South Yarra railway station

South Yarra railway station is a commuter railway station and the junction point for the Cranbourne, Frankston, Pakenham and Sandringham lines, serving the south Melbourne suburb of South Yarra in Victoria, Australia. South Yarra is a ground-level premium station featuring six platforms, with two island platforms and two side platforms accessible by an overground concourse. It opened on 22 December 1860.

History
South Yarra station was opened by the Melbourne and Suburban Railway Company as Gardiners Creek Road. Initially, it served the Brighton line, on what was called the "Prahran Branch". On 1 January 1867, the station was renamed South Yarra. The private railway company, by then the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay United Railway Company, was taken over by the Government of Victoria in 1878, and its network became part of the Victorian Railways.

In 1924, historian John Cooper noted that when the South Yarra to Oakleigh line was first constructed, a set of points connected the line to the existing Brighton line. However, a high embankment obscured the vision of train drivers approaching South Yarra on both lines. To solve that problem, it was decided that the Oakleigh line should have its own tracks into Melbourne, and the Cremorne Railway Bridge, spanning the Yarra River, was duplicated to allow that. The opening of the South Yarra to Oakleigh line in 1879 made the proposed Outer Circle line largely redundant, but it was constructed anyway, a decade later.

In 1914, the line between South Yarra and Caulfield was completely rebuilt. The works included the quadruplication of the line, and the reconstruction of the stations at Hawksburn, Toorak, Armadale and Malvern.

In 1946, the current Cremorne Railway Bridge over the Yarra River was opened, replacing the earlier one. In 1947, a works siding opened, which was disconnected in 1955.

Even after the laying of six tracks from Richmond to South Yarra, and the abolition of the signal box, the station retained three emergency crossovers at the up end of Platforms 1 and 2, 3 and 4 and 5 and 6. The latter set was removed in 1983, followed by the middle pair by 23 June 1984, and the final set in August 1986. The crossovers were originally provided in 1945 and 1960. Also in 1960, the "local lines", used by Pakenham and Cranbourne line services, were extended to Richmond, and the signal box, located at the up end of Platforms 4 and 5, was closed, but still remains in place.

In 1993, there were major re-signalling works between South Yarra and Toorak, with similar works occurring between South Yarra and Richmond in 1994. In 1997, South Yarra was upgraded to a premium station. As such, the station is staffed from the first to the last service each day.

According to Public Transport Victoria data, South Yarra is the eighth-busiest station on the Melbourne metropolitan network, with 4.59 million boardings per year during the 2017/2018 financial year.

In early 2020, it was announced that South Yarra was to undergo a $12 million refurbishment. The entrance to the station on Toorak Road was to be widened, and the layout changed to make the station larger.

Services on the Pakenham and Cranbourne lines will no longer stop at South Yarra when the Metro Tunnel opens, which is scheduled to take place in 2025. The entrance portal to the Metro Tunnel is located near the station, but South Yarra will not be integrated into the new tunnel, which generated some criticism.

Platforms and services
South Yarra station has six platforms: two side platforms and two island platforms with four faces. It is served by Cranbourne, Frankston, Pakenham and Sandringham line trains. V/Line's Bairnsdale rail services (Gippsland line) pass non-stop through the station.

Platform 1:
 * all stations services to Flinders Street

Platform 2:
 * all stations services to Sandringham

Platform 3:
 * all stations services to Flinders Street, Werribee and Williamstown

Platform 4:
 * all stations and limited express services to Frankston

Platform 5:
 * all stations services to Flinders Street
 * all stations services to Flinders Street

Platform 6:
 * limited express services to East Pakenham
 * limited express services to Cranbourne

From June 2025, Pakenham and Cranbourne lines will no longer serve South Yarra because they will be routed through the Metro Tunnel to Sunbury.

Transport links
Yarra Trams operates one route via South Yarra station:
 * Melbourne tram route 58 icon.svg: West Coburg – Toorak