St Albans railway station is located on the Sunbury line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the western Melbourne suburb of St Albans, and opened on 1 February 1887.[2]

St Albans
PTV commuter rail station
Northbound view from Platform 2 in November 2016
General information
Location	St Albans Road, St Albans, Victoria 3021 City of Brimbank Australia
Coordinates	37°44′40″S 144°47′59″E
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line(s)	Sunbury
Distance	17.81 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	2 side (formerly 3: 1 island and 1 side)
Tracks	2
Connections	Bus
Construction
Structure type	Below ground
Parking	400
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Disabled access	Yes—step free access
Other information
Status	Operational, Premium Station
Station code	SAB
Fare zone	Myki Zone 2
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	1 February 1887; 135 years ago (1887-02-01)
Rebuilt	October–November 2016
Electrified	1500 V DC overhead (October 1921)
Passengers
2008-2009	1.680 million[1]
2009-2010	1.797 million[1]  6.96%
2010-2011	1.739 million[1]  3.23%
2011-2012	1.528 million[1]  12.13%
2012-2013	Not measured[1]
2013-2014	0.997 million[1]  34.75%
Services
Preceding station Metro Trains Following station Ginifer towards Flinders Street Sunbury line Keilor Plains towards Sunbury or Watergardens Peak Limited Stops services Sunshine towards Flinders Street Sunbury line Watergardens towards Sunbury Pre 2012 Ginifer towards Flinders Street Sunbury line Keilor Plains towards Watergardens Terminus Preceding station V/Line Following station Footscray towards Southern Cross Bendigo line Watergardens towards Bendigo

History

St Albans station opened on 1 February 1887.[2] Originally, only three trains each way passed through St Albans on weekdays, and passengers had to inform the train guard at the stop prior for the train to stop.[3] A local service was announced in 1888, although it could not start running to St Albans until 19 November of that year, when a single crossover was added, with tail-ropes likely used to shunt carriages with a locomotive on the adjacent track. This situation was resolved by 1898, when a second crossover was added and, by 1899, three non-interlocked signals had been provided in each direction, with the first proper signal box brought into use on 17 June 1901.[3] Later, steam-era trains operated hourly from Flinders Street to Braybrook Junction, with only eight trains continuing to St Albans.

The station was made the terminus of the electrified network from the city in October 1921, and services were improved, with trains running every 40 minutes by day and hourly at night.[4]

The original station was located at the down end of the former Main Road level crossing, with all terminating electric trains using Platform 2.[4]

In 1959, the station was rebuilt, with an island platform built on the up side of the level crossing. One side faced the main line, with the other side formed a dock platform for terminating suburban trains. The old westbound platform was removed, but the eastbound platform remained for Spencer Street-bound regional trains.[4] The former stabling sidings were also provided around that time.[2] Boom barriers replaced interlocked gates at the Main Road level crossing in 1986.[5]

A signal box with a mechanical lever frame, now abolished, was located on the former island platform, to control access to the former back platform and sidings.

St Albans was upgraded to a Premium Station on 26 July 1996.[6]

The platform that had been located at the down end of the level crossing was replaced by a new platform at the up end of the crossing in January 2002, as part of the extension of the electrified network to Sydenham.[2]

In November 2012, with electrification to Sunbury, V/Line Bendigo trains ceased stopping at St Albans, and Metro Trains terminating services also ceased, with Platform 3 no longer regularly used. The stabling yard was still used for train storage, until work on the grade separation project began in 2015.[2]

In late 2015, the Level Crossing Removal Authority commenced a grade separation project that replaced the Main Road level crossing with a road bridge over a lowered rail line. The rebuilt station opening on 1 November 2016. The overall project was completed by mid-2017, resulting in roughly a third of the station being directly below Main Road, with the remainder lowered.[7][8][9]

Platforms and services

St Albans has two side platforms, located below ground level. It is served by Sunbury line trains.[10]

Platform 1:

•  Sunbury line  all stations and limited stops services to Flinders Street

Platform 2:

•  Sunbury line  all stations services to Watergardens and Sunbury

It is planned that, by late 2025, trains on the Sunbury line will be through-routed with those on the Pakenham and Cranbourne lines, via the new Metro Tunnel.

Transport links

CDC Melbourne operates seven bus routes to and from St Albans station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  408 : to Highpoint Shopping Centre[11]
•  418 : to Caroline Springs Square Shopping Centre[12]
•  419 : to Watergardens station[13]
•  421 : to Watergardens station[14]
•  423 : to Brimbank Central Shopping Centre[15]
•  424 : to Brimbank Central Shopping Centre[16]
•  425 : to Watergardens station[17]

Gallery

• 
  Melbourne bound platform that was located north of the Main Road level crossing in September 2005. It was replaced by a new Platform 1 in January 2002. This platform has since been demolished as part of the grade separation works in 2016.

References

External links

• Media related to St Albans railway station at Wikimedia Commons
• Melway map at street-directory.com.au