Stony Point line

The Stony Point line is a commuter railway line in the outer metropolitan area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Operated by Metro Trains Melbourne, it is the city's only diesel service on the metropolitan network and the tenth longest line at 31 km. The line acts as an extension of the Frankston line with services running from Frankston station to the small town of Stony Point in the south-east, serving 10 stations via Leawarra, Baxter, Hastings, and Bittern. The line operates for approximately 13 hours a day (from approximately 5:30 am to around 10:30 pm), unlike other lines on the network, which provide 24-hour service on Friday and Saturday nights. Headways of 90 to 120 minutes are operated throughout the day due to limited patronage and infrastructure constraints. Trains on the Stony Point line run as two one-car formations of V/Line Sprinter DMUs.

Sections of the Stony Point line opened as early as 1888, with the line fully extended to Stony Point in 1889. Only two stations have opened since its extension in the 1880s—Leawarra and Morradoo. The line was built to connect Melbourne and Frankston with the rural towns of Baxter, Hastings, and Bittern, amongst others. The line also facilitates freight services to the Port of Hastings. Significant growth has occurred since the line's opening, with a plan to extend the Frankston line along part of the Stony Point line to Baxter.

19th century
The Stony Point line initially operated from Frankston to Baxter station, with services commencing in 1888. Extensions to Hastings, Bittern, and Stony Point were completed the following year in 1889. Branch lines were opened from Baxter to Mornington in 1889 and from Bittern to Red Hill in 1921.

20th century
A new station was opened at Leawarra in 1906 and Morradoo in 1960.

The Red Hill line was closed in 1953 with the Mornington line remaining open until 1981. A 300 m long branch from Long Island Junction to Long Island was opened on 29 April 1969 to serve the adjacent steel mill. Passenger services on the entire line were withdrawn on 10 June 1981, and the line from Long Island Junction to Stony Point was closed on 22 June 1981. Services then recommenced on 26 September 1984. Upon reopening, DRC railcars were used, with two MTH carriages present in between them making up a 4 car train. Frequent breakdowns saw diesel locomotives called in to haul the consist instead.

In August 1994, a T class locomotive with two MTH carriages was used, but by November 1995, weekday services were being operated by a P class with 2 MTH carriages, with an A class used on weekends with an extra MTH car. On another occasion in November 1995, an X class diesel locomotive in the V/Line Freight livery was used with three MTH carriages. These configurations were not used after V/Line was separated into passenger and freight divisions.

21st century
Few changes occurred in the 2000s as the service settled down after a period of frequent changes to the operators, services, and rolling-stock. On a limited number of occasions, train operator V/Line underwent locomotive shortages, with additional trains leased from Freight Australia and later Pacific National appearing on the lines in their green and yellow livery. In 2008, the Stony Point line underwent major re-signalling works including the introduction of three position signalling for the first time on the line. The new signalling system was now controlled remotely by the Frankston Signal Box.

In April 2008, Sprinter units were introduced on the line, originally purchased by V/Line in 1993. Two units usually operate the service, with a single unit returning to Southern Cross for servicing on a regular basis, and another sent in the opposite direction to replace it. The units are selected from the normal V/Line fleet, and are not dedicated to operate the Stony Point service.

Malfunctions related to boom gates forced the line's closure for three months in 2015.

Baxter extension
In 2013, as part of Public Transport Victoria's Network Development Plan for metropolitan rail, an extension of the Frankston line to Baxter was earmarked to begin in the "long-term" (over the next 20 years). During the 2018 state election, the Liberal Party announced a project to extend electrified services to Baxter. The project would have included the removal of all crossings between Frankston and Baxter, duplication and electrification works, the construction of one (or two) new stations, and the reconstruction of stations along the corridor. The Federal Liberals announced $450 million of joint funding for the project promised between the state and federal governments, with the national government promising to provide $225 million of the funding. The incumbent Andrews Labor government argued that the project was not needed, instead prioritising funding to other projects across the state.

A business case commissioned by the government was completed in 2019 with no further progress being made.

Again in the lead up to the 2022 state election, the Liberal opposition supported the electrification to Baxter. The second Andrews government made no commitments to the Baxter rail extension, instead continuing construction on level crossing removal works along the Frankston line. The 2022 state election resulted in another Labor victory, with the Andrews government pushing ahead with these works.

In November 2023, a review commissioned into infrastructure investment found that the Baxter rail extension did not meet the "investment priorities" of the Albanese government and would lose its $225 million in federal funding.

Services
Services on the Stony Point line operate from approximately 5:30 am to 10:30 pm Monday to Friday, and 7:00 am to 8:30 pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Train frequency is typically every 90 to 120 minutes throughout the day due to the line being single track with no passing loops. Regular services do not run past Frankston; stations between Frankston and Stony Point are instead serviced by shuttle. Unlike the rest of Melbourne's rail network, services do not run 24 hours a day on Friday nights and weekends.

Freight operations typically occur twice daily, with Qube Holdings operating services to the Long Island steel mills and the Port of Hastings. Trains to Melbourne run at approximately 4:00 am and during the mid-afternoon, while trains from Melbourne run at approximately midnight and noon.

Train services on the Stony Point line are also subjected to maintenance and renewal works, usually on selected Fridays and Saturdays. Shuttle bus services are provided throughout the duration of works for affected commuters.

Stopping patterns
Legend — Station status
 * ◼ Premium Station – Station staffed from first to last train
 * ◻ Host Station – Usually staffed during morning peak, however this can vary for different stations on the network.

Legend — Stopping patterns
 * ● – All trains stop
 * ◐ – Some services do not stop
 * | – Trains pass and do not stop

Operators
The Stony Point line has had numerous operators since its opening in 1889. Government operators Victorian Railways, the State Transport Authority, the Public Transport Corporation and V/Line operated the line from 1889 till the privatisation of the Melbourne rail network in 1998. On 1 July 1998, operation of the Stony Point line was transferred from V/Line. V/Line was privatised in 1999 and later returned to full government ownership in 2003. It has since continued to operate the service on behalf of three different Melbourne private rail operators: M>Train, Connex, and Metro Trains.

Route
The Stony Point line forms a somewhat linear route from the Frankston station to its terminus in the small town of Stony Point. The route is 31 km long and is predominantly single tracked, with double tracked sections only present at the end stations on the line. After changing from the Frankston line at Frankston station, the Stony Point line traverses mainly flat country with few curves and fairly minimal earthworks for most of the line. Many level crossings are still present on the line with no plans to remove any as part of the Level Crossing Removal Project.

After Frankston, most of the rail line goes through smaller suburbs and some industrial areas, with large sections of the line passing through more open countryside, passing by open fields and farms.

Stations
The line serves 10 stations across 31 km of track. All stations are at ground level.

Rolling stock
The Stony Point line uses V/Line Sprinter diesel multiple unit (DMU) trains operating in a one or two-car configuration, with two doors per side on each carriage and accommodating up to 90 passengers in each car. The trains are shared with other V/Line regional train routes, and subsequently receive refuelling and servicing near Southern Cross station. The trains were originally built between 1993 and 1995 with a total of 22 constructed.

Alongside the passenger trains, Stony Point line tracks and equipment are maintained by a fleet of engineering trains. The three types of engineering trains are the shunting train; designed for moving trains along non-electrified corridors and for transporting other maintenance locomotives, for track evaluation; designed for evaluating track and its condition, and the infrastructure evaluation carriage designed for general infrastructure evaluation. Most of these trains are repurposed locomotives previously used by V/Line, Metro Trains, and the Southern Shorthaul Railroad.

Accessibility
In compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act of 1992, all stations that are new-built or rebuilt are fully accessible and comply with accessibility guidelines. All stations on the corridor are fully accessible—a first in Melbourne. The stations feature ramps that have a gradient less than 1 in 14, have at-grade paths, or feature lifts. These stations typically also feature tactile boarding indicators, independent boarding ramps, wheelchair accessible myki barriers, hearing loops, and widened paths.

Signalling
The Stony Point line uses three position signalling which is widely used across the Melbourne train network. Three position signalling was fully introduced on the corridor in March 2008.