Preston railway station is located on the Mernda line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the northern Melbourne suburb of Preston, and it opened on 8 October 1889 as Preston-Murray Road. It was renamed Murray on 1 August 1905, and renamed Preston on 1 December 1909.[5]

Preston
PTV commuter rail station
Entry to the rebuilt Preston station, with signs denoting the re-opening, in September 2022
General information
Location	Clinch Avenue, Preston, Victoria 3072 City of Darebin Australia
Coordinates	37°44′19″S 145°00′02″E
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line(s)	Mernda
Distance	12.47 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	2 (1 island)
Tracks	2
Connections	Bus
Construction
Structure type	Elevated
Parking	254 (unfinished)[1]
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Disabled access	Yes—step free access
Other information
Status	Operational, Premium Station
Station code	PRE
Fare zone	Myki Zone 1/2 Overlap
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	8 October 1889; 133 years ago (1889-10-08)
Rebuilt	1973 5 September 2022[2] (Level Crossing Removal Project)
Electrified	1500 V DC overhead (July 1921)
Previous names	Preston-Murray Road (1889-1905) Murray (1905-1909)
Passengers
2008-2009	0.848 million[3]
2009-2010	0.861 million[3]  1.53%
2010-2011	0.852 million[3]  1.05%
2011-2012	0.800 million[3]  6.01%
2012-2013	Not measured[3]
2013-2014	0.859 million[3]  7.38%
2014-2015	Not measured[4]
2015-2016	0.886 million[4]  3.14%
2016-2017	0.879 million[4]  0.79%
2017-2018	0.902 million[4]  2.62%
Services
Preceding station Metro Trains Following station Bell towards Flinders Street Mernda line Regent towards Mernda

Boom barriers replaced hand gates at the former Cramer Street and Murray Road level crossings, which were located in the Up and Down directions respectively, in 1967.[5]

The former ground level station buildings were provided in 1973.[6]

It was upgraded to a Premium Station in 1998.[7]

On 30 November 2018, it was announced by the Level Crossing Removal Project that the Murray Road and Cramer Street level crossings would be removed by grade separation,[8][9][10] with the rail line to be raised over both roads.[11] Designs for the rebuilt station were released on 4 October 2020,[12] with major construction starting in February 2021.[13] The station closed from 30 May 2022 to allow demolition and construction of the new station, with the station re-opening on 5 September of that year.[2]

Platforms and services

Preston has one island platform with two faces. It is serviced by Metro Trains' Mernda line services.[14]

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 two routes via Preston station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  552 : North East Reservoir – Northcote Plaza[15]
•  553 : Preston – West Preston[16]

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

•  SmartBus   903 : Altona station – Mordialloc[17]

Ventura Bus Lines operates one route via Preston station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  527 : Gowrie station – Northland Shopping Centre[18]

Gallery

• 
  Northbound view from the former ground level Platform 2 in August 2015
• 
  Southbound view from Platform 1, with the station underneath an incomplete "Skyrail" viaduct, in May 2022

References

External links

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