Ballarat railway station is located on the Serviceton line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the city of Ballarat, and it opened on 11 April 1862 as Ballarat West. It was renamed Ballarat in 1865.[1]

Ballarat
PTV regional rail station
Eastbound view from the Lydiard Street level crossing in December 2011
General information
Location	Lydiard Street North, Ballarat Central, Victoria 3350 City of Ballarat Australia
Coordinates	37°33′31″S 143°51′34″E
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	V/Line
Line(s)	Geelong–Ballarat Mildura Serviceton
Distance	118.80 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	2 side
Tracks	3
Connections	Bus V/Line Road Coach
Construction
Structure type	At-grade
Parking	Yes
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Status	Operational, Staffed
Station code	BAL
Fare zone	Myki Zone 8
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	11 April 1862; 160 years ago (1862-04-11)
Previous names	Ballarat West (1862-1865)
Services
Preceding station V/Line Following station Ballan towards Southern Cross Ballarat line Wendouree Terminus Ararat line Wendouree towards Ararat Terminus Maryborough line Creswick towards Maryborough
Former service Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station Terminus   Geelong–Ballarat line   Warrenheip

Located about 100 kilometres (62 miles) from the state capital, Melbourne, it is considered a major station on the Serviceton line. The extensive building complex is of major architectural and historical significance to Ballarat^{[according to whom?]}; most of its original 19th-century features are intact. Preserved historic features include signal boxes, goods sheds and the largest surviving interlocking mechanical swing gates in Victoria, at Lydiard Street.[note 1] It has a 19th-century arched roof spanning three tracks,[note 2][2] and the complex is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.[3]

Disused stations Ballarat East, Warrenheip, Bungaree and Gordon are located between Ballarat and Ballan.

History

As part of the original railway line to Melbourne via Geelong, constructed to service the booming Ballarat goldfields, Ballarat West railway station – as it was then known – was built at a cost of almost £22,000 pounds. A bluestone engine shed was built to the south; a goods shed to the north was added in 1863.[4] In 1877, the footbridge and waiting rooms on the south side were added.[4] In 1885, hand-operated railway gates were added to the level crossing at Lydiard Street, together with the "B" signal box to operate it on the western side.

Extension

Following the opening of the direct line from Ballarat to Melbourne in December 1889, the increase in patronage led to plans to upgrade the station. A grand portico, stationmaster's office and clocktower were designed in 1888 and added in 1891, although no clock was installed in the tower. With the amalgamation of the Ballarat East and West Town Councils in 1921 to form the City of Ballaarat, and the closure of Ballarat East station, the station gradually dropped the name West Ballarat.

Preservation

On 13 December 1981, fire badly damaged the interiors of the 1888 section, including the station-master's office, waiting room, booking office, dining room and clock tower.[5] All of these areas were later repaired and retained. Many of the original features were restored, but some interiors, including the booking office, were subsequently modernised.

In 1983, the State Transport Authority proposed to demolish the interlocking gates at Lydiard Street.[6] The City of Ballaarat, National Trust and Historic Buildings Council responded with a successful campaign to save the gates. A clock was added to the tower in 1984.

In 1990, conservationists succeeded in their lobbying to preserve the historic railway gates. An automated mechanical system was built to enable their continued use. Additional restoration was carried out in 2005, with the station roof replaced with quarried Welsh slate to match the original southern roof.[7]

The bus interchange near the station entrance was upgraded in 1994.[8]

Second boom

This section uses shallow references to the home page or some other high level page of a website that contains the cited document. (May 2022)

Following the 2006 Regional Fast Rail project, and the introduction of V/Line's VLocity trains, as well as the reintroduction of services to Ararat in 2004, passenger numbers at Ballarat station increased by as much as 40% a year.[9] A call for a second station ensued, which became Wendouree, opening in June 2009, to alleviate congestion, mainly caused by park and ride commuters from Ballarat's outer western suburbs. A further increase in trains followed, after the resumption of services to Maryborough in 2010.

Accidents and incidents

On 30 May 2020, a VLocity passenger train, operated by V/Line, failed to stop at Ballarat station, and crashed into the interlocking gates protecting the Lydiard Street North level crossing. Four men were on board the Ballarat-bound service and were injured in the collision, including the driver and conductor.[10] The Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigated the incident, and issued a preliminary report[note 3] in September 2020. It established that the train had travelled through the station at 23:35 at about 100 kilometres per hour (62 miles per hour), passed a departure signal at stop, and struck the gates at the level crossing, before coming to rest 600 metres (660 yards) west of the station.[11]

On 16 November 2021, the level crossing reopened with temporary boom barriers installed,[12][13] with the interlocking gates placed in storage in nearby Wendouree.[12][13] The reopening is part of a $10.5 million program to replace the signalling system around the station.[12][13]

Platforms and services

Ballarat has two side platforms. It is serviced by V/Line Ballarat, Ararat and Maryborough line services.[14][15][16]

Platform 1:

•  Ballarat line  services to Wendouree and Southern Cross
•  Ararat line  services to Ararat and Southern Cross
•  Maryborough line  services to Maryborough

Platform 2:

•  Ballarat line  services to Wendouree
•  Ararat line  services to Ararat
•  Maryborough line  services to Maryborough

Transport links

Bus services

CDC Ballarat operates fourteen routes to and from Ballarat station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:[17]

•  10 : to Alfredton[18]
•  11 : to Wendouree station[19]
•  12 : to Wendouree station[20]
•  13 : to Invermay Park[21]
•  14 : to Black Hill[22]
•  15 : to Brown Hill[23]
•  20 : to Canadian[24]
•  21 : to Buninyong[25]
•  22 : to Federation University Ballarat Campus[26]
•  23 : to Mount Pleasant[27]
•  24 : to Sebastopol[28]
•  25 : to Delacombe[29]
•  26 : to Alfredton[30]
•  30 : to Creswick[31]

Road coaches

V/Line operates road coach services from Ballarat station to:

• Bendigo via Maryborough and Castlemaine[32]
• Halls Gap and the Grampians National Park via Ararat and Stawell[33][34]
• Horsham, Dimboola, Nhill and Adelaide[35]
• Geelong[36]
• Hamilton and Mount Gambier[37]
• Ouyen, Donald and Mildura[38]
• Warrnambool

Trails

The station is the official starting point of two multi-use trails:

• Wallaby Track, part of the Great Dividing Trail: goes to Daylesford and Buninyong
• Ballarat-Skipton Rail Trail: goes to Skipton

Gallery

• 
  Eastbound view from Platform 1 in December 2007
• 
  View of the station clocktower in December 2007
• 
  Station front and entrance to Platform 1 in December 2011
• 
  Westbound view of Platform 2 in May 2017
• 
  Preserved A2 class locomotive 986 sits at Platform 2, during the Ballarat Heritage Weekend, in May 2017

Notes

References

Further reading

• Martin, RL; Ford, RJ; Albazzaz, AJ (5–7 October 1992). The Ballarat railway station and yards. Engineers Australia. ISBN 0-85825-567-7.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ballarat railway station.

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