railroad.wikisort.org - Station

Rockbank railway station is located on the Serviceton line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the western Melbourne suburb of Rockbank, and opened on 2 April 1884 as Mount Atkinson. It was renamed Rockbank in November 1889.[1]

Rockbank
PTV regional rail station
Eastbound view from Platform 2 in October 2010
General information
Location	Station Street, Rockbank, Victoria 3335 City of Melton Australia
Coordinates	37°43′45″S 144°39′03″E
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	V/Line
Line(s)	Serviceton
Distance	30.19 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	2 side
Tracks	2
Connections	Bus
Construction
Structure type	Ground
Parking	10
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Status	Operational, Unstaffed
Station code	RBK
Fare zone	Myki Zone 2
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	2 April 1884; 138 years ago (1884-04-02)
Rebuilt	26 August 2019
Previous names	Mount Atkinson (1884-1889)
Services
Preceding station V/Line Following station Caroline Springs towards Southern Cross Ballarat line Cobblebank towards Wendouree Ballarat line (Melton line) Cobblebank towards Bacchus Marsh Ararat line Cobblebank towards Ararat

History

The station opened as Mount Atkinson on 2 April 1884, at the same time as the Serviceton line through it, and was renamed Rockbank in 1889. Being on a single track railway line, it provided a crossing loop for trains, and continued to do so until 2019.[1] By 1914, it had a three-road yard, a passenger platform on the southern track, a goods platform on the northern track, and an interlocked signal box.[2] The station served the local farming community. With a chaff mill established in the 1890s, and the recreation reserve and tennis club located nearby, the station became the focus of the Rockbank community.[3]

In 1960, the crossing loop was extended for longer trains of up to 730 metres, and a short platform was provided on the loop road. In 1976, Centralised Traffic Control was provided on the line from Sunshine to Rockbank. By the 1970s, the mill was disused, and the station building was demolished circa 1985. In 1986, the yard was rationalised to a main line and crossing loop and, in 1990, the mechanical signals and points were removed, and replaced by remotely controlled signalling, operated from the Bacchus Marsh signal box. The current northern platform (was Platform 2, now Platform 1) was not provided until 1992,[4] replacing the former short platform. As part of the Regional Fast Rail project, control of the signals was transferred to the Ballarat signal box in 2005.[2]

In 1976, flashing light signals were provided at the Leakes Road level crossing,[1] located nearby in the up direction of the station, with boom barriers provided in 2002.[1]

In March 2018, as part of the Regional Rail Revival project, work began on the reconstruction of the station.[5][6] The two side platforms were completely rebuilt to fit six-carriage VLocity trains, and an accessible pedestrian overpass was installed over the tracks, accessed by lifts, ramps and stairs. The upgraded station had a new sealed car park for over 350 cars, new bus and taxi bays, secure bike storage areas, and drop-off zones. It was opened to passengers on 26 August 2019.[7] The project also involved 18km of duplication of track between Deer Park West and Melton. It was provided in late 2019, coinciding with the opening of Cobblebank station.[1][8][9]

The station will eventually become part of the metropolitan railway network under the Western Rail Plan, announced by the Andrews State Government in 2018.[10]

Platforms and services

Rockbank has two side platforms. It is served by V/Line Ballarat and Ararat line trains.[11]

Platform 1:

•  Ballarat line  services to Southern Cross
•  Ararat line  services to Southern Cross

Platform 2:

•  Ballarat line  services to Melton, Bacchus Marsh and Wendouree
•  Ararat line  services to Ararat

Transport links

Transit Systems Victoria operates two routes via Rockbank station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  444 : to Aintree
•  456 : Sunshine station – Woodgrove Shopping Centre (Melton)[12]

References

External links

• Media related to Rockbank railway station, Melbourne at Wikimedia Commons
• Rail Geelong gallery
• Victorian Railway Stations gallery
• Melway map at street-directory.com.au

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