Sunbury line

The Sunbury line is a commuter railway line in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Operated by Metro Trains Melbourne, it is the city's fifth longest metropolitan railway line at 40.3 km. The line runs from Flinders Street station in central Melbourne to Sunbury station in the city's north-west, serving 18 stations via North Melbourne, Sunshine, St Albans, and Watergardens. The line operates for approximately 19 hours a day (from approximately 5:00 am to around 12:00 am) with 24 hour service available on Friday and Saturday nights. During peak hour, headways of up to 5 minutes are operated with services every 20–30 minutes during off-peak hours. Train sets typically used on the Sunbury line are the Comeng and, for two morning peak services, the High Capacity Metro Train.

The Victorian Railways began services in February 1859 on the line originally built to serve the town of Bendigo by the Melbourne, Mount Alexander and Murray River Railway Company. The line was progressively electrified over time, with electrification to St Albans in 1921, to Sydenham in 2002, and finally to Sunbury in 2012.

Since the 2000s, due to the heavily utilised infrastructure of the Sunbury line, improvements and upgrades have been made. Works have included replacing sleepers, upgrading signalling technology, two line extension projects, the construction of new stations, the removal of level crossings, the introduction of new rolling stock, and station accessibility upgrades.

In 2025, the line is planned to be through-routed to the Pakenham and Cranbourne lines via the underground Metro Tunnel.

19th century
The Melbourne, Mount Alexander and Murray River Railway Company started to build a rail line to Bendigo before operations were taken over by the Department of Railways then the Victorian Railways. The line had been extended as far as Sunbury by February 1859. The line was duplicated between Footscray and Sunbury in early July 1859.

20th century
Electrification of the line to St Albans was completed in October 1921, although electrification has already occurred to North Melbourne in May 1919 as part of the Essendon line electrification, and to Footscray in August 1920 as part of the Williamstown line electrification. Electrification shaved 10 minutes off the trip from St Albans to the city.

North Melbourne to South Kensington was quadruplicated in 1924, and South Kensington to Footscray in November 1976. Automatic block signalling was provided between South Kensington and Footscray (and Yarraville on the Williamstown line) in August 1927, from Footscray to West Footscray in October 1927, North Melbourne to South Kensington in June 1928, Sunshine to Albion in July 1929, West Footscray to Sunshine in October 1929, and Albion to St Albans in February 1930, thus resulting in the entire electrified line being provided with this signalling.

Sydenham extension
On 27 January 2002, electrification of the St Albans line was extended along the regional V/Line tracks to Sydenham. The Sydenham electrification resulted in the closure of the original Sydenham station; a new station was built 600 metres south and named after the nearby Watergardens Town Centre. Additionally, another station was constructed in St Albans called Keilor Plains.

Sunbury extension
Proposals for an extension of electrified metropolitan services to Sunbury have dated as far back as the 1969 Melbourne Transportation Plan. $270 million was set aside to complete electrification works as part of the 2008 Victorian Transport Plan, with works completed in 2012.

There was some opposition to electrification. Concerns included a less comfortable journey, the removal of toilet facilities, the presence of a conductor, potential overcrowding, and congestion at level crossings due to the increase in the number of services. Bendigo line users also raised concern that electrification to Sunbury would slow down their trains to Melbourne. Public Transport Victoria acknowledged this issue, stating that "there's a slight slow-down of services on that particular corridor with this timetable, because we're putting more Metro services in the mix."

On 18 November 2012, the newly electrified line was renamed from the Sydenham line to the Sunbury line. Completion of the electrification increased the service frequency of Sunbury and Diggers Rest stations to 489 trains per week, an increase of 64% from the 298 trains per week when the service was operated by V/Line.

Sunbury Line Upgrade
In 2019, works began on the $2.1 billion Sunbury Line Upgrade project, delivered by the Rail Projects Victoria. The project upgraded the line to support the introduction of High Capacity Metro Train (HCMT) rolling stock and "take full advantage of the extra capacity created by the Metro Tunnel" which will open in 2025.

Works delivered as part of the project include the installation of five new electrical substations: one in Delahey (near Watergardens station), one in Calder Park rail yard, two in St Albans, and one in Albion;  ten more across the line were upgraded along with improvements to overhead wiring and signalling equipment to enable the use of "high capacity signalling" (a form of communications-based train control ) in the Metro Tunnel. Platforms were extended at Sunbury, Watergardens, Albion, Sunshine, Tottenham, West Footscray, Middle Footscray, and Footscray stations to support the longer HCMT rolling stock. Raised boarding pads were installed at Sunbury, Diggers Rest, Watergardens, Keilor Plains, Albion, Sunshine, and Footscray stations to improve wheelchair accessibility. Train stabling facilities at Sunbury, Calder Park, and Watergardens were upgraded, the level crossing at Gap Road, Sunbury was removed, and the tracks connecting the Sunbury line to the Metro Tunnel's portal at South Kensington station were laid.

Metro Tunnel
The 2012 Network Development Plan identified the need for a north–south tunnel connecting the Sunbury line to the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines. In 2017, the Metro Tunnel project began construction, consisting of twin 9 km tunnels bored underground between South Kensington and South Yarra stations, with five new stations along the route: Arden, Parkville, State Library (connecting to Melbourne Central), Town Hall (connecting to Flinders Street), and Anzac. These works will be completed by 2025, and upon completion, will create a singular rail line from Sunbury to Pakenham.

Level crossing removals
The Level Crossing Removal Project has announced the removal of all 7 remaining level crossings on the Sunbury line, completed in stages from 2016 to 2025. In 2016, the level crossings at Furlong Road and Main Road, St Albans, were removed by lowering the rail line into a trench under the roads; St Albans and Ginifer stations were rebuilt. Another crossing was removed by elevating a section of the Melton Highway in Sydenham onto a bridge above the rail line in 2018. The remaining level crossings are planned to be removed in 2025. The crossings at Old Calder Highway, Watsons Road, and Calder Park Drive will be removed by building road bridges over the rail line, and the Holden Road crossing will be closed to car traffic.

Services
Services on the Sunbury line operates from approximately 5:00 am to around 12:00 daily. In general, during peak hours, train frequency is 5–20 minutes in the AM peak on the Sunbury line while during non-peak hours the frequency is reduced to 20–30 minutes throughout the entire route. On Friday nights and weekends, services run 24 hours a day, with 60 minute frequencies available outside of normal operating hours.

Train services on the Sunbury 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 Some services do not operate via the City Loop
 * ● – All trains stop
 * ◐ – Some services do not stop
 * | – Trains pass and do not stop

Operators
The Sunbury line has had a total of 7 operators since its opening in 1859. The majority of operations throughout its history have been government run: from its first service in 1859 until the 1999 privatisation of Melbourne's rail network, four different government operators have run the line. These operators, Victorian Railways, the Metropolitan Transit Authority, the Public Transport Corporation, and Bayside Trains have a combined operational length of 141 years.

Bayside Trains was privatised in August 1999 and later rebranded M>Train. In 2002, M>Train was placed into receivership and the state government regained ownership of the line, with KPMG appointed as receivers to operate M>Train on behalf of the state government. Two years later, rival train operator Connex Melbourne took over the M>Train operations including the Sunbury line. Metro Trains Melbourne, the current private operator, then took over the operations in 2009. The private operators have had a combined operational period of 23 years.

Route
The Sunbury line forms a relatively linear route from the Melbourne central business district to its terminus in Sunbury. The route is 40.3 km long and is fully doubled tracked from Flinders Street to its termnius. The only underground section of the Sunbury line is in the City Loop, where the service stops at 3 underground stations. Exiting the city, the Sunbury line traverses mainly flat country, except on the west bank of the Maribyrnong River where it requires some moderately heavy earthworks. The line is paralleled by a double track goods line and the interstate standard gauge line, the latter being dual gauge with the goods line to West Footscray. The goods line joins the Sunbury line at Sunshine, whilst the standard gauge line to Sydney continues to run alongside the suburban line to Albion, where it and a goods line head off in a north-easterly direction. Some sections of the line has been elevated or lowered into a cutting to eliminate level crossings.

The line follows the same alignment as multiple lines with the Sunbury line splitting off at North Melbourne. The Sunbury line continues on its western (then northern) alignment, whereas the other lines continue onto a northern, western, or south-western alignment. Most of the rail line goes through built-up suburbs and some industrial areas before becoming more rural before the end of the line.

Stations
The line serves 18 stations across 40.3 km of track. The stations are a mix of elevated, lowered, underground, and ground level designs. Underground stations are present only in the City Loop, with the majority of elevated and lowered stations being constructed as part of level crossing removals. From 2025, services will cease to stop at Flinders Street, Southern Cross, Flagstaff, Melbourne Central, Parliament, and North Melbourne stations due to the opening of the Metro Tunnel.

Rolling stock
The Sunbury line primarily uses Comeng electric multiple unit (EMU) trains that are operated in a split six-car configuration, with three doors per side on each carriage. These trains were built by Commonwealth Engineering between 1981 and 1989, making them the oldest on Melbourne's electrified sububran rail network. Occasionally, Siemens Nexas EMUs are also used. When the Metro Tunnel opens in 2025, the Sunbury line will be operated mainly with High Capacity Metro Train EMUs.

Alongside the passenger trains, Sunbury line tracks and equipment are maintained by a fleet of engineering trains. The four 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, the overhead inspection train; designed for overhead wiring inspection, and the infrastructure evaluation carriage designed for general infrastructure evaluation. Most of these trains are repurposed locomotives previously used by V/Line, Metro Trains Melbourne, and Southern Shorthaul Railroad.

Planned rolling stock
Upon the opening of the Metro Tunnel in 2025, the Sunbury line will primarily use a fleet of High Capacity Metro Train (HCMT) electric multiple unit trains, operating in a seven-car configuration. The trains feature three doors per side on each carriage and can accommodate up to 1,380 passengers. HCMTs were introduced to the Sunbury line in 2023, operating two peak services from Sunbury to Flinders Street each morning. HCMTs are also planned to be used on the Airport line, which will branch off from the Sunbury line at Sunshine. HCMTs are built in Changchun, China, with final assembly occurring in Newport, Melbourne, by Evolution Rail, a consortium composed of CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles, Downer Rail and Plenary Group. As of October 2023, two HCMT services run per day on the Sunbury Line, with more to be gradually introduced in the coming years.

Accessibility
In compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act of 1992, all stations that were newly built or rebuilt since the Act took effect comply with its guidelines. Most stations on the Sunbury line are fully accessible, however, there are some stations that have not been upgraded to meet these guidelines. Stations that are fully accessible feature ramps that have a gradient less than 1 in 14, have at-grade paths, or feature elevators. Accessible stations typically also feature tactile boarding indicators, independent boarding ramps, wheelchair accessible myki barriers, hearing loops, and widened paths.

Several stations on the Sunbury line have been rebuilt or upgraded with better accessibility features, mostly as part of the Level Crossing Removal Project and the Sunbury Line Upgrade. This includes St Albans and Ginifer stations, which were rebuilt as part of the Level Crossing Removal Project; and Sunbury, Diggers Rest, Watergardens, Keilor Plains, Albion, Sunshine, and Footscray stations which had raised boarding pads installed to improve wheelchair accessibility as part of the Sunbury Line Upgrade.

Signalling
The Sunbury line uses three-position signalling which is widely used across the Melbourne train network. Three-position signalling was first introduced in 1929, with the final section of the line converted in 2005. The Sunbury line's signalling system was further upgraded as part of the Sunbury Line Upgrade to enable the use of "high capacity signalling" (a form of communications-based train control) to be used within the Metro Tunnel.