Heidelberg railway station is located on the Hurstbridge line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the north-eastern Melbourne suburb of Heidelberg, and opened on 8 May 1888.[2]

Heidelberg
PTV commuter rail station
North-east bound view in September 2022
General information
Location	Studley Road, Heidelberg Victoria 3084 City of Banyule Australia
Coordinates	37°45′26″S 145°03′39″E
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line(s)	Hurstbridge
Distance	14.04 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	2 (1 island)
Tracks	2
Connections	Bus
Construction
Structure type	Ground
Parking	300
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Disabled access	No—steep ramp
Other information
Status	Operational, Premium Station
Station code	HDB
Fare zone	Myki Zone 1/2 Overlap
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	8 May 1888; 134 years ago (1888-05-08)
Electrified	1500 V DC overhead (July 1921)
Passengers
2008-2009	0.953 million[1]
2009-2010	1.121 million[1]  17.75%
2010-2011	1.237 million[1]  10.35%
2011-2012	1.229 million[1]  0.65%
2012-2013	Not measured[1]
2013-2014	0.896 million[1]  27.1%
Services
Preceding station Metro Trains Following station Eaglemont towards Flinders Street Hurstbridge line Rosanna towards Hurstbridge

History

Heidelberg station opened on 8 May 1888, at a time when it was the terminus station on what is now the Hurstbridge line. The current island station design was officially opened on 1 September 1913.[3]

At one time, there was a goods yard opposite Platform 1. It made way for an extension of the commuter car park, although the goods shed still exists. At one time, there were three tracks running through the station - two served the island platform, and the third track was the last surviving stabling track. The third track was removed after a period of disuse.

Between 26 January 1942 and 6 February 1942, 14 trains were modified to become ambulance trains. They ferried returning wounded World War II servicemen from Melbourne to Heidelberg, where ambulances were waiting to collect them. On 3 November 1995, 50 years after the end of the conflict, Vin Heffernan, the member for Ivanhoe, unveiled a plaque at the station to commemorate the role of the station in the war effort.[4]

During 1988, the former No. 4 and No. 5 tracks were abolished, along with a number of disc signal posts.[5]

In 1992, the station received an enclosed waiting area and ticket facilities, as part of the "Travel Safe" program of the early 1990s. At 5am on 5 March 1994, after the signals were upgraded to an electronic system, one of the decommissioned mechanical semaphore signals ("Signal No. 4") was relocated from the Melbourne side of the station, to the car park opposite Platform 1, for display purposes. Signal No. 4 was first erected for operation at Heidelberg station in 1912.[6] It was upgraded to a Premium Station on 21 June 1996.[7]

At the 2016-17 Victorian State Budget, $140.2 million was allocated to duplicate the single track between Heidelberg and Rosanna, and included a second rail tunnel, alongside the existing tunnel.[8] The project was completed in May 2018.[9]

Platforms and services

Heidelberg has one island platform with two faces. It is served by Hurstbridge line trains.[10]

Platform 1:

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

Platform 2:

•  Hurstbridge line  all stations and limited express services to Macleod, Greensborough, Eltham and Hurstbridge

Transport links

Dysons operates three routes via Heidelberg station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  513 : Eltham station – Glenroy station (via Lower Plenty)[11]
•  514 : Eltham station – Glenroy station (via Greensborough)[12]
•  546 : to Melbourne University (off peak extension to Queen Victoria Market)[13]

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

•  SmartBus   903 : Altona station – Mordialloc[14]

Ventura Bus Lines operates one route to and from Heidelberg station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  551 : to La Trobe University Bundoora Campus[15]

References

External links

• Media related to Heidelberg railway station, Melbourne at Wikimedia Commons
• Melway map at street-directory.com.au