon Park to Epping was duplicated. ^{[6] [13]}

In 1963, flashing light signals were provided at the Keon Parade level crossing, ^[6] with boom barriers provided later on in 1971. ^{[14] [15]} On 15 April 1972, a small fire damaged the interior of the station building. ^[16] On 1 September 1973, the station was again damaged by fire, as well as damage occurring to the signal box. ^{[17] [18]} It was also around this time that the former City of Preston and former local member for the now abolished District of Reservoir, Jim Simmonds, asked the Victorian Railways for opinions on relocating the station to the up side of the level crossing, to allow better access from nearby residential areas. ^{[19] [17]}

In 1983, the current station building was provided, replacing an older timber structure. ^[20] In 1986, a number of sidings that were located at the down end of the station were abolished. ^[6]

On 29 July 2021, the Level Crossing Removal Project announced that the level crossing will be grade separated by 2025, with the railway line to be built over the road, and will include a rebuilt station. ^{[21] [22] [23]} On 28 March 2022, the LXRP announced that the station would be rebuilt to the south of the current level crossing. ^[24] In December 2022, final designs were released, ^[25] with construction on the project beginning in early 2023.

In January 2024, Keon Park Station was closed and is being rebuilt, with an expected re-opening in late June 2024.

Platforms and services

Keon Park has one island platform with two faces. It is serviced by Metro Trains' Mernda line services. ^[26]

Platform 1:

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

Platform 2:

•   Mernda line   all stations services to Mernda

Transport links

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

•  555 : Pacific Epping – Northland Shopping Centre ^[27]

Kinetic Melbourne operates one SmartBus route via Keon Park station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

• SmartBus  902 : Chelsea station – Westfield Airport West ^[28]

References

1. "KEONPARK STATION TO BE OPENED ON MONDAY". The Herald . No. 16, 405. Victoria, Australia. 13 December 1929. p. 5. Retrieved 10 May 2018– via National Library of Australia.
2. Estimated Annual Patronage by Network Segment Financial Year 2005–2006 to 2018–19 Archived 17 April 2022 at the Wayback Machine Department of Transport
3. Railway station and tram stop patronage in Victoria for 2008–2021 Archived 17 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine Philip Mallis
4. Annual metropolitan train station patronage (station entries) Archived 6 March 2023 at the Wayback Machine Data Vic
5. Annual metropolitan train station entries 2022-23 Data Vic
6. "Keon Park". vicsig.net. Archived from the original on 25 April 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
7. "Keon Park". 2 June 2021. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
8. SE Dornan & RG Henderson (1979). Electric Railways of Victoria. Australian Electric Traction Society. p. 67. ISBN   0-909459-06-1.
9. "Keon Park 12-9-1982". Flickr – Robert Aquilina Photostream. Archived from the original on 27 April 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
10. "Works". Newsrail . Australian Railway Historical Society. July 1986. p. 217.
11. "Keon Park, down Lalor about to depart 7-10-1987". Flickr – Robert Aquilina Photostream. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
12. "Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. July 1988. p. 220.
13. South Morang Rail Extension, Australia Archived 29 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine Railway Technology
14. "Way and Works". Divisional Diary . Australian Railway Historical Society. November 1971. p. 6.
15. John Sinnatt (January 1990). "Level Crossing Protection". Somersault. Signalling Record Society Victoria. pp. 9–17.
16. "Way and Works". Divisional Diary. Australian Railway Historical Society. June 1972. p. 7.
17. "Way & Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. November 1973. p. 219.
18. "Way & Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. January 1974. p. 16.
19. "Items of Interest". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. September 1973. p. 183.
20. "Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. February 1983. p. 26.
21. "Keon Parade, Reservoir". Victoria's Big Build. Archived from the original on 16 May 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
22. "10 more level crossings to go by 2025". Victoria's Big Build. Archived from the original on 30 July 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
23. "Mernda line level crossing removal fact sheet". Victoria's Big Build. Archived from the original on 21 March 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
24. "New station and rail bridge for Keon Parade". Victoria's Big Build. Archived from the original on 6 May 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
25. "Final designs released for Keon Parade". Victoria's Big Build. Archived from the original on 5 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
26. "Mernda Line". Public Transport Victoria.
27. "555 Epping - Northland via Lalor & Thomastown & Reservoir". Public Transport Victoria.
28. "902 Chelsea Railway Station – Airport West Shopping Centre (SMARTBUS Service)". Public Transport Victoria . Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.

External links

• Melway map at street-directory.com.au