Footscray railway station

Footscray railway station is a commuter and regional railway station and the junction point for the Sunbury, Werribee and Williamstown lines and V/Line services to Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong, serving the western Melbourne suburb of Footscray in Victoria, Australia. Footscray is a ground level premium station, featuring six platforms, two island platform with two faces and two side platform, connected by an accessible overground concourse. It opened on 16 September 1900, with the current station provided in 2014.

A disused signal box is located on the island platform at the up (Flinders Street) end of Platform 5. A pair of dual gauge tracks for the mostly freight-only South Kensington–West Footscray line run in a cutting under the station before entering the Bunbury Street tunnel, providing a rail link to the Port of Melbourne and other freight terminals, as well as access to Southern Cross station for the NSW TrainLink XPT, The Overland, and V/Line Albury passenger services.

History
On 17 January 1859, the railway arrived in Footscray, when the Williamstown line opened, with trains operating from Spencer Street in Melbourne to the important port of Williamstown. The line between Melbourne and Williamstown, via the North Melbourne and Footscray, had been made possible by the construction of the Saltwater River Rail Bridge over the Maribyrnong River.

Not long after, that line was connected to the 18-month-old Geelong line at a junction near the current Newport station. The original Footscray station opened on the first day of service. It was not where the current Footscray station is but was located at Napier Street.

Less than a month later, on 10 February 1859, Footscray became a junction when a line, branching at Footscray, was opened to Sunbury, extended to Sandhurst (later renamed Bendigo) in 1862. On 1 March 1859, Footscray's second station, on the Sunbury line, opened at Nicholson Street, not far from the Napier Street location. In 1879, a signal box was provided at the junction.

On 16 September 1900, a new station was opened at the present location, the junction of the two lines. The two other stations were then closed.

A number of sidings once existed at the station, but that site, on the eastern side of the Newport-bound lines, is now used for car parking. In 1972, the last siding at Footscray (siding "B") was abolished.

On 21 October 1928, the two tracks under the station were opened, as part of the South Kensington–West Footscray line. They were dual-gauged in the early 1960s, as part of the construction of the Melbourne–Albury standard gauge line. Quadruplication of the tracks towards Melbourne in November 1976 eliminated the switched junction and so the signal box was closed, although the building is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.

On 31 May 1996, Footscray was upgraded to a premium station, although the enclosed waiting area and ticket facilities were built in 1993, as part of the "Travel Safe" program of the early 1990s.

At around 08:30 on 5 June 2001, on Platform 4, an out-of-service train heading to Newport collided with a Williamstown-bound train carrying about 20 passengers. Three injuries were reported.

In 2010, as a part of the Brumby State Government's Footscray renewal program, the footbridge over the platforms, which was accessed by ramps, was replaced with a new $15 million footbridge. The bridge, named after Indigenous activist William Cooper, had stairs and associated lifts. There were complaints that the new footbridge was less usable than the one it replaced. The roof was not weatherproof, and the lifts were prone to breakdown.

During the 2017/2018 financial year, Footscray was the sixth-busiest station on the Melbourne metropolitan network, with 5.26 million passenger movements recorded.

Regional Rail Link upgrade
From 2012 to 2014, Footscray station underwent a major upgrade and conservation works as part of the Regional Rail Link project. An additional two platforms were provided to the north of the existing ones, to allow the separation of Sunbury Metro train services and V/Line train services to Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong. On 20 January 2014, coinciding with the opening of the new platforms, ticket office and a waiting area adjacent to Platform 1 on Irving Street, Platforms 1 to 4 were renumbered 3 to 6, with the new platforms becoming Platforms 1 and 2. At the same time, Platforms 3 and 4 were temporarily closed, so that they could be rebuilt as platforms for V/Line services. They reopened when the new Regional Rail Link tracks between Sunshine and Southern Cross were brought into service on 16 July 2014. A new waiting area and toilet facilities for regional services was provided between Platforms 4 and 5.

The $15 million footbridge, erected in 2010, was partially demolished in 2013 to accommodate the works. New canopies, stairs and escalators were installed at the Irving and Hyde Street ends of the footbridge, and wider ramps were built from the footbridge to the platforms and the street level, to allow easier access to the platforms. New lifts were also added to the structure.

The car-park on Irving Street was relocated to McNab Avenue, and a new forecourt, with greenery and seating areas was opened, along with two new kiosks, close to the Irving Street station entrance.

By November 2014, all works at the station had been completed.

Platforms and services
Footscray has two island platforms with four faces, and two side platforms. It is served by Sunbury, Werribee and Williamstown line trains,  and V/Line Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong line trains.

Platform 1:
 * all stations services to Flinders Street

Platform 2:
 * all stations and limited express services to Watergardens and Sunbury

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

Platform 3:
 * V/Line services to Southern Cross (set down only)
 * V/Line services to Southern Cross (set down only)
 * one daily V/Line service to Southern Cross (set down only)
 * V/Line services to Southern Cross (set down only)
 * V/Line services to Southern Cross (set down only)
 * V/Line services to Southern Cross (set down only)
 * V/Line services to Southern Cross (set down only)
 * V/Line services to Southern Cross (set down only)

Platform 4:
 * V/Line services to Melton, Bacchus Marsh and Wendouree (pick up only)
 * V/Line services to Ararat (pick up only)
 * V/Line services to Bendigo, Epsom and Eaglehawk (pick up only)
 * V/Line services to Echuca (pick up only)
 * V/Line services to Swan Hill (pick up only)
 * V/Line services to Wyndham Vale, Geelong and Waurn Ponds (pick up only)
 * V/Line services to Warrnambool (pick up only)

Platform 5:
 * all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street and Frankston
 * all stations services to Flinders Street and Frankston

Platform 6:
 * all stations services to Laverton via Altona (weekdays only); all stations and limited express services to Werribee
 * all stations services to Williamstown

Transport links
CDC Melbourne operates six bus routes via Footscray station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:
 * : to Keilor East
 * : Yarraville station – Highpoint Shopping Centre
 * : Sunshine station – Footscray
 * : Laverton station – Footscray
 * : Laverton station – Footscray
 * : to Laverton station

Kinetic Melbourne operates three bus routes via Footscray station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:
 * : Sunshine station – Melbourne CBD (Queen Street)
 * : Sunshine station – Melbourne CBD (Queen Street)
 * : Yarraville – Highpoint Shopping Centre

Transit Systems Victoria operates five bus routes via Footscray station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:
 * : to East Melbourne
 * : to University of Melbourne Parkville Campus
 * : to Moonee Ponds Junction
 * : Williamstown – Moonee Ponds Junction
 * Night Bus : Footscray – Newport station (Saturday and Sunday mornings only)

Yarra Trams operate one route to and from Footscray station:
 * Melbourne tram route 82 icon.svg: to Moonee Ponds Junction